HUD OFFICIAL ANNOUNCES $2.7 MILLION TO HELP LOW-INCOME ELDERLY
IN WARRENSBURG

Ray Agee, Consultant, Neal Colby, (retired) Bishop Boland Institute for Housing and Community Development, Maryanne Shumann, Yarco, HUD RD Macie Houston, Bishop Finn, Diocese of Kansas City-St. Joseph, Father Dennis Schaab, Sacred Heart Church, Mayor Charlie Rutt and City Manager Jeff Hancock

The site is the site of the 202 Supportive Housing for the Elderly development in Warrensburg that will provide 23 units in this serene location overlooking a lake.

KANSAS CITY, KS - Housing and Urban Development Region VII Regional Director Macie Houston announced a housing assistance grant today totaling more than $2.7 million to help very low-income elderly people in Warrensburg. The announcement is part of more than $574 million awarded nationally to help senior citizens find decent, safe housing that they can afford.

"I am thrilled to announce this grant to Bishop Boland Institute for Housing and Community Development," said HUD Regional Director Macie Houston. "It is the first grant of its kind to Warrensburg and it will go a long way to ensure elderly citizens in this community have an opportunity to live in a decent, safe and affordable place."

Bishop Boland Institute for Housing and Community Development received the HUD Section 202 Supportive Housing for the Elderly grant in the amount of $2,734,900. The funding will be used to provide 23 independent housing units and coordinated services for the elderly in Warrensburg. Residents will benefit from various supportive services provided by Bishop Boland Institute for Housing and Community Development and local service providers including meal service, transportation and social and recreational activities.

Section 202 Grants (funding to assist very low-income elderly)

HUD's Section 202 grants program helps expand the supply of affordable housing with supportive services for the elderly. It provides very low-income elderly with options that allow them to live independently but in an environment that provides support activities such as cleaning, cooking, and transportation.

In addition to funding the construction and rehabilitation of projects to create apartments, HUD Section 202 grants subsidize rents for five years so that residents will pay only 30 percent of their adjusted incomes as rent. To be eligible for the assistance a household must be classified as "very low-income," which means an income less than 50 percent of the area median. In Warrensburg, based on 50 percent of the area median family income with an applicable adjustment for household size, a one-person household would have to have an income
equal to or less than $18,150. Nationally, a one-person household would have to have an income equal to or less
than $20,300 a year.

HUD provides two forms of Section 202 funds to non-profit groups:

• Capital advances. This money covers the cost of developing the housing. It does not need to be repaid
  if the housing is available for occupancy by very low-income seniors for at least 40 years. Bishop Boland
  Institute for Housing and Community Development received $2,354,900 in capital advance funding.
  
  
• Project rental assistance. This money covers the difference between the resident's contribution toward
  rent and the cost of operating the project. Bishop Boland Institute for Housing and Community Development received a five-year rental subsidy in the amount of $380,000.

###