Delay in Federal Grants Hits Fla. Homeless Charities Hard

Nonprofit groups that provide services to Central Florida’s homeless are under severe financial pressure because of an unprecedented delay in receiving federal funds, reports the Orlando Sentinel.

Grants that were announced by the federal government on March 8 may not be distributed until September, the newspaper says. “By this time in years past, all of that money should have been distributed,” according to Cathy Jackson, executive director of the Homeless Services Network of Central Florida.

Regulatory changes made by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, are responsible for the delay, says the Sentinel. Some nonprofit leaders say that unless they get help in the next month, hundreds of individuals and families will be back on the streets.