Key West The Newspaper - November 30, 2001

Outreach Coalition Gets Matching Grant From HUD

The U.S. Department of Housing & Urban Development has awarded the Florida Keys Outreach Coalition a $175,000 matching grant to provide supportive services to the homeless here. That's part of more than $1 billion awarded nationwide and $57 million in Florida.

The Florida Keys Outreach Coalition, which operates transitional housing for homeless men, single women and women with children, was the only Monroe County agency to receive an award. The Coalition's Sun Houses program provides housing for up to two years to clients overcoming homelessness.

Responding to news of the award, Rev. Stephen E. Braddock, Executive Director of the Florida Keys Outreach Coalition, said "I'm delighted, this could not have come at a more needed time as we strive to meet increasing needs in th wake of the events of September 11. Many social-service agencies in Monroe County have experienced painful budgetary cuts over recent weeks."

But the fundraising work for Braddock is not over, "This grant requires a 25 percent match, which means we need to demonstrate to HUD that an additional $44,000 can be secured here at home from city and county governments, the business community and private donors."

Receiving $4 in federal funds for every $1 raised locally is a challenge Braddock is eager to take on, "This is a generous and caring community, people respond when the cause is just," he said.

Now in its tenth year of service in Monroe County, the Coalition's President, Nancy Rossell, believes the organizations success is due to the fact that they offer the homeless a hand-up, not a hand-out," she said.

Info: 293-0641.