HUD AWARDS NEARLY $700,000 GRANT TO PROMOTE AFFORDABLE HOUSING, ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT IN NEBRASKA NATIVE AMERICAN COMMUNITY
Grants support critical projects in tribal areas to address housing, community development and jobs

WASHINGTON - The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development today awarded $695,270 to the Ho-Chunk Community Development Corporation in Winnebago, Nebraska to improve housing conditions, promote community development and to spur local economies with construction projects and jobs. The competitive grants awarded are part of HUD's Indian Community Development Block Grant (ICDBG) Program that address a wide variety of community development and affordable housing activities for low- to moderate-income families.

"These grants are a step forward in forging solutions to improve the housing and economic conditions for some of our country's most culturally rich neighborhoods," said HUD Great Plains Regional Administrator Derrith Watchman-Moore. "I'm impressed at the energy and creativity in how the tribe leveraged public funds to create lasting solutions for countless families in Nebraska."

The funding to Nebraska awarded today is part of $56 million HUD announced today to tribal communities throughout the nation. The recipients will use these grants to develop viable communities including rehabilitating housing or building new homes or to purchase land to support new housing construction. The funding can also used to build infrastructure such as roads, water and sewer facilities. To stimulate economic development and job growth, recipients use the grants to establish commercial, industrial and agricultural projects. Recipients also use the funding to build community and health centers, or to start businesses to support the community including shopping centers, manufacturing plants, restaurants or convenience stores and gas stations. Specific examples of this sort of economic and community development include:

The Ho-Chunk Community Development Corporation will use the grant to fund the rehabilitation of 15 single-family homes owned by the Winnebago Housing and Development Commission, the grant's sub-recipient. Each of the units will serve the housing needs of low- to moderate-income Native Americans. The project is leveraged with $231,758 in Indian Housing Block Grant funds.

The ICDBG program was established in 1977 to help Indian tribes and Alaska Native villages to meet their community development needs. Federally recognized tribes, bands, groups, nations or eligible tribal organizations compete for this funding.

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HUD's mission is to create strong, sustainable, inclusive communities and quality affordable homes for all. HUD is working to strengthen the housing market to bolster the economy and protect consumers; meet the need for quality affordable rental homes: utilize housing as a platform for improving quality of life; build inclusive and sustainable communities free from discrimination; and transform the way HUD does business. More information about HUD and its programs is available on the Internet at www.hud.gov and espanol.hud.gov. You can also follow HUD on Twitter at @HUDnews or on Facebook at www.facebook.com/HUD. or sign up for news alerts on HUD's News Listserv.