Emergency Solutions Grant

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The Homeless Emergency Assistance and Rapid Transition to Housing Act of 2009 (HEARTH Act) amended the McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance Act, revising the Emergency Shelter Grants Program in significant ways and renaming it the Emergency Solutions Grants (ESG) program.

Johnson County Community Development has been successfully partnering with local homeless assistance agencies and applying for and administering the ESG grant since 1996. The funds are passed through Kansas Housing Resource Corporation (KHRC) to City and County applicants for program activities including street outreach, emergency shelter, homelessness prevention, rapid re-housing and HMIS, as well as administrative activities.

Once Kansas Housing Resource Corporation publishes the "Notice of Funding Availability", Johnson County sends out a request for "Letters of Intent" to local KS-505 Continuum of Care members. Once all letters of intent have been received by the deadline, a meeting between CoC on Homelessness stakeholders, eligible applicants, and Johnson County staff will be held to discuss the current needs not being met in the community. Once the needs of the community have been prioritized, Johnson County then determines the funding amounts based on those needs and notifies all of the applicants of this determination. Johnson County then collects application materials from interested applicants and compiles all required documents to submit to KHRC by the deadline.

The ESG Interim Rule took effect on Jan. 4, 2012. The second allocation of FY 2011 ESG funding and future years are all subject to the ESG regulations. See the HUD ESG quick reference Guide for more details.

Program Resources

The 2026 Emergency Solutions Grant Application period closed on April 27, 2026. For information on how to apply for the 2027 grant cycle next year, please sign up to be added to the Community Development Distribution List or email cdbg@jocogov.org

Eligible applicants must be private non-profit agencies or Johnson County departments, with a 501(c)3 status, who are active members of the local CoC and current users of Johnson County's Homeless Management Information System, Bitfocus-Clarity or can become a user. 

 

*These are provided as examples, DO NOT use these forms for client documentation. Johnson County will provide the correct forms after all contract documents have been returned. 

Additional forms will be required for ESG Activities for Homeless Prevention and Rapid-Rehousing. See Community Solutions | Kansas Housing Resources Corporation for a full list of forms. 

Johnson County ESG Information

Total 2025 ESG Awarded to Johnson County by Kansas Housing Resource Corporation (KHRC): $95,505.00

  • Johnson County Mental Health Services: $58,992.00 for Street Outreach Services
  • Kansas City Metropolitan Lutheran Ministry: $20,000.00 for Emergency Shelter Services
  • reStart, Inc.: $14,000.00 for Street Outreach Services
  • Johnson County Community Development: $2,513.00 for Administration of the grant

Total 2024 ESG Awarded to Johnson County by Kansas Housing Resource Corporation (KHRC): $78,614.00

  • Johnson County Mental Health Services: $33,950.00 for Street Outreach Services
  • Kansas City Metropolitan Lutheran Ministry: $16,405.00 for Emergency Shelter Services & $1,940.00 for HMIS
  • reStart, Inc.: $24,250.00 for Street Outreach Services
  • Johnson County Community Development: $2,069.00 for Administration of the grant

Total 2023 ESG Awarded to Johnson County by Kansas Housing Resource Corporation (KHRC): $103,713.00

  • Johnson County Mental Health Services: $31,816.50 for Street Outreach Services
  • Kansas City Metropolitan Lutheran Ministry: $11,932.00 for Emergency Shelter Services & $777.86 for HMIS
  • reStart, Inc.: $16,903.00 for Street Outreach Services
  • Safehome, Inc.: $9,943.20 for Emergency Shelter Services
  • Salvation Army: $28,834.00 for Emergency Shelter Services & $777.85 for HMIS
  • Johnson County Community Development: $2,729.32 for Administration of the grant

Total 2022 ESG Awarded to Johnson County by Kansas Housing Resource Corporation (KHRC): $93,598.00

  • Johnson County Mental Health Services: $31,000.00 for Street Outreach Services
  • Kansas City Metropolitan Lutheran Ministry: $$20,596.03 for Emergency Shelter Services & $1,403.97 for HMIS
  • reStart, Inc.: $24,794.00 for Street Outreach Services
  • Safehome, Inc.: $13,340.00 for Emergency Shelter Services
  • Johnson County Community Development: $2,464.00 for Administration of the grant

Total 2021 ESG Awarded to Johnson County by Kansas Housing Resource Corporation (KHRC): $91,405.00

  • Catholic Charities of Northeast Kansas: $10,000.00 for Rapid Re-Housing Services
  • Johnson County Mental Health Services: $26,460.00 for Street Outreach Services
  • Kansas City Metropolitan Lutheran Ministry: $6,660.00 for Emergency Shelter Services & $10,000.00 for Homeless Prevention Services
  • reStart, Inc.: $22,540.00 for Street Outreach Services
  • Safehome, Inc.: $13,340.00 for Emergency Shelter Services
  • Johnson County Community Development: $2,405.00 for Administration of the grant
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