Special to the American
Housing and Urban Development Secretary Alphonso Jackson announced on Wednesday that $2.26 billion in funding through 53 grant opportunities to fight homelessness and create more affordable housing opportunities.
“HUD continues to improve the way we do business with those providing housing and services to the people and places that need it most,” said HUD Secretary Alphonso Jackson.
The grant opportunities are in addition to the $25.3 billion HUD allocates to state and local communities, public housing agencies, and Native-American Tribes in the form of block grants, housing choice vouchers and other formula-based funding.
This year, HUD continues to place a premium on funding local communities and organizations that are working toward removing excessive and burdensome regulations that restrict the development of affordable housing at the local level. Last month, HUD released a report entitled Why Not in Our Community? that found many working families are forced to commute long distances or live in substandard or overcrowded housing because excessive regulations are artificially driving up the cost of housing. To help reverse this trend, HUD will award priority points to certain applicants in communities that can demonstrate successful efforts to reduce regulatory barriers that prevent many families from living in the communities where they work.
In addition, HUD is continuing to make it easier for faith-based grassroots and other community organizations to apply for grants. Applicants are asked to fill out a questionnaire that will help the Department to determine if it is meeting the goal of increasing the participation of these organizations in the its grant programs. For its part, HUD removed unnecessary federal regulations that previously prevented faith- and community-based groups from competing on an equal basis with other applicants seeking grants.
To increase energy efficiency, reduce operating costs, and protect the environment, HUD is also promoting the Energy Star program in its grant programs. In 2002, the Department signed an agreement with the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the Department of Energy (DOE) to promote energy efficiency in HUD’s affordable housing programs, including public housing, FHA-insured housing, and housing financed through HUD formula and competitive programs. Applicants constructing, rehabilitating, or maintaining housing or community facilities are encouraged to promote energy efficiency in design and operations through Energy Star including the installation or replacement of light bulbs, water heaters, furnaces, etc. For further information about Energy Star, visit www.energystar.gov or call 888-782-7937 (8-888-588-9920 TTY).
Small, disadvantaged and women-owned businesses continue to be important partners with HUD. To ensure these applicants can access federal funding, the Department requires grantees to make every effort to contract with these business partners in their HUD-funded programs.