Fund aims to help people with disabilities find affordable housing that meets their needs
The Department of Housing and Urban Development has allotted $24.7 million to provide permanent affordable housing to non-elderly persons with disabilities across the country.
HUD announced Wednesday that it has awarded $24.7 million in housing assistance to 98 local public housing authorities (PHAs) to house up to 2,210 additional families and support community integration for persons with disabilities.
The housing assistance offers funding to housing agencies to assist non-elderly persons with disabilities who are transitioning out of institutional or other isolated settings, at serious risk of institutionalization, homeless, or at risk of becoming homeless. HUD’s mainstream partners (Centers for Independent Living, state protection and advocacy agencies, Medicaid agencies, and Continuums of Care) collaborate with the PHAs to assist with the application and housing search process.
“To help PHAs address rental market conditions that are creating challenges with mainstream leasing, HUD awarded both new vouchers and extraordinary administrative fees,” HUD said in a statement. “The $5 million of extraordinary administrative fees awarded in this round of funding to 88 PHAs can be used to support housing search and leasing up of eligible applicants, in addition to easing costs related to the retention, recruitment, and support of participating owners. This will include security deposits, signing bonuses, vacancy payments, and damage mitigation. All of this will allow PHAs to improve their processes so that families can successfully use their mainstream voucher.”
“People with disabilities deserve access to affordable housing that meets their needs,” said HUD secretary Marcia Fudge. “Today’s funding is an important step forward - one that will help more persons with disabilities serve as fully integrated members of their communities and allow them to live independently and with dignity.”
Can’t keep up with the latest mortgage news? Get exclusive interviews, breaking news, and industry events in your inbox, and always be the first to know by subscribing to our FREE daily newsletter.
