Tell Cleveland what to do with millions in federal housing money
Residents have until April 11 to share their thoughts about housing and urban development needs in Cleveland. Cleveland, Ohio, has been collecting public feedback on how the city should spend $28 million in federal funds for housing and urban development programs. The city is using these funds to fund affordable housing and development opportunities to low-income communities. The money is part of a requirement to secure federal funds to ensure that the city can use these funds for programs such as Healthy Homes, Home Repair programs, Fair Housing programs, and Housing and Housing Discrimination Prevention programs. So far, no residents have commented on the spending of the funds. The goal of collecting this feedback is to inform how the CDBG money is spent during the upcoming year.
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Want to tell the government how you’d like to see Cleveland spend roughly $28 million on housing and urban development programs? You could be the first, according to a city administrator.
The city has been collecting feedback since March as part of a requirement to secure the federal dollars to fund housing and related programs in Cleveland. The programs are focused on providing affordable housing and development opportunities to low-income communities.
So far, zero residents have commented on how the money should be spent, said city administrator Joy Anderson.
“It’s a wonderful opportunity for residents to have a voice,” said Anderson, who has helped manage this process for five years.
Community Development Block Grants – or CDBGs – are federal dollars designed to provide flexible funding to local governments to support housing and urban development projects. Here are some examples:
• Healthy Homes Program, which helps residents navigate health hazards such as lead, mold, pest control and more
• Home repair programs, which included the Senior Homeowner Assistance Program that serves seniors and people with disabilities
• Fair housing programs, which help protect residents from housing discrimination
Most of the money comes from CDBG, but there are three other grant programs from Housing and Urban Development (HUD) that the city also gets to spend.
The city must meet certain requirements to receive the money, including collecting feedback and concerns from residents about how the money should be spent.
Scroll to the bottom of this story to see how the city plans to spend the money over the next two years.
How to be heard on housing needs in Cleveland
The goal of collecting feedback from residents is to inform how the CDBG money is spent during the upcoming year.
Residents are encouraged to share experiences and opinions about why money should or shouldn’t be spent on a specific program or community need, Anderson said. For example, someone could say they think more – or less – money should be spent on demolition.
The city created a presentation that provides an overview of its current plans for the money.
If someone has questions related to a personal housing concern – such as how to apply for a program – the city can still help with those issues, according to Anderson. However, those comments are considered separate and not used to inform CDBG spending, she said.
For residents who speak languages other than English, contact Joy Anderson at [email protected] for translation and interpretation services.