The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development on Wednesday awarded several grants totaling nearly $300,000 to help connect people to housing in Columbus.
Of that amount, $156,000 will go to the Columbus Metropolitan Housing Authority to help residents of public housing further their education and grow their careers.
A community center on Cleveland Avenue to serve as a designated hub of federal resources. Part of HUD Secretary Ben Carson's EnVision Center initiative, the RISE Center is one of only 34 such hubs in the country, and the second in Ohio.
“They are a joint effort to connect low income households with a variety of resources offering pathways to economic opportunity and self sufficiency,” says HUD administrator Joseph Galvan.
Galvan says they will measure the efficacy of the center by the success of those who utilize it.
“The real success will be considered by the number of persons who achieve self sufficiency, by measuring the number of persons who no longer require assistance from our programs,” he says.
HUD and the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs also awarded $142,000 to help homeless veterans in the area.
“Since 2017, the Columbus VA, along with CMHA, has provided permanent supportive housing to 310 veteran households,” says Vivian Hutson, director of Veterans Affairs Central Ohio Healthcare System.
Nationwide, HUD and VA distributed $29.3 million in total to housing agencies in December.
