NEW ORLEANS- U.S. Housing and Urban Development Secretary Steven Preston today awarded $16.9 million to 60 rural housing programs across the country to stimulate economic development, create jobs and produce more affordable housing. Included in the funding announced today were grants, in the amount of $300,000 each, to Louisiana Technical College Tallulah Foundation in Tallulah, Seventh District Pavilion Inc in Crowley and START Corporation in Houma.

The funding is provided through HUD's Rural Housing and Economic Development Program.

"HUD is deeply invested in promoting affordable housing and community development throughout rural America," said Preston. "These grants will stimulate the kind of employment, economic growth, and housing development that will have a direct impact on working families in our rural communities."

Rural Housing and Economic Development (RHED) grants help pay for land acquisition, new home construction, housing demolition, infrastructure improvements and construction training. Other possible uses include homeownership and financial counseling; financial assistance to homeowners, businesses and developers; creating microenterprises and small business incubators; and establishing lines of credit or revolving loan pools to benefit the local business community. In addition to the funding announced today, rural communities are expected to generate nearly $59 million from other public and private sources to promote economic development and employment.

Qualified applicants are local rural nonprofit organizations, community development corporations, federally recognized Indian tribes, State housing finance agencies and/or local economic development agencies. RHED grants have provided nearly $223 million, creating/training more than 35,000 jobs, assisting nearly 5,500 businesses and producing 14,000 affordable homes.

Rural communities will use this funding as seed money to pay the start-up costs for housing or economic development projects. These grants will also help organizations to hire and train their staffs, develop strategic plans and acquire office space and other needed facilities.

The Louisiana Technical College Tallulah Foundation in Tallulah will use its $300,000 RHED grant to assist in the construction of six to eight new homes, to substantially rehabilitate low income family homes, and to create new jobs in the Madison and East Carroll parishes, 80 percent of which will be filled by eligible low and very low income residents of the Northeast Louisiana Delta target area.

Partners for this project are Habitat for Humanity of Madison, LISC Mid-South Delta, Leadership Conference of Women Religious, SDA-83 Workforce Investment Board, YouthBuild Delta, the Towns of Lake Providence and Tallulah, the Louisiana Technical College, the Madison Parish Chamber of Commerce, the Madison and East Carroll Parish Police Juries, the Delta Bank, the local school districts, and other local partner agencies and businesses including the Macon Ridge CDC and the Northeast Louisiana Delta CDC. The proposed leveraging for this project is $628,850. Contact: Mason Cox, 318-574-4820.

Seventh District Pavilion, Inc. in Crowley will use its $300,000 RHED grant to provide a revolving loan account that will allow the organization to build homes in a timely manner. The agency proposes to construct 25 homes in 24 months. Partner for this project is the Federal Home Loan Bank of Dallas. The proposed leveraging for this project is $246,532. Contact: Dazetta Thorne, 337-788-3103.

START Corporation in Houma, LA will use its $300,000 RHED grant to assist in the acquisition of three acres of raw land located in Labadieville, Assumption Parish, and for the preparation of the land for 10 single family homes and a HUD 811 project that will include 13 rental units affordable for very low-income disabled persons. Partners for this project are the START Corporation, Louisiana Rehabilitation Services, Office of Addictive Disorders, and the Office of Mental Health. The proposed leveraging for this project is $50,094.

Contact: Casey Guidry, 985-879-3966.

WASHINGTON - U.S. Housing and Urban Development Secretary Steve Preston today announced a foreclosure moratorium in 34 parishes throughout Southern and Central Louisiana and offered support to homeowners and low-income renters forced from their homes following Hurricane Gustav. This foreclosure relief will help families living in presidentially declared disaster areas whose damaged homes are insured through the Federal Housing Administration (FHA).

Last evening, President Bush issued a disaster declaration throughout Louisiana including Acadia, Allen, Ascension, Assumption, Avoyelles, Beauregard, Cameron, East Baton Rouge, East Feliciana, Evangeline, Iberia, Iberville, Jefferson, Jefferson Davis, Lafayette, Lafourche, Livingston, Orleans, Plaquemines, Pointe Coupee, Rapides, Sabine, St. Bernard, St. Charles, St. James, St. John the Baptist, St. Landry, St. Martin, St. Mary, Terrebonne, Vermilion, Vernon, West Baton Rouge, and West Feliciana Parishes.

"Today, we are suspending FHA foreclosure activities throughout Louisiana's hardest hit parishes," said Preston. "This foreclosure moratorium will give families the time they need to figure out how to begin recovery process without having to worry about the prospect of being put out of their homes."

In certain storm and flooded ravaged parishes, HUD is granting a 90-day moratorium on foreclosures of mortgages insured by the Federal Housing Administration (FHA). In addition, HUD is strongly recommending that loan servicers take such actions as special forbearance, loan modification, refinancing, and waiver of late charges.

A presidential disaster declaration also triggers a variety of federal assistance including grants for temporary housing and home repairs, low-cost loans to cover uninsured property losses, and other programs to help individuals and business owners recover from the effects of the disaster.

With President Bush's disaster declaration, HUD will:

• Offer states the ability to re-allocate existing federal resources toward disaster relief - HUD's Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) and HOME programs give the State the flexibility to redirect millions of dollars to address critical needs, including housing and services for tornado victims. HUD will contact State and local officials to explore their needs for streamlining the Department's CDBG and HOME programs in order to expedite the repair and replacement of damaged housing;
• Make mortgage insurance available - HUD's Section 203(h) program provides FHA insurance to disaster victims who have lost their homes and are facing the daunting task of rebuilding or buying another home. Borrowers are eligible for 100 percent financing, including closing costs;
• Make insurance available for both mortgages and home rehabilitation - HUD's Section 203(k) loan program enables those who have lost their homes to finance the purchase or refinance of a house along with its repair through a single mortgage. It also allows homeowners who have damaged houses to finance the rehabilitation of their existing single-family home; and
• Offer Section 108 loan guarantee assistance - HUD will offer state and local governments federally guaranteed loans for housing rehabilitation, economic development and repair of public infrastructure.

As families return to their neighborhoods in the wake of Hurricane Gustav, HUD staff will be ready to help offer critical housing information through HUD's National Housing Locator System (NHLS). This web-based locator combines vacant sales and rental housing data from federal housing resources and three widely used commercial apartment locators. Currently, there are more than 69,000 homes and apartments available in Louisiana, Texas, Mississippi, Alabama, Georgia and Florida.

For more information about HUD programs designed to assist disaster victims, visit www.hud.gov/offices/cpd/communitydevelopment/programs/dri/

A diverse group of faith-based organizations has raised $4.5 million to create two new disaster relief funds that will help affordable housing projects close financing gaps and help small businesses get back on their feet.

The Isaiah Funds, a project of Catholic, Jewish, Mennonite and Baptist institutions, is believed to be the first national interfaith fund for long-term domestic disaster recovery.

The groups, which have been active in volunteer efforts after Hurricane Katrina, say they recognize that some of the hardest rebuilding work still lies ahead, and providing long-term, low-cost, flexible capital is one of the best ways they can continue to help.

The two funds, one for loans and one for grants, will initially focus on low-income communities on the Gulf Coast. The first set of grants and loans will be announced this morning.

HANO will use the funding to revitalize the C.J. Peete public housing development. Built nearly 70 years ago, C.J. Peete is comprised of 723 units, all of which will be revitalized. The redevelopment plan includes the historic preservation and renovation of a residential building, as well as the administration building and community center, for use in the revitalized community.

As part of the HOPE VI grant, HANO intends to rebuild 510 units consisting of 193 public housing units, 144 affordable rental units, 123 market rate rental units and 50 affordable homes for purchase. Of the 510 units, 482 will be located on the original development's site. Prior to receiving this HOPE VI grant, the plan for C.J. Peete included the construction of 460 units on-site. This HOPE VI Revitalization grant will provide additional subsidy for the 460 units and allow HANO to construct the 50 additional affordable homeownership units (22 on-site and 28 off-site). The HOPE VI grant will also provide additional community and support services for residents who resided at C.J. Peete as part of the Community and Supportive Services component of the grant.

At the time Hurricane Katrina's flood waters severely damaged C.J. Peete, only 146 units were occupied. Families who resided at C.J. Peete who had to relocate in the wake of Katrina will be among those who receive priority to reoccupy the new units once they are constructed.

HANO's overall public housing recovery effort will include approximately 5,100 housing opportunities for families and 3,000 new housing vouchers will be provided to low-income families who resided at the "Big Four" public housing communities that are slated for redevelopment, namely C.J. Peete, B.W. Cooper, St. Bernard and Lafitte. Overall, more than 8,000 families will be assisted – an increase of more than 3,000 families over pre-Katrina levels.

HANO will pay relocation and reoccupancy costs for residents as needed. Former residents of C.J. Peete will be given the opportunity to move back to the newly constructed units. Alternatively, if residents choose not to return to public housing, they may keep their voucher. In addition, community and supportive services, such as employment and education related services, child care, health care, and homeownership and credit counseling, will be provided to all impacted families.

HANO was selected from a pool of 29 applications HUD received from public housing authorities (PHAs) across the country. Including this grant, New Orleans has been awarded four HOPE VI Revitalization grants. Other grantees that received HOPE VI Revitalization for the 2007 funding round are housing authorities in Boston, Fayetteville, N.C., Phoenix, AZ, and Washington, D.C. Including these grants, HUD has awarded 242 HOPE VI Revitalization grants since 1993 to 128 PHAs that total approximately $5.9 billion.

HUD's HOPE VI Program was created in 1992 following a report by the National Commission on Severely Distressed Public Housing, which concluded that approximately 86,000 public housing units in the U.S. needed revitalization.

Public Housing Authorities (PHAs) are competitively selected for HOPE VI grants based on many factors including the effectiveness and project readiness of their revitalization plans. HUD gives PHAs the flexibility to develop revitalization plans that meet their local needs. Among other criteria, grant awards are also based on the capacity of the housing authority and its developer to administer and manage completion of the revitalization effort; the severity of physical distress of the development; the ability of the housing authority to supplement the HOPE VI grant with funding from other sources, private, state or local government; and ability to provide supportive services to affected residents.

The timing could not be better for the launch of the landmark PBS documentary Unnatural Causes – Is Inequality Making us Sick?, a four-part series that sheds light on the critical importance of economics, race and class on health outcomes.

The documentary (which I helped advise) skillfully portrays the vast disparities in health and overall quality of life between families with wealth and those clinging to the middle and lower rungs of the economic ladder.

The more money you have, the better your health. This powerful and vital message is at the heart of the series and helped spur the creation of the PolicyLink Center for Health and Place, which I direct.  For more information and viewing times . . .

Of the 187 large and midsized businesses that responded, 71 percent reported that the availability of workforce housing has an impact on them. Nearly two-thirds reported having difficulty attracting qualified job applicants.

More than 25 percent said a significant number of their workers live in neighboring parishes because they cannot afford to live in St. Tammany.

"Workforce housing is essential, and it's about economic prosperity," said Martin Mayer, president and CEO of Stirling Properties and an executive committee member of the Northshore Business Council. "Workers who must commute long distances because they can't afford housing spend excessive time on the road, which is expensive for them and adds congestion to the streets."

But some survey respondents expressed concern that cheaper housing would lead to an increase in crime or slum-like living conditions — comments that proponents see as a misunderstanding of the workforce housing concept.

The plan would establish what is known as a community land trust, with a nonprofit group owning land that it leases to homeowners for a nominal fee.

Prices would be within reach of those who currently cannot afford a home in the parish because the trust would retain title to the land and the buyer would own only the house itself.

Representatives from the Northshore Business Council, a newly formed group led by former Parish Council member Pat Brister and lawyer Howard Daigle, described the plan at a conference Tuesday in Madisonville.

The business council, along with the parish government and the St. Tammany Housing Partnership, soon will commission a feasibility study at an estimated cost of about $30,000, half of which will be financed with grant money from Habitat For Humanity St. Tammany West. The other half will likely come from the parish, which may eventually donate land to the trust.