Emergency Shelter Grants Program (ESGP)
ESGP is a competitive grant which provides funds to nonprofit organizations and units of general government for activities relating to shelter and services for homeless persons and the prevention of homelessness. Funding is awarded annually, with grants from $30,000 to $100,000, contracted September through August. 2005 applications are due March 1, 2005.
Applications for FY 2005 are now available from the Texas Department of Housing and Community Affairs (TDHCA) on their website, www.tdhca.state.tx.us or by calling (512) 475-3950. An information workshop will be held in Austin on January 13, 2005 to assist interested parties prepare their 2005 application. Eligible activities for ESGP funding include the rehabilitation of buildings for use as emergency shelters for the homeless; the provision of essential social services; general operation expenses and certain administrative costs; and the development and implementation of homelessness prevention activities.
Homelessness Prevention activities funded with ESGP grants:

1. Short-term subsidies to help defray rent and utility arrearages for families that have received a notice of eviction, termination of utility services, or transfer to Provider of Last Resort (POLR);
2. Security deposits or first month’s rent to enable a homeless family (or individuals in emergency/ transitional housing) to acquire permanent housing;
3. Programs to provide mediation for landlord/tenant disputes;
4. Programs to provide legal services for the representation of indigent tenants in eviction proceedings;
5. Payments to prevent foreclosure on a home; and,
6. Other innovative programs and activities designed to prevent the incidence of homelessness

Mental Health Services Initiative
The Hogg Foundation for Mental Health is pleased to announce a Special Mental Health Services Initiative (SMHSI) that seeks proposals from non-profit mental health organizations (public and private) that are currently providing direct mental health services to children, adults, or families. We anticipate that grants will range up to $100,000 for one year. The goal of the Request For Proposals (RFP) is to provide short-term financial support for direct service delivery in a period of declining and uncertain funding. Where collaboration between service providers will increase services, we encourage joint proposals. Technical assistance will be provided to mental health organizations interested in completing proposals in response to this RFP.

Proposals are due no later than January 31, 2005. Proposals postmarked after this date will not be considered for funding.

Funding is available for direct services through one-time grant allocations to existing non-profit (*public and private) mental health organizations. Funds will be allocated on a regional basis in an effort to reach and support mental health services throughout the state. Approximately $500,000 will be available for each of seven regions of the state.

Additionally funds of approximately $1.5 million will be earmarked for Houston/Harris County in accord with the intent of the Hogg family. Grants provided to applicants Houston/Harris county must focus on direct mental health services to children and families. All grant applications will be evaluated on the strength of their plans for maintaining, restoring, or refocusing direct services to specific target populations of consumers in Texas.

Building Bridges in a Unique Time of Need
Recent policy changes and reductions in available state funding have created significant pressures on local public and private non-profit mental health organizations and services. One source of pressure has been the requirement that public mental health organizations reduce their operating budgets throughout the state, while other non-profits have seen reductions in Medicaid rates or loss/reduction of CHIP mental health benefits. This pressure continues, with additional reductions in mental health expenditures anticipated for the 2005-2007 biennium. To date, few of these local mental health organization shave been able to replace state dollars to maintain service levels. Budgetary reductions have led to a decrease in the amount of clinical services available, and private non-profit mental health agencies have not been able to meet the demand for replacement services.
A second source of pressure has been the reallocation and redistribution of public mental health services by the legislative designation of specific diagnoses (bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, and clinically sever depression) fall outside the priority population and will receive publicly-funded services only when they are in crisis or when service providers have surplus funds. News articles and public commentary in a number of cities and rural areas have raised concerns over this new pattern of service provision, particularly where major decreases have occurred in the quantity of clinical services available.

Eligible Expenditures and Organizations

• Funding will be available statewide, including rural and urban areas, with efforts made to ensure that each region of the state receives funding;
• Public and private non-profit organizations that provide direct mental health services for DSM-IV diagnoses are encouraged to apply; examples of organizations include local school systems, community mental health centers, child guidance clinics, hospitals, criminal justice (adult and juvenile);
• Only non-profit mental health organizations that are exempt under Section 501C(3) of the IRS code, governmental agencies, or institutions of higher learning are eligible for funding; individuals are not eligible for support;
• Collaborative proposals between service providers that are designed to increase service quality at lower cost are encouraged;
• Funding is available for staff salaries, benefits, and service program costs;
• Funding is not available for indirect/administrative costs;
• Funding is not available for capital improvements or equipment;
• Funding is not available for travel to professional meetings, campaigns, or endowments.

Please note that mental health programs will innovative proposals meetings existing Hogg Foundation criteria for regular grant funding are encouraged to apply for funding through the standard application process found at www.hogg.utexas.edu.

Proposals sent by mail should be addressed to: