WASHINGTON – U.S. Senators Ben Cardin and Chris Van Hollen (both D-Md.) today announced more than $45 million in combined grant awards to Baltimore City, Baltimore County, Howard County and Harford County to support affordable housing and community development. The Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) Office of Community Planning and Development (CPD) has allocated funds for the region through the Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) Program, The Emergency Solutions Grants (ESG) and the HOME Investment Partnership Program (HOME). In addition, the State of Maryland received over $15 million in grants for smaller jurisdictions across the state. These federal funds complement the $4.4 million in grants from the Public Housing Capital Fund recently announced by Senators Cardin and Van Hollen.

“Every Marylander – every American – deserves a safe and affordable place to call home,” said Senator Cardin. “These federal funds target those who need it most – including the low- and very-low income, people with HIV-AIDS and their families, and individuals experiencing homelessness – while giving local leaders freedom to address the problem in a way that makes the most sense for their communities.”

“These federal investments have a positive, real world impact on people across our state – including right here in Baltimore. This is a successful targeted program to expand economic opportunity and to provide a hand-up to people struggling to make ends meet,” said Senator Van Hollen.

The Community Development Block (CDBG) Grants program provides annual grants to states and local units of government to develop viable urban communities by providing decent housing and a suitable living environment, and by expanding economic opportunities, principally for low- and moderate-income persons.

The Emergency Solutions Grants (ESG) program provides annual grants to state, local, and private entities to assist people in quickly regaining stability in permanent housing after experiencing a housing crisis and/or homelessness.  In addition to rapid re-housing and homelessness prevention, the ESG program also provides limited funding for street outreach as well as for improving the quality and number of emergency homeless shelters.

The HOME Investment Partnership Program helps to expand – often in partnership with local nonprofit groups – the supply of decent, affordable housing to low- and very low-income families by providing grants to states and local governments to fund housing programs that meet local needs and priorities. HOME is the largest Federal block grant to state and local governments designed exclusively to create affordable housing for low-income households.

Housing Opportunities for Persons with AIDS (HOPWA) Program provides housing assistance and related supportive services to local units of government, states and non-profit organizations for projects that benefit low-income persons medically diagnosed with HIV/AIDS and their families.

The Housing Trust Fund (HTF) is a new affordable housing production program that will complement existing Federal, State and local efforts to increase and preserve the supply of decent, safe, and sanitary affordable housing for extremely low- and very low-income households, including homeless families.

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