Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: TUESDAY, July 11, 1995                   TAG: 9507110077
SECTION: VIRGINIA                    PAGE: C-3   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: LESLIE TAYLOR
DATELINE:                                 LENGTH: Medium

ROANOKE HOMELESS TO GET HELP THROUGH GRANT

The grant - announced in Washington, D.C., by Henry Cisneros, secretary of housing and urban development - comes through a federal initiative called the Continuum of Care Homeless Award program.

Glenn Radcliffe, Roanoke's director of Human Resources, said in a news release the grant will provide 39 homeless disabled people with housing assistance for up to five years. Radcliffe was in Washington on Monday with Neva Smith, director of the housing authority, and representatives of several other Roanoke agencies for an award ceremony.

The City Manager's Task Force on Homelessness - a committee of residents, health and human service providers, clergy and city government representatives - had identified a need for housing for homeless disabled people. Last year, the city, the housing authority and nine community organizations developed a proposal for HUD funding based on the task force's findings.

That proposal was not funded. But the city was notified of the Continuum of Care program, updated its initial proposal and resubmitted it in April.

The city was contacted by HUD last week and asked to send representatives to Monday's ceremony. No details were released until Monday.

The nine organizations that will help implement the assistance program are: the Roanoke Department of Social Services, the Department of Veterans Affairs Medical Center in Salem, Total Action Against Poverty, the Roanoke AIDS Project, Roanoke Area Ministries, the Blue Ridge Independent Living Center, the Roanoke Health Department, Blue Ridge Community Services and Blue Ridge AIDS Support Services.