WHEDA receives $5.4 million grant from HUD to support housing for low-income homeless people with disabilities

MADISON – A $5.4 million Project Rental Assistance 811 grant to the Wisconsin Housing and Economic Development Authority will help fund the development of integrated, supportive rental housing for low-income homeless people with disabilities.

The grant from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development will be paired with projects that have been awarded federal or state tax credits. In conjunction with the Wisconsin Department of Health Services, this funding will connect tenants with various supportive services, such as health care, transportation, education and employment services. WHEDA anticipates the $5,386,056 HUD grant will create an additional 132 units.

“These HUD funds are critical in helping some of Wisconsin’s most vulnerable residents access safe, affordable housing to support their success,” said WHEDA CEO Joaquín Altoro. “The Project Rental Assistance 811 award program helps foster independence and provides supportive services for people with disabilities to move from an institutional setting to permanent housing in our communities. WHEDA is honored to be one of the seven housing and economic development finance authorities nationwide to receive funding through this extremely competitive program.”

The HUD fiscal 2019 grants are being awarded to organizations that will create permanent supportive housing models at the forefront of design, service delivery and efficient use of federal resources. The projects that will in turn receive the funds from WHEDA also must promote long-term housing security and facilitate community integration of people with disabilities.

HUD’s 811 award program aims to make efficient use of funds by integrating the supportive units within new, existing and renovated multifamily developments. The program also works to identify innovative and replicable ways to leverage the funds.

WHEDA previously received $2,532,090 in funding from HUD’s 2013 fiscal year to create a total of 88 units in Milwaukee, Platteville, Cottage Grove and Wisconsin Dells.

In addition to WHEDA, other state housing finance and economic development authorities receiving the funds are: Washington State Department of Commerce; Maryland Department of Housing and Community Development; Virginia Housing Development Authority; Ohio Housing Finance Agency; Georgia Housing and Finance Authority; and New Mexico Mortgage Finance Authority.

More information about WHEDA’s administration of the Project Rental Assistance 811 award program can be found here. Information for developers interested in pursuing projects using the 811 award funding will be made available along with application materials in the weeks ahead.

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ABOUT WHEDA
For more than 45 years, WHEDA has worked to provide low-cost financing for housing and small business development in Wisconsin. Since 1972, WHEDA has financed more than 75,000 affordable rental units, helped more than 133,000 families purchase a home and provided more than 29,000 small business and agricultural loan guarantees. WHEDA is a self-supporting public corporation that receives no tax dollars for its operations. For more information on WHEDA programs, visit wheda.com or call 800-334-6873.

NOTE: This press release was submitted to Urban Milwaukee and was not written by an Urban Milwaukee writer. It has not been verified for its accuracy or completeness.