Dale Gray, Public Affairs Officer 400 State Ave., Kansas City, KS 66101-2406 Phone: (913) 551-5542 |
For Release Thursday November 13, 2003 |
BUSH ADMINISTRATION ANNOUNCES MORE THAN $37 MILLION IN GRANTS TO PROMOTE HOMEOWNERSHIP AND HOUSING FOR LOW-INCOME FAMILIES
Kansas will receive $170,000 for housing counseling services that will benefit individuals and families
KANSAS CITY, KS - Nearly 730,000 individuals and families will have a greater opportunity to find housing or keep the homes they have because of more than $37 million in housing counseling grants announced today by Housing and Urban Development Secretary Mel Martinez.
It is estimated these grants will assist more than 430,000 people to either become first-time homeowners or remain homeowners after their purchase. The grants were awarded to 17 national and regional organizations and approximately 350 state and local housing counseling agencies. These organizations will provide counseling services and will help meet the Bush Administration's goal of increasing minority homeownership by 5.5 million families by the end of the decade.
"These
housing counseling grants are an important part of this Administration's
goal to expand homeownership opportunities, particularly for minorities,"
said Martinez. "President Bush and I are committed to opening
the doors
to the American Dream to more American families."
In Kansas, the following three organizations will receive $170,000 in housing counseling grants:
- Consumer
Credit Counseling Services (CCCS) in Salina will receive $45,000
to provide first-time homebuyer education classes on a monthly
basis from February through September. In partnership with Boeing
Wichita Credit Union, CCCS will provide monthly "Surviving
a Layoff" workshops in Wichita, Kansas. The organization
also provides rental counseling, mortgage default counseling and Home Equity Conversion Mortgage (HECM) counseling to 71 of 105 counties in the state of Kansas.
-
Housing and Credit Counseling, Inc. (HCCI) in Topeka will receive
$110,000 to provide tenant/landlord, homebuyer, consumer credit,
mortgage default, Home Equity Conversion Mortgage, and pre-
and post occupancy counseling services through its offices in
Lawrence, Manhattan and Emportia.
- Northeast
Kansas Community Action Program (NEK-CAP) in Hiawatha will receive
$15,000 to provide comprehensive housing counseling services
to a ten county area in Northeast Kansas. NEK-CAP uses
nationally recognized Total Family Approach to Self-Sufficiency Program to educate, enrich and uplift
families and individuals.
The 17 national and regional agencies distribute much of the HUD
funding to community-based grassroots organizations that provide
free advice and guidance to low- and moderate-income families seeking
to improve their housing conditions. In addition, these larger organizations
help improve the quality of housing counseling services
and enhance
coordination among other counseling providers. Notably, 3 of the
17 intermediaries are faith-based, including 2 that are first time
housing counseling grant recipients.
President Bush is proposing to increase HUD's Housing Counseling grant program to $45 million next year - a 12.5 percent increase. The organizations that provide counseling services help people become or remain homeowners or find rental housing. In addition, HUD-funded housing counseling agencies assist homeless persons to find the transitional housing they need to move toward a permanent place to live.
Who benefits from housing counseling?
Based
on past experience, HUD anticipates the counseling grants announced
today will enable approximately
257,000 would-be homeowners to learn
how to improve their credit, strengthen money management skills
and avoid predatory lenders and other unscrupulous practices. Another
175,000 existing homeowners will learn how to avoid delinquency
and default, restructure debt and maintain their home. In addition,
nearly 213,000 individuals and
families who will receive HUD-funded
counseling are renters. Counseling services will help them find
housing closer to their jobs or health care as well as teach them
about tenant rights. Finally, an estimated 16,000 homeless individuals
and families will learn how to find emergency services and secure
transitional housing.
HUD
awards annual grants under this program through a competitive process.
Organizations that apply for grants
must be HUD-approved and are
subject to biannual performance reviews to maintain their HUD-approved
status.
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