Today, the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development awarded 95 public housing authorities (PHAs) in Louisiana $53,083,894 to make capital investments in their public housing stock. Nationally, $3.16 billion in funding was awarded to nearly 2,770 PHAs in all 50 states, as well as the District of Columbia, Guam, Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands. Grants are awarded to communities large and small, urban and rural – from Washington, DC to Whatcom County in Washington State, and everywhere in between. This funding is for dedicated housing to public housing residents to make sure they have adequate housing that is secure. View all local grants announced today.
“As I have traveled the country, I’ve heard time and again from families and seniors in public housing that a decent home in a safe community shouldn’t be too much to ask for,” said HUD Secretary Marcia L. Fudge. “With this investment today, we are committing to work with our public housing authority partners to guarantee homes in public housing are worthy of the families and individuals who live there.”
The grants announced today are provided through HUD's Capital Fund Program, which offers annual funding to all public housing authorities to build, renovate, and/or modernize the public housing in their communities. Housing authorities can use the funding to complete large-scale improvements such as replacing roofs or making energy-efficient upgrades to heating systems and installing water conservation measures.
“Families are the bedrock of our communities,” Candace Valenzuela, HUD Southwest Regional Administrator said. “Today’s investment ensures that we’re putting families and seniors in safe, sanitary, and decent housing and on the pathway for a better tomorrow. The work this money funds is the kind of investment Americans can be proud of and the kind that leads to radical change for good in our neighborhoods.”
For more than 80 years, the federal government has been investing billions of dollars in developing and maintaining public housing, including providing critical support through the Capital Fund grants announced today.