HUD Jacksonville Office Partners with Florida Department of Economic Opportunity to Address Connectivity Challenges in Rural Communities

The HUD Jacksonville team partners with federal, state and local agencies to build capacity in rural communities to increase their opportunities to compete for grant funding.

The HUD Jacksonville team recently partnered with Florida Department of Economic Opportunity (DEO)- Rural Economic Development Initiative (REDI) to share information on HUD programs, resources, initiatives, and opportunities available to community agencies and Florida residents.

In a virtual meeting attended by about 40 rural partners and stakeholders, Sean Lewis, Community Program Manager at DEO, and Alesia Scott-Ford, HUD's Jacksonville Field Office Director, shared HUD and REDI's goal of better serving rural communities. The environment in these geographic areas is being tracked with the combined use of research of specific data sets. The areas coincide in a shortage of adequate healthcare, and lack of alternative training options to improve the workforce employment opportunities; the areas also have increased crime rates. In the Summer of 2020, the REDI board worked on a report designed to close the gap on accessibility to Internet Broadband availability and updated feasibility for residents in these communities.

The HUD Jacksonville's team plan is to assist the DEO in building capacity in these communities so they can have better chances of competing for grant funding and administrative assistance with projects that make up the 'building blocks' of DEO. Both agencies are currently working with the Connect Home community in Florida. Some of the topics discussed during the virtual meeting included renewal of the South-Central Rural Area of Opportunity (RAO) designation, overview of DEAO's office of Long -Term Resiliency, and tips on how to take advantage of available funding.

For additional information on REDI or Rebuild Florida Housing Repair and Replacement Programs, please visit FloridaJobs.org/RebuildFlorida (https://floridajobs.org/rebuildflorida) and Office of Broadband (https://floridajobs.org/community-planning-and-development/broadband/office-of-broadband).

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