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On March 27, 2013, the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) released a proposed rule that establishes regulations for the Rural Housing Stability Program (RHSP). RHSP was authorized by the Homeless Emergency Assistance and Rapid Transition to Housing (HEARTH) Act that President Obama signed into law on May 20, 2009. The proposed rule also includes a revision to the definition of 'chronically homeless.'

The revised definition of 'chronically homeless' included in the proposed rule is intended to better target persons with the longest histories of homelessness and the highest level of need. HUD previously proposed that those who had been homeless, "on at least four separate occasions in the last 3 years, each separate occasion must be at least 15 days in duration," would qualify as chronically homeless. However, feedback led HUD to revise this definition to better focus on persons with longer homeless occasions. Specifically, the revision removes the provision that each homeless occasion must be at least 15 days and instead states that the "cumulative total of the four occasions is at least one year." 

Public comments on the proposed rule are due on May 28, 2013. Comments may be submitted to HUD by mail or electronic submission.

View the Proposed Rule

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