Latest news with #CommunityDevelopmentBlockGrant
Dominion Post
a day ago
- Business
- Dominion Post
Greenmont greenspace: Funds funneled to neighborhood park
MORGANTOWN — The city of Morgantown is utilizing federal funding sources to continue revitalization efforts in lower Greenmont. Between American Rescue Plan Act dollars already allocated and largely spent, a forthcoming $2 million congressional earmark and some $790,000 in Community Development Block Grant funds, the city has identified more than $3.3 million for the dilapidated section of the city's oldest neighborhood – a relatively small area between Brockway Avenue and Deckers Creek. Of the $470,309 in CDBG funds the city will receive in the current fiscal year, $236,248 will support the creation of a lower Greenmont neighborhood park. Further, the city is in the process of redirecting unspent funds from its 2019 ($24,327), 2020 ($4,914), 2023 ($242,860) and 2024 ($281,406) CDBG spending plans into lower Greenmont. CDBG is a program through which the U.S. Department of Housing & Urban Development provides direct funding to entitlement communities using a formula based on factors like poverty rate, housing conditions and population. Morgantown Communications Director Brad Riffee explained how those funds will be used. 'The two new CDBG funded projects include the development of a new public park within the floodplain along Deckers Creek and the reconstruction of Pennsylvania Avenue and Deckers Creek Avenue along the frontage of the proposed park,' he said. 'Both new projects meet the CDBG program's national objective to principally benefit low-to-moderate income residents on an area basis.' Riffee went on to explain that the $2 million in congressionally directed spending the city was awarded last fall for blight removal, demolition and development in the area is still expected, but not likely to arrive in the near future due to the process required to release those funds. The city initially hoped to have that money available by spring of this year. 'We have been actively planning for the use of these funds. The Morgantown Land Reuse & Preservation Agency has been developing a project plan that includes land acquisition, demolition of dilapidated structures and the creation of green space and accessible housing,' Riffee said. Half of the $2 million earmark will be used for the production and/or preservation of affordable housing through property acquisition, rehabilitation and/or construction. The other half will be split between the elimination of slum and blighting conditions ($650,000) and property acquisition, clearance and remediation ($350,000). The money will provide a significant boost to the efforts initiated by the city through the allocation of $600,000 in ARPA money to its Land Reuse and Preservation Agency. The agency has used that money to acquire a number of properties, primarily along Pennsylvania Avenue. Some of those properties are small, empty parcels; others include dilapidated structures identified by the neighborhood as magnets for unwanted activity. Earlier this month, Morgantown City Council approved a $60,500 contract with Reclaim Company to raze three of those structures located at 570 and 635 Pennsylvania Avenue and 637 Brockway Avenue.
Politico
29-07-2025
- Business
- Politico
Senate Banking advances first large, bipartisan housing package in a decade
The Senate Banking Committee unanimously advanced landmark housing legislation on Tuesday, marking a rare area of overwhelming bipartisanship in a divided Congress. The Renewing Opportunity in the American Dream to Housing Act of 2025, sponsored by Chair Tim Scott (R-S.C.) and ranking member Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.), includes proposals that aim to expand and preserve the housing supply, improve housing affordability and access, advance accountability and fiscal responsibility, and improve oversight and program integrity. 'Many people around the country, frustrated with the way we do American politics, wonder, is there any issue that brings this nation together? And I'm here to say hallelujah! We have found one. It is housing,' Scott said before the panel advanced the bill by a 24-0 vote. The legislation directs the Department of Housing and Urban Development to create a new grant and loan program for qualifying homeowners and small landlords to address home repairs and health hazards, develop best practice frameworks for zoning and land-use policies and create a pilot program to incentivize housing development of all kinds in Community Development Block Grant participating jurisdictions, among other actions. Those asks come as the Trump administration is pushing for deep staff and budget cuts at HUD. 'There are new programs here that should operate more directly with the states and local communities so that we're not at the mercy of a stripped down HUD. But I worry about HUD being under resourced to meet its current obligations, much less to take on more,' Warren said in an interview following the markup. Members on both sides of the aisle acknowledged issues with HUD, but said it was important to get something done to improve what many view as a growing housing crisis. The bill received support from a broad range of groups representing the real estate industry, home builders, mortgage bankers, affordable housing organizations and local governments. 'You have to start someplace. And part of it is to upgrade and to modernize a number of the issues that are causing us problems,' said Sen. Mike Rounds (R-S.D.) in an interview on Monday. Some members who have been working on parts of the bill for years acknowledged the potential impact of substantial cuts at HUD.
Yahoo
18-07-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Milwaukee Youth Council focusing on 'underappreciated' issues of homelessness, suicide
The Milwaukee Youth Council is trying to take at least a step toward addressing two problems that are often hard to identify — youth homelessness and thoughts of suicide. And although $160,000 isn't a huge amount of money, the Youth Council decided this week to divide the money in half, with one half going to two local agencies to work on youth homelessness and the other half going to two other local agencies to work on suicide prevention. Youth Council member Corbeau Martin Caldwell said he hoped the money would help tackle 'underappreciated issues in the community.' The money comes from $160,000 under the Community Development Block Grant program, and is intended to help youths aged 11 to 21. The plan will go before the Milwaukee Common Council for approval on July 31, according to City Clerk Jim Owczarski. Under the plan, Walkers Point Youth and Family Center and the Hmong American Friendship Association will focus on youth homeless intervention. Pathfinders Association and Silver Spring Neighborhood Center will focus on suicide prevention. Each will get $40,000. The homelessness issue can be particularly tricky. 'Youth homelessness isn't just you're living out in the street,' Martin Caldwell said. 'You could be living in a car. You could be living in a relative's house. There are so many different ways that housing instability manifests itself in Milwaukee.' The city's homeless population decreased by 17% last year, according to point-in-time data from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, which measures homelessness on a single night each year. However, youth homelessness is harder to measure and identify. According to Pathfinders, about 12,000 young people ages 10-24 in Milwaukee County experience homelessness every year. This estimate is based on national data from Chapin Hall at the University of Chicago and U.S Census Bureau. Tim Baack, president and CEO of Pathfinders Association, said it's harder to track youth homelessness because it doesn't manifest itself in typical ways, like living on the street or encampments or makeshift shelters. 'The reality is our young people will not be found in encampments. Just because the problem is invisible that doesn't mean it isn't there,' Baack said. Young people experiencing homelessness might live with friends or other family members, engaging in 'couch surfing' or 'house hopping.' They may find temporary housing, Baack said, but they are at risk of exploitation and don't have a long-term solution. 'It may keep them off the streets temporarily, but often the conditions in which they're living under are incredibly unsafe,' Baack said. Vulnerable youth can't keep pace with inflation costs Youth homelessness can happen for a myriad of reasons, but Baack said two reasons are the housing market and rent affordability. According to a study last year, a person working a minimum wage job in Milwaukee would have to spend 84% of their annual earnings on a one-bedroom rental. Mindy Calderon-Pitchford, the director of community services at Wellpoint Care Network said when 18-year-olds age out of the foster care system, they're less likely to afford rent because of a lack of support. 'Oftentimes their transition out of care could be abrupt because one day you're in foster care and then the next day you're not,' Calderon-Pitchford said. Calderon-Pitchford said intervention programs — like those the Youth Council money is funding — can help renting and finances. Suicide Prevention As for the grant money going toward suicide prevention, about 6 in 10 Wisconsin high schoolers reported being anxious, depressed or suicidal each day, according to the most recent Wisconsin Youth Risk Behavior Survey. Almost one in five seriously considered suicide. Those experiencing homelessness are at a greater risk for considering suicide. Mary Madden, executive director of NAMI Southeast Wisconsin, said a hurdle for young people seeking help is the stigma around asking in the first place. She said programs like NAMI's Ending the Silence, which uses young adults sharing their journey to recovery from mental illness, help lower the stigma of getting help by having someone kids can relate to. 'We found that that is the best way to reduce stigma is by having somebody that they can relate to come in and say, yes, I've been at risk of suicide, or I attempted suicide, or I, you know, deal with major depressive disorder. I've done things with my life, recovery is possible,' Madden said. Madden said more intervention services similar to Ending the Silence can help young people lower the stigma and inform not just people at risk, but family and friends as well. "The benefit for suicide prevention programs for anybody, whether it's youth or adults, are ensuring that people understand where to get resources, where to get assistance," Madden said. This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Grants target hard-to-attack issues: youth homelessness, suicide
Yahoo
11-07-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Milwaukee Youth Council focusing on 'underappreciated' issues of homelessness, suicide
The Milwaukee Youth Council is trying to take at least a step toward addressing two problems that are often hard to identify — youth homelessness and thoughts of suicide. And although $160,000 isn't a huge amount of money, the Youth Council decided this week to divide the money in half, with one half going to two local agencies to work on youth homelessness and the other half going to two other local agencies to work on suicide prevention. Youth Council member Corbeau Martin Caldwell said he hoped the money would help tackle 'underappreciated issues in the community.' The money comes from $160,000 under the Community Development Block Grant program, and is intended to help youths aged 11 to 21. The plan will go before the Milwaukee Common Council for approval on July 31, according to City Clerk Jim Owczarski. Under the plan, Walkers Point Youth and Family Center and the Hmong American Friendship Association will focus on youth homeless intervention. Pathfinders Association and Silver Spring Neighborhood Center will focus on suicide prevention. Each will get $40,000. The homelessness issue can be particularly tricky. 'Youth homelessness isn't just you're living out in the street,' Martin Caldwell said. 'You could be living in a car. You could be living in a relative's house. There are so many different ways that housing instability manifests itself in Milwaukee.' The city's homeless population decreased by 17% last year, according to point-in-time data from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, which measures homelessness on a single night each year. However, youth homelessness is harder to measure and identify. According to Pathfinders, about 12,000 young people ages 10-24 in Milwaukee County experience homelessness every year. This estimate is based on national data from Chapin Hall at the University of Chicago and U.S Census Bureau. Tim Baack, president and CEO of Pathfinders Association, said it's harder to track youth homelessness because it doesn't manifest itself in typical ways, like living on the street or encampments or makeshift shelters. 'The reality is our young people will not be found in encampments. Just because the problem is invisible that doesn't mean it isn't there,' Baack said. Young people experiencing homelessness might live with friends or other family members, engaging in 'couch surfing' or 'house hopping.' They may find temporary housing, Baack said, but they are at risk of exploitation and don't have a long-term solution. 'It may keep them off the streets temporarily, but often the conditions in which they're living under are incredibly unsafe,' Baack said. Youth homelessness can happen for a myriad of reasons, but Baack said two reasons are the housing market and rent affordability. According to a study last year, a person working a minimum wage job in Milwaukee would have to spend 84% of their annual earnings on a one-bedroom rental. Mindy Calderon-Pitchford, the director of community services at Wellpoint Care Network said when 18-year-olds age out of the foster care system, they're less likely to afford rent because of a lack of support. 'Oftentimes their transition out of care could be abrupt because one day you're in foster care and then the next day you're not,' Calderon-Pitchford said. Calderon-Pitchford said intervention programs — like those the Youth Council money is funding — can help renting and finances. As for the grant money going toward suicide prevention, about 6 in 10 Wisconsin high schoolers reported being anxious, depressed or suicidal each day, according to the most recent Wisconsin Youth Risk Behavior Survey. Almost one in five seriously considered suicide. Those experiencing homelessness are at a greater risk for considering suicide. Mary Madden, executive director of NAMI Southeast Wisconsin, said a hurdle for young people seeking help is the stigma around asking in the first place. She said programs like NAMI's Ending the Silence, which uses young adults sharing their journey to recovery from mental illness, help lower the stigma of getting help by having someone kids can relate to. 'We found that that is the best way to reduce stigma is by having somebody that they can relate to come in and say, yes, I've been at risk of suicide, or I attempted suicide, or I, you know, deal with major depressive disorder. I've done things with my life, recovery is possible,' Madden said. Madden said more intervention services similar to Ending the Silence can help young people lower the stigma and inform not just people at risk, but family and friends as well. "The benefit for suicide prevention programs for anybody, whether it's youth or adults, are ensuring that people understand where to get resources, where to get assistance," Madden said. This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Grants target hard-to-attack issues: youth homelessness, suicide
Axios
24-06-2025
- Politics
- Axios
The Agenda: City councils weigh trails, federal grants, RV parks
Here's what your city councils plan to discuss tonight. Bentonville will vote on: 🏃♀️ A contract worth about $602,000 with NEC for trail construction on the Razorback Greenway Trail from Bentonville High School to 14th Street, and an $80,240 agreement with CEI Engineering for construction administration services for the project. 🏋️♂️ Establishing fees for the new Adult Recreation Center set to open next year. The proposed fees include $15 monthly memberships for Bentonville residents or $19 for non-residents. Rogers will vote on: 🏠 Accepting a Community Development Block Grant from the federal department of Housing and Urban Development worth about $529,700. 🚒 A resolution expressing the city's willingness to use federal grant funding from the Department of Homeland Security to help pay for nine additional firefighters and emergency medical technicians. The total cost is about $1.24 million, with the city covering $463,783. 🚐 Establishing a new zoning district for recreational vehicles to provide temporary housing.
