On February 17, 2009, President Obama signed the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009, which includes $1.5 billion for a Homelessness Prevention Fund. Funding for this program, called the Homelessness Prevention and Rapid Re-Housing Program (HPRP), is being distributed based on the formula used for the Emergency Shelter Grants (ESG) program.

Equipped with $1.5 billion of the nearly $800 billion stimulus package, the HPRP started giving out funds in October that some experts believe will help an estimated 600,000 Americans avoid homelessness. The program helps people pay security deposits, utility bills, moving bills and rent checks to either avoid eviction or move from transitional housing into their own apartments. The assistance lasts from three to 18 months. People on the verge of homelessness did not qualify for federal assistance previously, says Housing and Urban Development spokesman Brian Sullivan. "The focus is on people who can get right back in the workforce."

Soup kitchens and shelters are the traditional ways society has looked after the homeless. But homeless advocates argue that making sure people can continue to afford housing is the central issue. Services not connected to housing do little good, Free lunches provided by the middle and upper class make people feel better, but where are the lunches the next day? Haiti is a sad reminder that having a place to live is the basis for everything else - for employment, for keeping kids in school, for your health and for your well-being. In the past, our homeless system did not do much about housing except offer temporary shelter.

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