HUD'S COMMUNITY, PLANNING AND DEVELOPMENT GRANTS HELP YOU AND YOUR NEIGHBORS

Our topic today is HUD's Community Planning and Development Programs and understanding the impact to you and your neighbors. Community Planning and Development or as we say - CPD - provides funds to your community for projects ranging from sewers to sidewalks to housing to helping the homeless. The Bush Administration and HUD has just announced significant grants for ending homelessness - with an emphasis of ending chronic homeless with more than $1.4 billion.

Our special guest, Anna Maria Farias, HUD's Deputy Assistant Secretary for Community Planning and Development
for grant programs, leads our mission to promote integrated approaches for decent housing, and expand economic opportunities for low and moderate income persons. She joins us today to share HUD's vision.

(Anna Maria Farias' Statement)

Thank for your warm welcome in your Region. Yes I came to Denver to speak at the Colorado Historic Preservation Conference. Our opening session was Saving Places 2005: Bringing Preservation Home and we addressed Historic Preservation Opportunities with HUD for Housing and businesses. We invite those of you interested to call our partners, visit our website or call our community planning and development office at (303) 672-5414 to find out
more about obtaining funds to restore historic homes and businesses.

While I am here, I also want to make a special presentation on behalf of HUD

Secretary Alphonso Jackson. Secretary Jackson just announced the funding at a local homeless center in Los
Angeles with California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger and I am here to make the presentation to the six Rocky Mountain states.

Mr. Carson, I present to you Continuum of Care (CoC) and Emergency Shelter (ESG) grants to provide shelter and care for persons and families without a home of their own. The funding for Colorado, Montana, North Dakota, South Dakota, Wyoming, and Utah totals: $31,256,325. These funds are part of more than $1.4 billion announced
nationwide - the largest single commitment of federal funds supporting an unprecedented number of local projects
on the front lines of caring for people who might otherwise be living on the streets.

Secretary Jackson said, "President Bush is deeply committed to supporting our most vulnerable neighbors and today
I am pleased to reconfirm that commitment. This unprecedented level of funds will go directly to those on the front lines, who work tirelessly everyday to bring an end to chronic homelessness, and who provide services to the many individuals and families without a home of their own."

This is the fourth consecutive year HUD is providing record funding for homeless assistance and is part of a larger federal strategy being embraced by a growing number of state and local communities to end long-term or chronic homelessness.

HUD's funding is provided in two ways:

• Continuum of Care grants provide permanent and transitional housing to homeless persons. In addition, Continuum grants fund important services including job training, health care, mental health counseling, substance abuse treatment and child care.
  
  
• Emergency Shelter Grants convert buildings into homeless shelters, assist in the operation of local shelters
  and fund related social service and homeless prevention programs.

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