The Tennessee Housing Development Agency (THDA) administers the federally-funded Emergency Shelter Grant (ESG) Program to increase the number and quality of emergency shelters and transitional housing facilities for homeless individuals and families, to operate these facilities and provide essential social services, and to help prevent homelessness.  The purpose of this Program Description is to explain the requirements and the application process for the ESG Program.

ESG funds are awarded on a competitive basis to cities, counties and non-profit organizations outside the CDBG entitlement communities that receive their own ESG funding directly from the U. S. Department of Housing and Urban Development.  The Tennessee entitlement communities that receive their own allocation of ESG funds are Chattanooga, Knoxville, Memphis and Nashville-Davidson County.  An applicant must apply for at least $35,000 and may apply for a maximum of $75,000 in ESG funding.  THDA anticipates an ESG allocation in 2008 of approximately $1.4 million dollars.

Applications for the ESG program must be received by THDA on or before Friday, March 14, 2008.  THDA anticipates notifying successful applicants by the end of May, 2008.  ESG contracts will begin on July 1, 2008 and end on June 30, 2009.

The program description is followed by the application package.  The program description and pdf-fillable application is also available at www.thda.org.  Once at the THDA website, click on COMMUNITY PROGRAMS.  There will be a link for the program description, the application and the application attachments.  If you have questions, call (615) 815-2030.