I 
117TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION H. R. 5785 
To require the Secretary of Housing and Urban Development to improve 
services for survivors of domestic violence, dating violence, sexual assault, 
or stalking and their families. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
OCTOBER 28, 2021 
Mr. O’HALLERAN (for himself and Mrs. WAGNER) introduced the following 
bill; which was referred to the Committee on Financial Services 
A BILL 
To require the Secretary of Housing and Urban Development 
to improve services for survivors of domestic violence, 
dating violence, sexual assault, or stalking and their fam-
ilies. 
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Help End Abusive Liv-
ing Situations Act’’ or the ‘‘HEALS Act’’. 
SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS. 
In this Act— 
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(1) the terms ‘‘dating violence’’, ‘‘domestic vio-
lence’’, ‘‘sexual assault’’, and ‘‘stalking’’ have the 
meanings given those terms in section 40002(a) of 
the Violence Against Women Act of 1994 (34 U.S.C. 
12291(a)); 
(2) the term ‘‘Secretary’’ means the Secretary 
of Housing and Urban Development; 
(3) the term ‘‘victim service provider’’ has the 
meaning given the term in section 401 of the 
McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance Act (42 
U.S.C. 11360); and 
(4) the term ‘‘victim service provider project’’ 
means a project administered by a victim service 
provider designed to meet the needs of survivors of 
domestic violence, dating violence, sexual assault, or 
stalking and their families. 
SEC. 3. STRENGTHENING HOUSING RESOURCES PROTEC-
TIONS FOR SURVIVORS OF DOMESTIC VIO-
LENCE, DATING VIOLENCE, SEXUAL ASSAULT, 
OR STALKING. 
(a) NOTICE OF FUNDING AVAILABILITY.—Subtitle C 
of title IV of the McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance 
Act (42 U.S.C. 11360 et seq.) is amended— 
(1) in section 422 (42 U.S.C. 11382)— 
(A) in subsection (a)— 
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(i) by striking ‘‘The Secretary’’ and 
inserting the following: 
‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary’’; and 
(ii) by adding at the end the fol-
lowing: 
‘‘(2) SCORING.—For purposes of scoring appli-
cants in the notice of funding availability, the Sec-
retary shall neither prioritize nor deprioritize the fol-
lowing categories of projects solely on the basis of 
the category: 
‘‘(A) Rapid re-housing. 
‘‘(B) Permanent supportive housing. 
‘‘(C) Transitional housing. 
‘‘(D) Short-term emergency shelter.’’; and 
(2) 
in 
section 
428(d)(2) 
(42 
U.S.C. 
11386b(d)(2))— 
(A) in subparagraph (B), by striking 
‘‘and’’ at the end; 
(B) by redesignating subparagraph (C) as 
subparagraph (D); and 
(C) by inserting after subparagraph (B) 
the following: 
‘‘(C) transitional housing for various popu-
lations, including, for survivors of domestic vio-
lence, dating violence, sexual assault, or stalk-
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ing and their families, projects providing transi-
tional or permanent housing that provide trau-
ma-informed services, maximize client choice, 
and address the special needs of those sur-
vivors; and’’. 
(b) STRATEGIC PLAN.—In the next strategic plan re-
quired after the date of enactment of this Act under sec-
tion 306 of title 5, United States Code, the Secretary shall 
include as a goal or objective— 
(1) responding, including allocating appropriate 
resources, to the housing needs of survivors of do-
mestic violence, dating violence, sexual assault, or 
stalking and their families; and 
(2) collaborating with the Office of Violence 
Against Women of the Department of Justice to en-
sure that there is no conflict between the rapid re- 
housing requirements of that Office and of the De-
partment of Housing and Urban Development. 
(c) EVALUATION.—Not later than 180 days after the 
date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary shall de-
velop— 
(1) in accordance with the selection criteria 
under section 427(b)(1) of the McKinney-Vento 
Homeless Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. 11386a(b)(1)), 
as amended by section 4, measurable criteria upon 
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which applicants for a grant under section subtitle 
C of title IV of that Act (42 U.S.C. 11381 et seq.) 
are evaluated to demonstrate their local policy prior-
ities focused on survivors of domestic violence, dat-
ing violence, sexual assault, or stalking and their 
families, including survivor-centered coordinated 
entry processes that appropriately assess and 
prioritize those survivors and take into account the 
safety and confidentiality needs of those survivors 
and their families; and 
(2) mechanisms that promote the provision of 
technical assistance and support for programs to im-
prove outcomes and maintain grant funding. 
(d) RESEARCH AGENDA.—Not later than 180 days 
after the date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary shall 
develop a research agenda that— 
(1) works and collaborates with the Family Vio-
lence Prevention and Services Program of the De-
partment of Health and Human Services and the 
Office of Violence Against Women of the Depart-
ment of Justice; and 
(2) focuses on survivors of domestic violence, 
dating violence, sexual assault, or stalking and their 
families, concentrating on the housing modalities 
that best support them and the mechanisms that 
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best facilitate their efforts to secure housing, while 
also paying attention to the critical safety concerns 
and the link between trauma and residential sta-
bility. 
SEC. 4. INCREASING ACCESS TO SAFE SHELTER FOR SUR-
VIVORS OF DOMESTIC VIOLENCE, DATING VI-
OLENCE, SEXUAL ASSAULT, OR STALKING. 
Section 427 of the McKinney-Vento Homeless Assist-
ance Act (42 U.S.C. 11386a) is amended— 
(1) in subsection (b)(1)— 
(A) in subparagraph (B)(iv)(I), by insert-
ing ‘‘, including survivors of domestic violence, 
dating violence, sexual assault, or stalking and 
their families’’ after ‘‘subpopulations’’; 
(B) in subparagraph (C)— 
(i) in clause (iii), by striking ‘‘and’’ at 
the end; 
(ii) in clause (iv), by adding ‘‘and’’ at 
the end; and 
(iii) by adding at the end the fol-
lowing: 
‘‘(v) meets the safety and trauma 
needs of survivors of domestic violence, 
dating violence, sexual assault, or stalking 
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and their families, including access to safe 
shelter;’’; 
(C) in subparagraph (F)(ii), by striking 
‘‘and’’ at the end; 
(D) by redesignating subparagraph (G) as 
subparagraph (H); and 
(E) by inserting after subparagraph (F) 
the following: 
‘‘(G) the extent to which the assistance to 
be provided within the geographic area will 
meet the safety and trauma needs of survivors 
of domestic violence, dating violence, sexual as-
sault, or stalking and their families, including 
access to safe shelter; and’’; and 
(2) by adding at the end the following: 
‘‘(d) EQUAL
CONSIDERATION
OF
TRANSITIONAL 
HOUSING PROJECTS.—In awarding funds to recipients 
under this subtitle, the Secretary shall consider transi-
tional housing projects on an even basis with any other 
project of a qualified applicant.’’. 
SEC. 5. REPORT TO CONGRESS. 
Not later than 1 year after the date of enactment 
of this Act, the Secretary shall submit to Congress a re-
port on— 
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(1) the trends in allocating resources beginning 
after the date of enactment of the Homeless Emer-
gency Assistance and Rapid Transition to Housing 
Act of 2009 (Public Law 111–22; 123 Stat. 1663) 
to address the housing needs of survivors of domes-
tic violence, dating violence, sexual assault, or stalk-
ing and their families; and 
(2) the increase in the effectiveness of those re-
sources for promoting self-sufficiency and assisting 
survivors in finding employment beginning after the 
date of enactment of this Act. 
Æ 
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