BOSTON – Massachusetts will receive $6.9 million in grant funding from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) to support affordable housing for extremely low-income persons with disabilities.
Part of $74 million in grant money given to 12 state housing finance agencies across the country, the award will support up to five years of rental assistance for 2,400 housing units currently participating in project rental assistance through HUD’s Section 811 Supportive Housing for Persons with Disabilities program.
“This funding will have a tremendous impact in bringing stability to the lives of some of our most vulnerable citizens,” said David Tille, HUD New England Regional Administrator. “We’re proud to be a partner in providing permanent supportive housing solutions to persons with disabilities here in Massachusetts.”
In a public statement, HUD Secretary Ben Carson said the grants will aid in the Section 811 program’s purpose of ensuring low-income people who suffer from a disability have access to safe, sanitary, accessible, and affordable rental homes, as well as the supportive services they need to live independently.
More than 35,000 households now receive assistance through the program, which also supports increasing the supply of accessible rental housing units for individuals with disabilities by integrating such units within existing, new, or renovated multi-family developments; creating effective, successful, and sustainable partnerships between state housing agencies and state Health and Human Services/Medicaid agencies to provide permanent housing for persons with disabilities; and identifying innovative and replicable ways for using and leveraging Project Rental Assistance funds.
“The Trump Administration has strongly supported our efforts to serve this population, including making $15 million in supplemental funds available under the CARES (Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security) Act to help prevent, prepare for, and respond to coronavirus,” Carson added.
The funds were awarded to state housing agencies that are working closely with their state Medicaid and Health and Human Services counterparts to identify, refer, and conduct outreach to persons with disabilities who also require long-term services to live independently.
Other cities receiving funding include Phoenix, Ariz.; Denver, Colo.; Hartford, Conn.; Chicago, Ill.; Indianapolis, Ind.; Baton Rouge, La.; St. Paul, Minn.; Kansas City, Mo.; Trenton, N.J.; Raleigh, N.C.; and Austin, Texas.
Each state’s housing agency will use the grant money to identify systemic approaches for providing rental assistance to multi-family properties that have units targeted specifically for use by low-income persons with disabilities.
“These awards showcase the critical partnership between HUD and state agencies to reach and support this vulnerable population,” said Assistant Secretary for Housing and Federal Housing Commissioner Dana Wade. “This funding is going directly to those who have the experience and knowledge at the local level to effectively reach those most in need.”
Elyse Carmosino can be reached at [email protected].