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Washington, D.C. – Congressman Pete Visclosky today announced that Northwest Indiana will receive $13,435,255.47 in U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) Community Development Block Grants. Lake County will receive $5,738,024.37; Hammond will receive $3,860,473.48; and Gary will receive $3,836,757.62. The funding was awarded through the Neighborhood Stabilization Program, which is intended to help areas hit hard by foreclosures.
“The foreclosure crisis has hit some of our communities especially hard, with foreclosed and abandoned homes destabilizing neighborhoods and threatening to bring down the hardworking people who live nearby,” said Visclosky. “This HUD funding for Northwest Indiana will help the people on Main Street who have been hit hard by the mortgage crisis, and aid in minimizing the crisis’ potentially widespread impact on the region.”
HUD’s Neighborhood Stabilization Program provides emergency assistance to state and local governments to acquire and redevelop foreclosed properties that might otherwise become sources of abandonment and blight within their communities. The Program provides grants to purchase foreclosed or abandoned homes and to rehabilitate, resell, or redevelop these homes in order to stabilize neighborhoods and stem the decline in value of neighboring homes. It was authorized under the Housing and Economic Recovery Act of 2008, a comprehensive housing bill to help families facing foreclosure keep their homes, help other families avoid foreclosures in the future, and help the recovery of communities harmed by empty homes caught in the foreclosure process. Visclosky supported the bill and it was enacted into law on July 30.
According to HUD, Indiana has a 6.7 percent statewide foreclosure rate and a high statewide abandonment risk. Lake County’s foreclosure rate is 6.3 percent and the local abandonment risk is rated as low. However, Hammond’s foreclosure rate is 12.6 percent, Gary’s is 18.1 percent, and both have a high local abandonment risk.
“Stabilizing our neighborhoods that have been hit hard by foreclosures not only helps protect the homes of those living nearby, but is also the first step toward recovery from the mortgage crisis,” said Visclosky. “This federal investment in Northwest Indiana’s communities will help us rebuild our economy from the grassroots up.” |
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