State housing agency awards $1.2 million to county improving housing, lives in colonias
AUSTIN, TX – July 27, 2012 – (RealEstateRama) — The Texas Department of Housing and Community Affairs (TDHCA) today announced that it has awarded a $1.2 million contract to Webb County to continue funding operations of the county’s Colonia Self-Help Center, which promotes home ownership and self-sufficiency for residents living in five county colonias.
The contract will provide a wide range of technical and consumer assistance to an estimated 2,041 residents living in Los Altos, Tanquecitos I and II, San Carlos I and II, Ranchitos 359 East, and Pueblo Nuevo colonias.
The Webb County Colonia Self-Help Center, one of seven along the Texas-Mexico border, supports the efforts of local colonia residents to improve their own living standards while making the most of limited housing funds, according to Tim Irvine, TDHCA Executive Director.
“Too many generations of colonia households have been raised in poor housing conditions, and we have all been living with the consequences,” Irvine said. “Our Self-Help Centers provide residents the tools to improve the quality of their home which often leads to other benefits, such as higher health standards and increased economic opportunities, ultimately reducing the need for future assistance from the state.”
The contract calls for $930,000 to be used to help residents reconstruct 11 homes, construct four new homes, substantially rehabilitate five homes, and perform minor home repairs to another 10 homes.
The balance will be used to operate the center’s tool lending library; provide a series of home ownership, technology, and construction skills classes; and the removal of solid waste at three sites, in addition to helping meet the center’s core administrative expenses.
TDHCA’s Colonia Self-Help Center Program is funded through the federal Community Development Block Grant Program to benefit households earning no more than 80 percent of the area median family income. For Webb County, this equals an annual income of $39,450 for a family of four.
For more information regarding this program, please contact the Self-Help Center directly at (956) 728-1481.
About the Texas Department of Housing and Community Affairs
The Texas Department of Housing and Community Affairs administers a number of state and federal programs through for-profit, nonprofit, and local government partnerships to strengthen communities through affordable housing development, home ownership opportunities, weatherization, and community-based services for Texans in need.
Contact:
Gordon Anderson 512-475-4743
Jill McFarren 512-475-2844 cheap Abilify
