Investment Supports Innovative MCCH Program ROCKVILLE, Md., Jan. 17 /PRNewswire/ -- More than 1,100 people are homeless everyday in Montgomery County -- many of these are children. Compounding the issue, the shortage of affordable housing and the recent credit crunch have also stressed many families who are already stretched. To help alleviate the issue, the Freddie Mac Foundation is investing $800,000 to support the Montgomery County Coalition for the Homeless' (MCCH) innovative permanent supportive housing program. "Even amid the county's wealth, we have plenty of families who are barely making ends meet, and unfortunately some of them become homeless. This Freddie Mac Foundation grant is important to help us reach those vulnerable families because their well-being affects this whole community," said Sharan London, executive director, MCCH. "Together, we are working to help these families, their children, and this county thrive." "MCCH is doing outstanding work to help end homelessness in Montgomery County. Our investment will help more struggling families have a place to call home. Permanent housing with supportive services is a winning formula, helping stabilize and strengthen families and ensuring that their children face a brighter future," said Ralph F. Boyd, Jr., chairman and CEO, Freddie Mac Foundation. Montgomery County is in the forefront of innovative programs to address issues facing families in crisis. Led by the Montgomery County Coalition for the Homeless, the county is working on eliminating homelessness rather than just managing it. This $800,000 Freddie Mac Foundation investment will help MCCH reach this goal, enabling them to respond to the increasing number of homeless families and returning families to permanent homes more quickly. With this grant, MCCH will expand its program to reach 100 homeless families and approximately 200 children at a time. Throughout 2007, the program served a total of 92 families and 196 children. Specifically, the grant supports MCCH's housing program -- the Partnership for Permanent Housing (PPH), which relocates families directly from homelessness to permanent subsidized housing. This "Housing First" model is an alternative to traditional transitional housing that moves homeless families from shelters to transitional housing with intensive case management for an extended period of time and then to permanent subsidized housing, often without services. In contrast, PPH changes the timing of assistance by combining the case management component of transitional programs with quicker access to permanent housing. The theory behind the model is that vulnerable families are more responsive to social service supports after they are in their own home, rather than while living in temporary or transitional facilities. Family homelessness is a growing problem in the DC area. More than 12,000 people are homeless in the Washington, DC area, and nearly half are children and families. A majority of these families live in the suburbs, including in Montgomery County. Homelessness increases the likelihood that families will dissolve. And, homeless children are more likely to be placed in foster care, are less healthy, experience disruptions in schooling, and are more likely to have developmental delays than other children. Permanent housing and support services -- as offered through MCCH's program -- help stabilize families and prevent these poor results. The Freddie Mac Foundation is dedicated to making home a place where children and families thrive. For more than 15 years, the Foundation has worked to increase family stability and strengthen communities by providing funds for a variety of nonprofit organizations serving children and their families, focusing primarily on metropolitan Washington, DC. A philanthropic leader, the Foundation has helped better the lives of more than 1.7 million children. Created by Freddie Mac in 1991, the Freddie Mac Foundation is dedicated to making home a place where children and families thrive. As the largest corporate funder in the Washington, DC metropolitan area, Freddie Mac and the Freddie Mac Foundation have invested more than $321 million in organizations serving the community. http://www.freddiemacfoundation.org/ The Montgomery County Coalition for the Homeless leads the effort to end homelessness in our community by creating housing options, providing supportive services, and facilitating collaboration, education and advocacy based on the belief that every person is entitled to the dignity of a home. http://www.mcch.net/ DATASOURCE: Freddie Mac Foundation CONTACT: Shawn Flaherty of FMF, +1-703-903-4384; or Sara Mahin of MCCH, +1-301-217-0314, ext. 18 Web site: http://www.freddiemac.com/ http://www.mcch.net/

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