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The Emergency Solutions Grant (ESG) program is a component of the State’s Continuum of Care system designed to alleviate homelessness in Oklahoma. ESG programs enable homeless individuals and families to move toward independent living by providing emergency housing, supportive services, eviction prevention and housing assistance. ESG funds are provided by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) on an annual basis and administered by the Oklahoma Department of Commerce. The Oklahoma Department of Commerce provides ESG grants to nonprofits that provide direct services in their communities in rural Oklahoma and does not provide direct homeless services from our office. To locate the community service provider closest to you, click on this map and contact those organizations directly to request assistance. The general goals of this funding are consistent with those established by HUD and are intended to benefit people with low to moderate income:
- Provide decent housing
- Provide a suitable living environment
- Expand economic opportunities
Are you an Individual Needing Emergency Shelter, Rental or Utility Assistance?
The Oklahoma Department of Commerce provides ESG grants to nonprofits who provide direct services in their communities in rural Oklahoma and does not provide direct homeless services from our office. ESG provides assistance through community service providers for those who are about to lose their housing and those who are literally homeless. The funded organizations work to help the family or individual as quickly as possible. To locate the community service provider closest to you, click on this map and contact those organizations directly to request assistance.
Emergency Solutions Grants (ESG) Subrecipient Implementation
The Oklahoma Department of Commerce provides ESG funding from the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) to private nonprofits outside of Oklahoma City and the City of Tulsa that provide shelter and housing services to the homeless or those at-risk of losing their housing.
Guidance
General ESG Forms
Required ESG Client File Documents
Effective October 1, 2024, all Subrecipients of the Emergency Solutions Grant (ESG) from the Oklahoma Department of Commerce (Commerce) are required to exclusively use the forms listed and linked below.
While forms mandated by the Continuum of Care (CoC) or your agency but not included in the ESG24 Client File Checklist may still be used, Commerce ESG Subrecipients will no longer be permitted to use their own agency-specific forms for any documents included in the ESG24 Client File Checklist—with the exception of those italicized on the checklist. Compliance with this requirement will be verified during monitoring.
Standardized and Translated Forms
In accordance with the Four Factor Analysis outlined in Commerce’s Language Access Plan, all Emergency Solutions Grant (ESG) Subrecipients across the state are required to offer ESG vital documents—which include all documents clients must complete to qualify for and receive ESG services, as well as those Subrecipients must keep in client files—translated into Spanish.
Additionally, Subrecipients within Payne and Cleveland counties are required to offer ESG vital documents in Chinese, while Subrecipients within Canadian and Cleveland counties are required to offer ESG vital documents in Vietnamese.
Refer to the ESG25 Client File Checklist the specific documents each ESG25 client file must contain.
ESG Forms
Training Videos
Assistance
Technical assistance for ESG Subrecipients is available upon request. Contact Edith McKinley at Edith.McKinley@okcommerce.gov or 405-213-7960.
Are you a Nonprofit Wishing to Apply For/Manage ESG Funds?
Eligibility
Organizations applying for ESG funds independently or through eligible sponsors are required to be members of their local Continuum of Care and must either already participate in collecting client data or be ready to start collecting client data using the Continuum’s HMIS (Homelessness Management Information System).
Service providers interested in applying must meet one of the following options:
- Sponsored – Private nonprofits seeking ESG funds for the first time must be sponsored.
- Unsponsored – Private nonprofits with yearly independent audits and no major findings may independently apply for an ESG grant.
Sponsorships may be obtained from either a unit of general local government or the Community Action Agency (CAA) operating in that jurisdiction. After the first funded program year, a nonprofit that meets the requirements for an unsponsored application may request permission from Commerce to apply for ESG funding independently.
More detailed ESG threshold requirements and eligible activities can be found here:
For more information about when and how to apply for/manage ESG funds, please contact Jessica Izquierdo at Jessica.Izquierdo@okcommerce.gov or 405-534-6814.
Application
The ESG24 Application will be available in OKGrants from April 1, 2024 through May 31, 2024 for the nonprofits that attend the March 28, 2024 Mandatory ESG24 Application Workshop.
All grant applications must be submitted through OKGrants.
Register for the workshop here: https://okcommerce.zoomgov.com/webinar/register/WN_ei8wwe4CRweQZiOJNhI5dQ
NOTE: This workshop is not for those needing rental/utility assistance or shelter. To locate a community service provider closest to you, click on this map and contact those organizations directly to request assistance.
Join the Housing Assistance Program Alerts mailing list for ESG program updates and Governor’s Interagency Council on Homelessness meeting notices.