BUSH ADMINISTRATION ANNOUNCES MORE THAN $4 MILLION TO HELP
VERY LOW-INCOME ELDERLY IN KANSAS CITY

KANSAS CITY, KS - Housing and Urban Development Secretary Mel Martinez today announced that Bethel AME Church-Kansas City, Inc. will receive a housing assistance grant of $4,507,500 to help the very low-income elderly
in Kansas City. Nationally, $593 million in housing assistance grants were announced to help the nations very low income elderly.

"This Administration is committed to making sure our senior citizens and people with disabilities have opportunities
for decent, safe and affordable places to live," Martinez said. "The money that we awarded today will go a long way toward achieving that goal."

Bethel AME Church-Kansas City, Inc. will use the funding to provide 60 independent housing units for the elderly
that will be located in the 18th and Vine neighborhood. The development, Vine Street Manor at Bethel Square, will reflect a housing design that is compatible with the rich heritage and architecture of the surrounding 18th and Vine area. The development is also an integral part of an overall strategy to preserve and revitalize the neighborhood
and provide affordable housing that is safe and comfortable for lower income residents who have invested
themselves in this community over the years.

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 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 Kansas City, this means an income for a one-person household of less than $23,350 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.
  
  
• Project rental assistance. This money covers the difference between the resident's contribution
  toward rent and the cost of operating the project.

###