NeighborImpact among five recipients of $2 million total in federal grants for affordable housing
WASHINGTON (KTVZ) -- Sens. Ron Wyden and Jeff Merkley, D-Ore., announced Thursday that five Oregon communities, including Central Oregon's NeighborImpact, will receive a combined nearly $2 million in federal grants to develop and preserve affordable housing, revitalize and sustain neighborhoods, and create jobs in communities.
“Sustainable, resilient communities where Oregonians can thrive start with quality, affordable housing. Full stop,” Wyden said. “These federal resources will help communities come together to build and preserve quality, affordable, lasting housing options needed so urgently to combat the ongoing housing crisis in the Metro area, Central and Southern Oregon.”
“At a time when Oregon’s working families are struggling with the high costs of everything from gas and groceries to prescription drugs, it’s critical that our country prioritizes quality, affordable housing,” Merkley said. “I’m pleased that this federal funding will help develop and support affordable housing, while also creating good jobs. These major investments will have a real impact on families around Oregon, and I’ll continue to do all I can to secure resources to help deliver affordable housing in every corner of our state.”
These grant dollars totaling $1.99 million come from NeighborWorks America, a public nonprofit organization, established by Congress in 1978. It supports local and regional nonprofit organizations that collaborate with private-sector business leaders and representatives of local government to create neighborhoods where every family has a chance to get ahead. The grant funds will be allocated as follows:
- CASA of Oregon, Sherwood: $313,000
- DevNW, Springfield: $303,000
- NeighborImpact, Redmond: $262,000
- NeighborWorks Umpqua, Roseburg: $259,000
- Portland Housing Center, Portland: $434,000
- REACH Community Development, Inc., Portland: $426,000
“These funds are a backbone investment in NeighborImpact's work to create housing opportunities for Central Oregonians looking to become homeowners or struggling to stay in their homes. Every day, we help people understand the home-buying process or learn to budget and save, to navigate foreclosure, to analyze a reverse mortgage or to save for education, home ownership or a business start-up. Senators Wyden and Merkley have been long-time supporters of money that gets to ground and has an immediate impact on people. This is yet another investment that will make the lives of the average person better in our region,” said Scott Cooper, Executive Director of NeighborImpact.
“NeighborWorks Umpqua is grateful for this funding allocation to help us with renovations and enhance resident service to maintain a high quality of life for low-income families living in our housing throughout Douglas, Coos, Curry, Jackson, Josephine and Lane Counties. We are looking forward to using a portion of this funding to expand our partnerships with the Tribal Nations within our service area, and increase targets services to Veterans, victims of crime, and justice-system involved individuals,” said Erica Mills, CEO of NeighborWorks Umpqua.
“The annual funding we receive through NeighborWorks America is critical to supporting our affordable housing development team, ensuring that we can hire and maintain skilled development staff and that we have seed funding to pay for the earliest costs of housing projects – like land acquisition and site design. Without this funding, we would not be able to create new homes for as many Oregon families. We are so thankful to our Oregon Senators for being champions of affordable housing and supporting these NeighborWorks funds,” said Emily Reiman, CEO of DevNW.
“NeighborWorks America is an amazing network of local community development organizations. NeighborWorks has been a big contributor to REACH’s success in creating and sustaining over 2,700 affordable rental homes and helping thousands of low-income homeowners throughout our history,” said Daniel Valliere, CEO of REACH CDC.
