The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development today announced the award of over $74 million in grants to 12 state housing finance agencies to support affordable rental housing for extremely low-income persons with disabilities.
The awards will support up to five years of rental assistance for approximately 2,400 units of housing in buildings participating in project rental assistance through HUD’s Section 811 Supportive Housing for Persons with Disabilities program.
“We are committed to ensuring that extremely low-income persons with disabilities have access to safe, sanitary, accessible, and affordable rental homes with the supportive services they need to live independently,” said HUD Secretary Ben Carson. “The Trump Administration has strongly supported our efforts to serve this population, including making $15 million in supplemental funds available under the CARES Act to help prevent, prepare for, and respond to coronavirus.”
The grants were awarded to state housing agencies who are working closely with their state Medicaid and Health and Human Servicer counterparts to identify, refer, and conduct outreach to persons with disabilities who require long-term services to live independently. The state housing agencies will use the funds to identify systemic approaches for providing rental subsidies to multifamily properties with units targeted specifically for use by extremely low-income persons with disabilities.
“These awards showcase the critical partnership between HUD and state agencies to reach and support this vulnerable population,” said Assistant Secretary for Housing and Federal Housing Commissioner Dana Wade. “This funding is going directly to those who have the experience and knowledge at the local level to effectively reach those most in need.”
HUD provides rental assistance to more than 35,000 households through its Section 811 program. The program supports:
- Increasing the supply of accessible rental housing units for individuals with disabilities by integrating these units within existing, new, or renovated multifamily developments.
- Creating effective, successful and sustainable partnerships between state housing agencies and state Health and Human Services/Medicaid agencies to provide permanent housing for persons with disabilities with access to appropriate supportive services; and
- Identifying innovative and replicable ways for using and leveraging Project Rental Assistance funds.
