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HUD Archives: News Releases
CUOMO AWARDS $375,900 IN GRANTS TO FIGHT DRUGS AND CRIME IN PUBLIC HOUSING IN CHILLICOTHE AND PORTSMOUTH, OHIO Housing and Urban Development Secretary Andrew Cuomo today awarded $375,900 in grants to fight drug abuse and other crimes in public housing in Chillicothe and Portsmouth, OH. Cuomo awarded a $110,100 Drug Elimination Grant to the Chillicothe Metropolitan Housing Authority to fund a strategy to eliminate drugs and drug-related crime in and around its housing developments. Activities include prevention, education and security. Cuomo awarded a $265,800 Drug Elimination Grant to the Portsmouth Metropolitan Housing Authority to fund a comprehensive plan for addressing problems of drug-related crime with programs of prevention, intervention, treatment, aftercare, safety and security designed by residents, community leaders and Housing Authority staff. Cuomo made the announcement in a satellite news conference with Congressman Ted Strickland, who represents the two cities. "These grants are good news for some of the poorest families in Chillicothe and Portsmouth and bad news for drug dealers who terrorize them," Cuomo said. "We will fight drug abuse with prevention and treatment programs and with a crackdown on drug dealers and other criminals. We are telling drug dealers in HUD housing to find another line of work or be sent to another type of subsidized housing - a prison cell." Congressman Strickland said: "I want to thank Secretary Cuomo for this significant investment in the safety and well-being of families in Chillicothe and Portsmouth. We simply cannot tolerate the destructive influence of drugs in our communities. These resources will go a long way toward helping parents to raise their children in safe and secure homes." Cuomo said the recent Congressional approval of the Department's $24.5 billion budget for the 1999 fiscal year, which he called "the best HUD budget in 10 years," will speed the transformation of public housing. "HUD is transforming public housing from isolated ghettos of poverty, drugs, despair and crime into safe and economically integrated communities of opportunity," Cuomo said. Nationwide, HUD is awarding $305.2 million in Drug Elimination Grants this year - more than in any previous year. Vice President Al Gore, Cuomo and Attorney General Janet Reno announced a four-part enforcement and prevention strategy to fight crime and drugs in public housing in June 1997. The grants announced today are one element of that strategy. The Drug Elimination Grants are awarded on a competitive basis, based on the seriousness of the drug and crime problem facing a housing authority or assisted housing development, and the strength of local plans to address the problem. HUD has awarded more than $1.6 billion in Drug Elimination Grants since 1989, including the grants being awarded this year. In public housing, the Drug Elimination Grants are used for: drug prevention, intervention and treatment programs; reimbursing law enforcement agencies for providing additional security; hiring security guards and investigators; resident anti-crime patrols; and physical improvements to housing developments to enhance security - such as fencing, lighting and improved locks. HUD's budget for the fiscal year that began Oct. 1 increases funding for HUD's key programs and renewals of Section 8 rental assistance by a total of more than $2 billion in the budget over 1998 levels. Spending was increased on most HUD programs and wasn't cut in any programs. Legislation passed in the same bill as HUD's budget will:
Content Archived: January 20, 2009 |
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