Community Outreach Partnership Centers Program FY 1999 Grantee

UNIVERSITY OF TEXAS-PAN AMERICAN, EDINBURG, TX -- $149,832

The University of Texas-Pan American, a Hispanic-serving institution of higher education, will receive a Community Outreach Partnership Centers Program New Directions Grant of $149,832 to address the need for affordable housing, economic development, and community planning in three rural towns and 20 colonias in the Rio Grande Valley Empowerment Zone. Colonias are areas along the United States/Mexico border that have third-world-like living conditions, including lack of potable water and indoor plumbing, substandard housing, and high incidence of disease. Texas-Pan American was awarded a Community Outreach Partnership Centers Program New Grant in FY 1994 to provide outreach assistance to colonias in the Rio Grande Valley. This New Directions Grant would enable the University to provide new opportunities for colonias residents to improve their living conditions.

Among the activities Texas-Pan American will undertake are:

• Offering homebuyer and home maintenance classes and homeownership counseling;

• Reducing the social isolation of residents, through one-on-one visits and townhall meetings to provide them with information about social services; and

• Development of a public education on residents' legal rights under contracts-for-deed, the most prevalent vehicle in colonias for homeownership.

Content Archived: January 20, 2009