HUD Atlanta Regional Director Bob Young, HUD Alabama Field Office Director Cindy Yarbrough, Montgomery Alabama Mayor Bobby N. Bright meeting to discuss Montgomery's participation in HUD Programs.

HUD Regional Director Bob Young met with Montgomery Alabama Mayor Bobby N. Bright on March 28, 2006 to discuss HUD Programs, Disaster Updates etc... Later that evening RD Young spoke at the Alabama Habitat for Humanities Annual Legislature Dinner as the keynote speaker. Habitat for Humanity in Alabama has built 1078 houses in Alabama. In 2005 alone, they built 92 houses and paid $350T in property taxes to the State. Over the next 24 months they project building another 200 homes for families affected by Hurricane Katrina in Alabama. Habitat for Humanity utilizes our SHOP Program (Self Help Homeownership Opportunity and CB (Capacity Building Grant Program) and have 9 Alabama affiliates with 252 houses funded for a total of $1,320,000. HUD announced nearly $25M in "Sweat Equity" grants under the SHOP program in February 2006. Habitat for Humanity International was awarded a SHOP grant in the amount of $10,773,000. These programs have been used to purchase home sites, develop or improve infrastructure needed to set the stage for sweat equity and volunteer based homeownership programs for low income persons, provide funding for innovative technical assistance and training programs - as seed monies in setting up stores and construction warehouses, and to offset costs of new, high-impact staff positions. AL Lt. Governor Lucy Baxley also participated at this Dinner.