Housing Solutions for the Southwest has received a $139,910 grant to help homeless families find housing.

The grant supports the Southwest Colorado Transitional Housing Program, which assists 10 to 15 families per year, said program manager Lora Sholes. The families must have children and must be homeless, she said. They often transition from the Southwest Safehouse.

The grant was awarded by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, which gave more than $23 million to support 62 local homeless housing and service programs this year across Colorado. The grants aim to end homelessness by providing critically needed housing and support services to individuals and families experiencing homelessness.

“A safe, stable home is the foundation for opportunity in all of our lives,” HUD Secretary Julián Castro said Tuesday in a news release. “That’s why we’re continuing to challenge communities to deploy proven strategies to help people experiencing homelessness find a place to call home.”

Housing Solutions isn’t guaranteed to receive the grant, Sholes said, but the outcome-based program has proven successful at putting homeless families on the path to independent home living. The program has won a grant for 15 years in a row.

Participants work with a case manager for two years and must meet a series of goals. They pay 30 percent of their income toward housing costs, and the grant subsidizes the rest. The grant also helps pay for supportive services, such as car repairs.

Housing Solutions operates multiple housing-related programs to help people who are struggling to meet their basic housing needs in Archuleta, Dolores, La Plata, Montezuma and San Juan counties.

shane@durangoherald.com