Issue link: http://dsnews.uberflip.com/i/1513140
December 2023 » thefivestar.com 69 December 2023 J O U R N A L housing, including the Youth Homeless- ness Demonstration Program (YHDP), the Foster Youth to Independence (FYI) Initiative, and the Family Unification Program (FUP). In 2023, HUD awarded 62 commu- nities with a package of resources to address homelessness among people in unsheltered settings and in rural areas. This package includes $486 million in grants to 62 Continuums of Care (CoCs) to fund permanent housing programs, homeless outreach and housing naviga- tion, housing-related supportive services, data improvements, and system coordi- nation, as well as $45 million to allocate over 3,300 Stability Vouchers to 135 public housing agencies that are partnering with the 62 CoCs. Stability Vouchers can serve people experiencing or at risk of homelessness, including those fleeing or attempting to flee domestic violence, dating violence, sexual assault, or human trafficking. The technical assistance strategy supports this funding by providing assis- tance, including: » Housing Central Command: A select number of communities will be provided intensive support to imple- ment Housing Central Command, an approach that uses emergency management structure and processes to resolve homeless encampments. » Direct and Peer-to-Peer Technical As- sistance for Grantee Communities Ad- dressing Unsheltered Homelessness: All communities that received grants and vouchers to address unsheltered homelessness will receive a robust package of direct technical assistance, monthly community-to-community knowledge and practice exchange con- venings, and trainings and expertise around specific topics. » Technical Assistance on Use of Stability Vouchers to Assist People Experiencing Homelessness: HUD will provide the 135 PHAs and their partners with a series of webinars to support the use of Stability Vouchers to assist people experiencing home- lessness. » Tailored and Direct Technical As- sistance to Grantees Communities Addressing Rural Homelessness. » Federal Interagency Support with the United States Interagency Council on Homelessness (USICH) to ensure that all grantee communities are leveraging other federal programs and resources to support their efforts. FANNIE MAE: INFLATION TO BLAME FOR WEAKENING HOMEBUYER SENTIMENT? T he Fannie Mae Home Pur- chase Sentiment Index (HPSI) remained largely flat in October as consumer frustration toward housing unaffordability and an economy battling inflation continued to depress overall sentiment. Despite improvement in the share of consumers expressing greater job secu- rity and improved household income, an astounding 78% of respondents believe the economy is on the "wrong track," up 7 percentage points from last month, with the vast majority once again pointing to inflation as the top reason for that belief. A survey-record 85% of consumers indicated that it's a "bad time" to buy a home, with most respondents citing high home prices and high mortgage rates as the primary reasons. By comparison, only 37% believe it's a "bad time" to sell a home. Overall, the full index is up 8.2 points from its all-time low last year. "Consumers expressed even greater pessimism toward the larger economy this month, in addition to their ongoing frustration with the housing market," said Doug Duncan, Fannie Mae Senior VP and Chief Economist. "Via our October National Housing Survey, 78% of respondents told us the economy is on the 'wrong track'—up from 71% last month—and they overwhelmingly cited inflation as the primary reason why. Across all income groups, inflation has consistently driven the 'wrong track' be- lief since the end of last year, suggesting "Consumers expressed even greater pessimism toward the larger economy this month, in addition to their ongoing frustration with the housing market." —Doug Duncan, Senior VP and Chief Economist, Fannie Mae