Beginning Monday, Feb. 5, 2018, the City of Knoxville will begin accepting applications for grants to fund programs that work to reduce and end homelessness in Knoxville. Applications will be available at www.knoxvilletn.gov/development (under “Current Grant Opportunities” at the top of the page), and completed forms are due to the City of Knoxville's Community Development Department by Friday, Feb. 23.

“Our partnerships with homeless-service providers are essential to helping people in Knoxville avoid becoming homeless, find housing quickly if they lose it, and provide essential services to the chronically homeless,” says Becky Wade, Director of the City’s Community Development Department. 

All providers of services to individuals and families experiencing homelessness that are interested in applying for a grant for the 2018-2019 program year must attend a mandatory Technical Assistance Workshop at 11 a.m. Thursday, Feb. 8, at John T. O'Connor Senior Center, 611 Winona St. In case of inclement weather, the workshop will be held on Monday, Feb. 12, same time and location. Grants begin as early as July 1, 2018. 

These annually awarded Homeless Grants may include funding from multiple sources, including the City of Knoxville, Tennessee Housing and Development Agency (THDA), and the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD). 

Grants will be awarded to agencies whose proposals serve the high-priority need of reducing and ending homelessness as defined in the 2015-2019 Five-Year Consolidated Plan (available at www.knoxvilletn.gov/development under “Reports and Plans”). Examples of programs that have received grants in the past include those that: serve homeless individuals and families living on the street; improve the number and quality of emergency shelters for homeless individuals and families; help operate emergency shelters; provide essential services to shelter residents; rapidly re-house homeless individuals and families; and prevent families and individuals from becoming homeless. 

For more information about the application and funding process, please call Linda Rust at 865-215-2357 or email [email protected].