Menendez, Lautenberg Announce Over $23 Million for NJ Housing Programs

Washington - U.S. Senators Robert Menendez (D-NJ) and Frank R. Lautenberg (D-NJ) today announced that counties and municipalities across New Jersey will receive more than $23.2 million from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) for various housing and economic development programs.

The first set of HUD grants are designed to provide local communities with resources to develop affordable housing and emergency shelter for low to moderate-income families as well as create economic opportunities. They include:the Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) program, the HOME Investment Partnership, the Housing Opportunities for Persons With AIDS (HOPWA) program and the Emergency Shelter Grants (ESG) program.

"These critical investments are revitalizing our communities while creating new opportunities for New Jersey families," said Menendez, Chairman of the Subcommittee on Housing, Transportation and Community Development. "And I will continue fighting to secure this funding which helps ensure New Jerseyans, especially the most vulnerable, have access to housing within their means."

"These federal grantswillhelpfamilies throughoutNewJersey find affordable housingand receive vital community services,"said Lautenberg, a member of the Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on Transportation, Housing andUrban Development, which funds these programs. "Affordable, safe housing is the cornerstone of our neighborhoods, and this federal funding will help New Jerseyans find and maintain good places to live and raise their families."

Additional grants will be awarded through HUD's Housing Choice Voucher and HUD's Public and Indian Housing Family Self Sufficiency (HCV-FSS) programs which help HUD-assisted renters achieve economic independence by providing services such as child care, transportation, education, job training, substance/alcohol abuse counseling, household skill training, and homeownership counseling.

"I applaud these investments which will pay dividends as we increase the number of New Jerseyans who have a roof over their head, are able to find and keep employment, earn a living wage, pay rent and provide for their families," said Menendez. "In these tough economic times, we must make sure New Jerseyans have the tools they need to get - and stay - on their feet."

"This funding will help to create new opportunities where New Jerseyans needthemmost,"said Lautenberg. "Iwill continue fighting toprovide critical assistance to families and individuals, so theycan findwork, care for their families, and improve their lives."

A breakdown of the funding is below.

A total of $20,940,977 million through four HUD initiatives (The Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) Program, HOME Investment Partnership, Housing Opportunities for Persons With AIDS (HOPWA), Emergency Shelter Grants (ESG) program) will be distributed as follows:

A total of $375,676has been awarded as follows through HUD's Indian Housing Family Self-Sufficiency (PH-FSS) program to help the ROSS Service Coordinator program hire and maintain Service Coordinators who will assess the needs of residents of conventional public housing or Indian housing and coordinate available resources in the community to meet those needs. These services enable participating families to increase earned income, reduce or eliminate the need for social service agency assistance, make progress toward achieving economic independence and housing self-sufficiency, or, in the case of elderly or disabled residents, help improve living conditions and enable residents to age-in-place.

A total of $1,962,981 million has been awarded to the below recipients through HUD's Housing Choice Voucher Family Self Sufficiency (HCV-FSS) program. This funding will help finance local organizations in their efforts to help families obtain employment in order to achieve economic independence and self sufficiency. By working with public housing agencies (PHAs), social service agencies, schools, businesses, and other local partners will develop a comprehensive program to give participating FSS family members the skills and experience needed to obtain employment that pays a living wage.

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