HUD AWARDS $641,578 TO MONTANA NATIVE AMERICAN COMMUNITIES
FOR HOUSING AND ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT FOR LOW-INCOME FAMILIES
Grants provided by HUD's Indian Community Development Block Grant Program

HELENA - Today, the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development awarded $641,578 in Indian Community Development Block Grant to the Salish Kootenai Housing Authority in Pablo, Montana to improve or create housing
and economic development opportunities for low- to moderate-income families.

Regional Administrator Rick M. Garcia said, "The competitive grants are provided through HUD's Indian Community Development Block Grant (ICDBG) Program to support a wide variety of community development and affordable housing activities."

"These funds will help American Indian and Alaska Native tribal governments create sustainable and community-driven solutions," said HUD Secretary Shaun Donovan. "Housing and infrastructure needs in Indian Country are severe and widespread. I'm inspired by the work the tribal communities are taking on to leverage these funds and get their communities on the right track."

The ICDBG program was established in 1977 to help Indian tribes and Alaska Native villages to meet their community development needs. Federally recognized Indian tribes, bands, groups or nations (including Alaska Indian, Aleuts and Eskimos,) or Alaska Native villages compete for this funding. The recipients use the funding to develop viable communities, including rehabilitating housing or building new housing or to buy land to support new housing construction.

The Salish and Kootenai Housing Authority (SKHA) in Pablo, MT will utilize its fiscal year 2011 Indian Community Development Block Grant funds to reduce the number of residents who are currently living in substandard housing
and to increase the amount of handicap-accessible rental housing units on the Flathead Indian Reservation. The project will include moderate rehabilitation of 14 owner-occupied housing units and three low-rent units. SKHA will mitigate housing conditions that threaten health, such as lead hazard, molds, carbon monoxide, asbestos and insect infestation. Energy efficient features and appliances will be installed into the homes to reduce the energy cost
burden on homeowners. The three rental units will be retrofitted to be handicap-accessible meeting the needs of 50 families.

The funding can also be used to build infrastructure such as roads, water and sewer facilities, and to create suitable living environments. To spur economic development, recipients have used the grants to establish a wide variety of commercial, industrial and agricultural projects. The grants have been used to build community and health centers,
or to start businesses to support the community, such as shopping centers, manufacturing plants, restaurants or convenient stores/gas stations.

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