The Homeless Emergency Assistance and Rapid Transition to Housing (HEARTH) Act of 2009 amended to the McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance Act, revised the Emergency Shelter Grants Program and renamed it to the Emergency Solutions Grants (ESG) program. The ESG Interim Rule took effect on January 4, 2012. The change in the program name reflects the change in focus from addressing the needs of homeless people in emergency or transitional shelters to assisting people to quickly regain stability in permanent housing after experiencing a housing crisis and/or homelessness.

The program provides funding to:

• Engage homeless individuals and families living on the street;
• Improve the number and quality of emergency shelters for homeless individuals and families;
• Help operate these shelters;
• Provide essential services to shelter residents;
• Rapidly re-house homeless individuals and families; and
• Prevent families and individuals from becoming homeless.

ESG funds may be used for these five program components: street outreach, emergency shelter, homelessness prevention, rapid re-housing assistance, Homeless Management Information System (HMIS), as well as up to 7.5% of a recipient’s allocation can be used for administrative activities.

• CPD Appropriations Budget/Allocations – CPD | HUD.gov / U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD)
• Program Laws and Regulations
• Notices
• Special Needs Assistance Programs (SNAPS)-Shots Program Information
• FAQs

• ESG
  • Fact Sheet on Naloxone (Narcan) for CoC, ESG, YHDP and HOPWA Grantees
  • Program Requirements
  • Program Resources
  • ESG-CV Resources
  • Income Limits
  • Planning & Reporting
  • News & Announcements
• HEARTH Act

​Content current as of September 5, 2024.