Funding for programs addressing homelessness in North Dakota received a boost this year from the state Legislature.

It comes at a time when federal dollars are limited and federal COVID-19 assistance is coming to an end.

North Dakota Housing Finance Agency, administrator of the state’s primary homeless program grants, allocates two grants supported by federal funds and the North Dakota Homeless Grant, funded by legislatively appropriated dollars.

Jennifer Henderson, director of Community Housing and Grants Management in NDHFA, said the state money was part of the bill for which an error was made in a governor’s veto. However, there was enough resolution of the error to be able to allocate grants.

Men’s Winter Refuge in Minot will receive $25,000 from the North Dakota Homeless Grant.

Mike Zimmer, executive director for Men’s Winter Refuge, said the men’s shelter has typically received $20,000-$25,000 a year from a combination of federal and state funds. The boost in state funding has been positive for the local program and makes up for lack of federal dollars, he said.

“We still are in really good shape financially,” he said. “We are very excited about the total.”

Broadway Circle, which is expected to begin operations soon, is not included on the funding list. A family homeless shelter is included in Broadway Circle.

“The North Dakota Homeless Grant is really the vehicle to fund our homeless providers, and the fact that we got a $10 million allocation this last biennium, that’s significantly higher than we’ve ever received for the North Dakota Homeless Grant,” Henderson said. Only $2.5 million had been appropriated in the previous biennium.

“Does that mean that we have enough money to fund all of our homeless providers (with) all the dollars that they need? No. We just held an application round and for both programs, the Emergency Solutions Grant and the North Dakota Homeless Grant, the amount of requests exceeded the amount we had available,” she said. “Our providers are seeing more need for the services that they provide, and the costs to provide those services haven’t gotten cheaper.”

The Emergency Solutions Grant provides a minimum amount of federal dollars to smaller states like North Dakota, she said. It amounts to $486,000 a year for homelessness.

“It’s a pretty low dollar amount. North Dakota Housing Finance Agency took over that program from the Department of Commerce, beginning in fiscal year 2023, and we made some changes,” Henderson said.

To reduce administrative burden and risk associated with federal red tape, those dollars now are allocated in larger amounts to fewer recipients, she said.

The 2025 schedule of funding for the state’s other federal grant program, Continuum of Care, is to come out soon, Henderson said.

Efforts are made to ensure dollars are available in all eight regions of the state to support prevention and elimination of homelessness.

“We recognize that it’s still not enough, but local communities also have a responsibility to help fund their homeless response system,” Henderson said.