Grants to help city combat homelessness
Springfield partners with local nonprofits for $2.5M in fed grants.
Springfield will receive grants this year from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development to help combat homelessness and provide housing opportunities.
Springfield is slated to receive more than $2.5 million from multiple grants that are funded through HUD. It is part of $230 million that will be awarded to communities across Ohio.
The funding comes in the form of several programs by HUD, including the Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) program, Emergency Solutions Grants and the HOME Investment Partnerships program.
That money aims to help communities provide affordable housing, expand economic opportunities as well as provide funding for homeless shelters and other forms of emergency shelter.
Springfield was listed by HUD to receive over $1.8 million in Community Development Block grants, over $500,000 in HOME Investment Partnerships Program grants and over $160,000 in Emergency Solutions grants.
That money is slated to be allocated to the city and its partners during this fiscal year.
Money from the Emergency Solutions grant will be used to combat homelessness in the community, which spiked last year in part due to the financial impacts of the coronavirus pandemic, said Jackie Sudhoff, the city’s development program administrator..
Two organizations in Springfield are eligible for that funding, include the Interfaith Hospitality Network, which provides services to the homeless, and Project Woman, a domestic violence and sexual assault survivor service provider.
More than $500,000 from the HOME Investment Partnerships Program could go towards projects that aim to build more affordable housing in the area.
One of those projects is by Neighborhood Housing Partnership of Greater Springfield that aims to build additional affordable senior housing.
Another is by the Interfaith Hospitality Network that aims to add more safe permanent housing options in an effort to help combat homelessness.
Both projects have applied for tax credits this year through the Ohio Housing Financing agency, said Sudhoff.
Some of that program money could be used to help offer down payment assistance to first time home buyers in the city.
The largest amount of HUD funding to Springfield will be coming in the form of Community Development Block grants.
“The Community Development Block Grant Program provides annual grants on a formula basis to states, cities, and counties to develop viable urban communities by providing decent housing and a suitable living environment, and by expanding economic opportunities, principally for low- and moderate-income persons,” said a recent news release from HUD
Sudhoff said Springfield will open up applications this year to allow community organizations to access that grant money.
Contact this reporter at 937701-2336 or email hasan. karim@coxinc.com.