HUD MAKES MORE THAN $12 MILLION AVAILABLE TO ADDRESS MOLD IN NATIVE AMERICAN AND ALASKA NATIVE COMMUNITIES

WASHINGTON - The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) is making $12.4 million available to help tribal communities remove and prevent -dangerous mold in homes. The grants are being made available through HUD's Indian Community Development Block Grant (ICDBG) Program, which addresses a wide variety of community development and affordable housing activities.

These grants will support mold remediation in housing units owned or operated by tribes,tribally designated housing entities (TDHE), or tribal organizations or housing that is currently or was previously assisted with HUD funding. Read HUD's funding notice (www.grants.gov/view-opportunity.html?oppId=276032).

"No one should have to sacrifice the health of their children or themselves to keep a roof over their heads," said Lourdes Castro-Ramirez, HUD's Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary for Public and Indian Housing. "Through these mold remediation grants, HUD is ensuring that tribal communities have healthier and safer places to call home."

This source of grant funding was first used in Fiscal Year 2014 through a set-aside to remediate and prevent mold in housing units owned or operated by tribes and TDHEs. Last year nine tribes received grants to remove unhealthy levels of mold, including the Havasupai Tribe in Arizona where mold is a common problem due in part to frequent flooding in low-lying areas of the Grand Canyon.

Established in 1977, HUD's ICDBG program assists 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,) Alaska Native villages, and eligible tribal organizations compete for this funding. A second more general round of ICDBG funding will be announced later this year.

HUD administers six programs that are specifically targeted to American Indian, Alaska Native, or native Hawaiian individuals and families, and federally recognized tribal governments. In Fiscal Year 2015 HUD received approximately $732 million to fund programs to support housing and development initiatives in American Indian, Alaska Native, and native Hawaiian communities. Through innovative programming, American Indian and Alaska Native tribal governments have created sustainable and community-driven solutions to their housing and community development challenges.

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HUD's mission is to create strong, sustainable, inclusive communities and quality affordable homes for all. More information about HUD and its programs is available on the Internet at www.hud.gov and http://espanol.hud.gov.

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