General Instructions:

Please note:  Applicants MUST have prior approval of Office of Supportive Housing & Homeless Initiatives (SH&HI); AND the proposed project must be inspected by MSHDA prior to submitting application. Applications for Homeless Facilities Grant must be submitted by downloading the Word document below.

(MSHDA will schedule the inspection if initial requirements are met.) 

Contact your regionally assigned Homeless Assistance (HA) Specialist to discuss your agency’s potential project.  If you do not know who your HA Specialist is, please contact the SH&HI office at 517-241-1609 and/or refer to the regional map.

Homeless Facilities Grants are available to Michigan 501(c)(3) nonprofit agencies and local units of government that serve persons experiencing homelessness through a shelter or transitional housing facility. 

Homeless Facilities Grant resources are intended for the rehabilitation of a facility to house persons experiencing homelessness. MSHDA does NOT accept applications for the acquisition or new construction of shelters or for major rehabilitation and/or additions to shelters.  If, however, you are currently operating a shelter and want to sell/relocate to a structure in better condition, contact your Homeless Assistance Specialist.

The maximum grant amount is $50,000 with dollar-for-dollar leveraging of project-specific costs required. 

For projects over $10,000, MSHDA will place a 10-year lien against the property for the amount of the assistance awarded.

Additionally applicants must:

Have at least one full year’s history of serving homeless populations (as defined by HUD). See definition below.

Be participating in their community-wide Continuum of Care (CoC) and the CoC must support the project.

Own the facility or be leased to the applicant for a period of at least 10 years.

HUD Definition:

To be eligible for Homeless Facilities funding, the applicant and its proposed programs or services must serve homeless persons as defined by the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD).

 Homeless persons are defined by HUD as those who are sleeping in places not meant for human habitation, such as cars, parks, sidewalks, and abandoned buildings, or those who are sleeping in an emergency shelter as a primary nighttime residence.  Persons may also be considered as homeless if they:

• Are living in transitional or supportive housing for homeless persons but originally came from the streets or emergency shelters;
•  Ordinarily sleep in transitional or supportive housing for homeless persons but are spending a short time (30 consecutive days or less) in a hospital or other institution;
• Are being discharged within a week from institutions in which they have been residents for more than 30 consecutive days and no subsequent residences have been identified and they lack resources and supportive networks needed to obtain access to housing;
•  Are fleeing from domestic violence and no subsequent residences have been identified and they lack resources and supportive networks needed to obtain access to housing; or
•  Are being evicted within a week from private dwelling units and no subsequent residences have been identified and they lack resources and supportive networks needed to obtain access to housing.