Detroit, MI – “I am pleased HUD has awarded 12 Michigan cities funds to alleviate blight, acquire and rehabilitate homes, and increase land bank capacity. These funds will help stabilize and strengthen neighborhoods, create jobs, and stimulate the economy,” said Congresswoman Carolyn Cheeks Kilpatrick (MI-13). “I will continue working with the Obama Administration and my colleagues to ensure that families and neighborhoods in the 13th Congressional District and Michigan get the services and resources we need.”

Congresswoman Kilpatrick, Michigan’s only appropriator and member of the Appropriations’ Transportation/Housing and Urban Development (HUD) Subcommittee, today joins HUD Secretary Shaun Donovan and state and local elected officials in announcing that Michigan will receive over $220 million in American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) funding to address the negative effects of abandonment and foreclosure in neighborhoods.

Congresswoman Kilpatrick was among the 10 members of the Michigan congressional delegation to submit a letter to Secretary Donovan expressing her support of the Michigan State Housing Development Authority’s (MSHDA) request for funding.

The proposal includes cities most affected by the decline in manufacturing employment, elevated foreclosure rates, access to credit and household, and population loss. Targeted areas include two cities in Michigan’s 13th Congressional District—Detroit and Wyandotte—as well as Highland Park, Hamtramck, Flint, Saginaw, Pontiac, Lansing, Battle Creek, Kalamazoo, Grand Rapids, and Benton Harbor.

The funds will be distributed to Michigan from HUD’s Neighborhood Stabilization Program (NSP), which provides emergency assistance to state and local governments to stabilize neighborhoods and stem the decline of house values of neighboring homes. For more information, visit www.hud.gov.