HUNTINGTON, WV - Housing and Urban Development Secretary Andrew Cuomo today awarded $6.15 million to West Virginia non-profit groups to create subsidized housing for poor senior citizens and people with disabilities. He awarded another $110,101 in counseling grants to help increase homeownership in the state.

In West Virginia, the HUD assistance will fund construction or rehabilitation of 36 apartment units for senior citizens and 44 apartment units for people with disabilities, and will also provide rental assistance subsidies on all of these units for five years. The units will be located in Huntington, Petersburg, Beckley and Point Pleasant.

Cuomo made the announcement in Huntington at a news conference with Mayor Jean Dean.

Everyone receiving the housing assistance must be classified as "very low income" - meaning a household with an income of less than 50 percent of the area median. On a national basis, this amounts to an income of less than $8,000 a year.

Residents receiving the assistance pay 30 percent of their income in rent. HUD subsidies pay the remaining funds needed to operate the housing.

"This assistance can transform the lives of some of the most vulnerable Americans," Cuomo said. "Without this aid, impoverished senior citizens and people with disabilities would be forced to live in substandard conditions, in nursing homes or other institutions, or on the streets and in homeless shelters."

Nationally, Cuomo said HUD is awarding $696 million to non-profit groups in 48 states, the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico under the Section 202 Program for senior citizens and the Section 811 Program for people with disabilities. The 202 Program is awarding $563 million of the money and the 811 Program is awarding $133 million. The assistance will create: 6,563 apartment units for the elderly and 1,650 rental units for people with disabilities around the United States, and will subsidize the units for five years.

Congressman Nick Rahall said: "The vision and hard work of Secretary Cuomo and the leadership of President Clinton provide us not only a sound foundation, but also the necessary funds to lay the bricks and mortar of our local efforts. With these grants, principle triumphs over politics. The Administration and I fought for more flexibility in finding local answers for our neediest, including the disabled and our seniors. These grants are necessary to increase independence for the disabled and to create a more secure life for our seniors."

Mayor Dean said: "I am honored that Secretary Cuomo has chosen Huntington to announce the award of new HUD funds to West Virginia. We are delighted that Huntington will receive monies for senior housing so we can complete successfully yet another project funded by the Department of Housing and Urban Development."

HUD provides Section 202 and Section 811 funds to non-profits in two forms:

• Capital advances. This is money that covers the cost of developing the housing. It does not need to be repaid as long as the housing is available for occupancy by very low-income elderly or people with disabilities for at least 40 years.

• Project rental assistance. This goes to each non-profit to cover the difference between the resident's contribution toward rent and the cost of operating the project.

The $110,101 homeownership counseling grant that Cuomo announced will be used by the West Virginia Housing Development Fund in Charleston to help homebuyers, homeowners, and renters meet their housing needs and work through housing problems The group provides consumer education on the homebuying process to first-time homebuyers, counseling services to help people threatened with foreclosure of their mortgages, and information to senior citizens about reverse mortgages that enable them to borrow against the value of their homes.

Nationally, almost $18 million in housing counseling grants are being awarded to 369 non-profit agencies in 47 states, the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico. Of the 369, 322 are local housing counseling agencies, 29 are state housing finance agencies, and 8 are national or regional multi-state organizations that manage the use of HUD housing counseling funds by local groups.

Here is a breakdown of the subsidized housing assistance Cuomo announced for West Virginia:

SECTION 202 - ELDERLY HOUSING

Project location: Huntington
Non-profit sponsor: Cabell County Community Services in Huntington
Capital Advance: $1,325,500
Five-year rental subsidy: $280,000
Number units and project description: The project will fund the construction of 20 one-bedroom units for very low-income elderly.

Project location: Petersburg
Non-profit sponsor: Joy Retreat Senior Housing, Inc.
Capital Advance: $914,300
Five-year rental subsidy: $224,000
Number of units and project description: The project will fund a two-story, 16-unit structure that will be built on Virginia Avenue in Petersburg.

SECTION 811 - HOUSING FOR PEOPLE WITH DISABILITIES

Project location: Beckley
Non-profit sponsor: Fayette Monroe Raleigh Summers Health Council, Inc.
Capital Advance: $1,065,700
Five-year rental subsidy: $224,000
Number of units and project description: The project will produce 16 independent living apartments for people with disabilities.

Project location: Petersburg
Non-profit sponsor: Joy Retreat Senior Housing, Inc.
Capital Advance: $939,000
Five-year rental subsidy: $224,00
0 Number of units and project description: The project will fund the development of 16 apartment units for people with developmental disabilities.

Project location: Point Pleasant
Non-profit sponsor: Prestera Center for Mental Health
Capital Advance: $786,200
Five-year rental subsidy: $168,000
Number of units and project description: The project will fund the development of a 12- unit independent living facility.