The Champaign County Continuum of Care (CoC) has approved the next round of local applications for Emergency Solutions Grant (ESG) funding. ESG funding flows from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development through the State of Illinois and then to local service providers. As a non-funded member of the CoC, the City of Champaign votes along with other non-funded agencies on a slate of recommendations from the CoC executive committee for local programs in the areas of shelter, homeless prevention and rapid rehousing.
The CoC is responsible for approving any application made to ESG funding. The Executive Committee presented three options to the COC on how to best adjust the funding request to meet available funding levels. The CoC as a whole selected to focus on Emergency Shelter Prioritization. This decision was based on the guiding principle that there are very few funding sources for Emergency Shelter. While not contributing directly to common measurements of ending homeless, the CoC agreed this is a needed service. Accordingly, Emergency Shelters were prioritized and funded at 100% of requested funds, including the new Emergency Shelter for Families program through Regional Planning Commission (with the United Way and Housing Authority of Champaign County). The table below highlights all grants recommended by the CoC that will move forward for the 2016 ESG application cycle.
2016 ESG Funding Recommendations:
| ORGANIZATION | PROJECT NAME | RECOMMENDED FUNDING |
| CCRPC | Emergency Family Shelter with children | $25,000 |
| CCRPC | HMIS | $3,504 |
| CCRPC | ESG HPRP/Supportive Services | $17,932 |
| CCRPC | ESG HPRP/Supportive Services | $10,718 |
| Courage Connection | Housing Stabilization Services | $50,394 |
| Crisis Nursery | Crisis Nursery | $6,240 |
| Community Elements | TIMES Center | $20,507 |
| Amount authorized | $134,295 |