Road Trip

Welcome to Alaska sign

ON THE ROAD IN ALASKA - Come vacation time, some folks head for the mountains, others to the beach. Still others hit the open road, getting off the Interstates, taking their time to see what life looks and feels like beyond the hustle and bustle, the daily urban grind.

Some even turn these road trips into a game, a competition. How many state capitals can they visit in a week? How many Major League baseball games can they enjoy at different stadiums? How many historical markers can they pull over to read? How many hawks "shopping" for dinner can they see along the side of the road? How many different state license plates can they spot? No prizes are given, no trophies awarded, but the game offers an odd kind of comfort that, even in your leisure, you've accomplished something.

Good news! Now, HUD's got a road game all its own. Let's call it "HUD and Seek." The goal's simple. How many different communities can you visit that have a program or project funded by HUD?

It's easy to play, thanks to a new tool - a free "app," HUD's cyber-nauts called the HUD Resource Locator. It allows you to use your smart phone to pull-up information about thousands upon thousands of HUD-funded projects by type, state, city and address across all 50 states. And when you do, you'll learn about the HUD program that funded the project, how many HUD - as in "taxpayer" - dollars have gone into the project and how many people it serves. And, there will be a GIS -generated map of the project in case you want to drive-by and take a "selfie" document your HUD and Seek journey.

Full disclosure is in order. The HUD Resource Locator was not developed to make road trips more fun. First and foremost it's a tool intended to help people looking for affordable housing find it. "The HUD resource Locator app delivers real-time HUD housing information at the touch of a button," said HUD Secretary Julián Castro. "In today's global economy where more and more people have a smartphones or similar devices, HUD is committed to finding ways to make it easier for Americans to access our resources and find opportunities to move ahead."

But that doesn't mean you can't take on your next road trip, using it to plot your itinerary. We think you'll be surprised by how many places you can go. After all, even though HUD's budget is just one-twentieth of Health and Human Services' and our workforce the second-smallest of the 16 Federal agencies that comprise the President's Cabinet, you'll find HUD-funded projects and programs at work in virtually every city, town and village in America.

At new health clinics in Koyukuk and Coffman Cove, Alaska. At a shelter for victims of domestic violence in Bethel. At renovated parks or a museum of natural history in Anchorage. At energy-efficient, sustainable homes north of the Arctic Circle at Anatuvuk Pass or Point Lay. At housing for the elderly in Eagle River and Klawock. On the streets of the revitalized Mountain View section of Anchorage, a community many say is the most diverse in the U.S. At a geoduck "farm" in the waters just off Kake. At a mold prevention project in Craig. At upgraded water and sewage treatment facilities in Eek, St. Mary's and Nelson Lagoon. At a supportive housing complex for chronically-homeless inebriates in Fairbanks. On new boardwalks at Selawik and Kotlik. At housing in Galena, relocated to higher ground to protect residents from frequent and often devastating Yukon River floods.

The list goes on and on. But the point's a pretty simple one. Thanks to the President, the Congress and the taxpayers of the United States, HUD has been able to help a whole lot of cities, towns and villages in a whole lot of ways to meet their housing, community and economic development needs. And now, thanks to HUD's new HUD Resource Locator available at Apple iTunes (https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/hud-resource-locator/id1018440488?mt=8), Google Play Marketplace (https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=resources.hud.gov.resourcelocator_android) or on the Web (http://resources.hud.gov/#&ui-state=dialog), you can see that for yourself on your next road trip. Travel safe.

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