The City of Knoxville's Community Development Department is seeking comments on the draft Homelessness Prevention and Rapid Re-Housing Program (HPRP) plan posted on the website at www.cityofknoxville.org/development.

HPRP is authorized and funded under Title XII of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009. The City of Knoxville has been allocated $771,803 in HPRP funds to support eligible activities to prevent homelessness and secure housing for homeless families and individuals. The deadline for comments is April 29, 2009 at 4:30 p.m.

In an effort to meet the requirements of the HPRP program in a timely, transparent and efficient manner, the Community Development Department requested applications from agencies currently involved in homelessness prevention and rapid re-housing activities on March 30, 2009 with a deadline of April 13, 2009. Applications were reviewed and rated and the recommended sub-grantees are included in the draft plan.

Knoxville City Council will consider approval of the HPRP plan at their May 5, 2009 meeting. The City will submit the final plan including any comments to the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) on May 18, 2009. If approved by HUD, the City will execute contracts with its sub-grantees no later than September 30, 2009 and activities are expected to begin immediately thereafter.

Comments may be addressed to Becky Wade, Community Development Administrator, P.O. Box 1631, Knoxville, TN 37901, or by e-mail to [email protected].