Aurora announces funding opportunities for those assisting with housing, opioid use disorder

Chicago Tribune

04-03-2025

The city of Aurora announced Monday that it is now offering specialized funding opportunities for organizations that assist with housing or address opioid use disorder.
Aurora's Community Development Division has made available five different funding opportunities, ranging from grants to partnerships with the city, all of which must be applied for before 5 p.m. March 28, according to a news release from the city.
City officials 'highly suggested' those who apply to do so before the deadline, and also said that a pre-application meeting is required to be considered for funding.
The first funding opportunity, the City of Aurora Opioid Use Disorder Grant, offers organizations between $25,000 and $100,000 for eligible activities related to providing assistance to those experiencing opioid use disorder, officials said in the city news release. The funds for this grant come from an opioid settlement the city received after a state lawsuit against opioid distributors, manufacturers and dispensers, the release said.
The second funding opportunity is for agencies that provide U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, or HUD, certified housing counseling services, according to the news release. It said that the city has put out a Request for Qualification, also called an RFQ, for such an agency that could assist the city in providing homebuyer counseling services for the city's downpayment assistance program, with funding not expected to be more than $10,000.
For the third funding opportunity, Aurora is looking to partner with nonprofit organizations to preserve and expand affordable housing projects in the city, but qualifying organizations must be designated as, or be interested in becoming, a HUD Community Housing Development Organization, officials said in the release. Funding for this opportunity is expected to range from $100,000 to $500,000.
For both the fourth and fifth funding opportunities, the city is looking to partner with organizations with strong ties to landlords to create housing placement programs for Aurora residents who typically experience barriers to housing, according to the news release.
The Tenant Placement Assistance Program, which is the fourth funding opportunity, would see the city providing funding for client application fees, security deposits and, in some cases, upfront single-time payments or other incentives for housing residents, officials said in the news release. Funding for this opportunity would be between $50,000 and $100,000.
The fifth funding opportunity would be to house residents making 30% to 50% of the area median income who would pay no more than 30% of their gross income toward their rent, with the city paying the rest through a grant, the news release said. Funding for this opportunity would range from $100,000 to $500,000.
Applications are now available for all five funding opportunities, and they can be downloaded along with their specific guidelines at www.aurora.il.us/Property-and-Business/Development/Community-Development.