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LINCOLN — An $8 million federal grant to Nebraska marks a new funding stream that will open rental opportunities for low-income adults with disabilities.
The award is the result of a competitive application for the U.S. Housing and Urban Development’s Section 811 Project Rental Assistance for Persons with Disabilities program, a program Nebraska had not applied for or tapped before now, said Robin Ambroz of the Nebraska Investment Finance Authority.
NIFA, which learned of the award Wednesday, is one of 18 state housing agencies slated to share $138.5 million in Section 811 PRA grants.
For Nebraska, the funds are expected to create 156 new options for rental assistance to eligible tenants. The funding is project-based, meaning the rent aid will be attached to the dwelling.
The funds come at an opportune time, Ambroz said, as NIFA and other partners are focused on reaching goals laid out in the Nebraska Strategic Housing Framework. Among the goals is creation of 35,000 affordable residences, 10,000 of which are to target low-income and special needs populations with household incomes of less than $22,000.
“We’re over the moon,” Ambroz said of the grant.
The funds will open new housing options for people with disabilities that, she said, can include physical, behavioral and mental disabilities. Eligible adults currently might be living with a parent or in a group home.
“Quite honestly some could be homeless and living in a shelter,” said Ambroz.
The rental assistance should stretch over about five years, she said, though there likely would be an opportunity for renewal.
NIFA will work with the Nebraska Department of Health and Human Services to identify tenants, who must also qualify for state programs such as Medicaid and live in households with extremely low income (30% or less of area median income).
“When individuals with disabilities, to include developmental and mental health, have the opportunity to live, work, and enjoy life in their community, it benefits both the individual and the community,” said DHHS Developmental Disabilities Division Director Tony Green. “This grant will help overcome one of the largest barriers to achieving this goal, the high cost and adequate housing for individuals with disabilities.”
HUD officials said in a news release that the grants will allow state housing agencies to develop strategies to identify and refer low-income persons with disabilities to eligible homes and to provide them with rental assistance and supportive services.
“Adults with disabilities often face significant barriers in securing a safe and stable place to live,” said Julia Gordon, assistant secretary for housing. “These awards create opportunities for more housing that’s available, accessible, and inclusive.”
Other states awarded grants are: California, Ohio, Wisconsin, Massachusetts, Connecticut, New Hampshire, Pennsylvania, North Carolina, Indiana, Kansas, Texas, Minnesota, Washington, Michigan, Kentucky, Utah and Oregon.
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