Submitted by U.S. Senator Maria Cantwell, Washington
Today, U.S. Senator Maria Cantwell (D-WA) announced the City of Olympia and Thurston County will receive more than $2.31 million in grant money from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD).
Olympia will receive $368,906 from the Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) program. Thurston County will receive $1,205,737 from the CDBG program and $744,851 from HUD’s HOME Investment Partnerships Program (HOME). The funding will help improve housing opportunities and build new affordable housing units in Olympia and throughout Thurston County.
The CDBG program helps support home ownership, housing rehabilitation, public improvements, and economic development projects in communities throughout the country. Since 1974, the program has invested more than $153 billion in communities nationwide, and it has helped leverage $4.09 in non-CDBG funding for every $1.00 of funding given out.
The HOME program is the federal government’s only block grant program to help state and local governments create more affordable housing units for low-income families. The program has created more than 1.3 million units since 1992 and provided direct rental assistance to more than 356,000 low-income families nationwide. It serves urban, suburban, and rural communities, providing resources for seniors, persons with disabilities, homeless families and individuals, and military veterans.
Senator Cantwell has long been a supporter of the CDBG and the HOME program. She has also prioritized investment in affordable housing, helping to secure nearly $3 billion in additional affordable housing funding in March 2018 and introducing legislation earlier this year to increase investment in affordable housing and provide more resources and stronger protections for at-risk groups.
