Van Hollen, Cardin Announce $370,000 for Affordable Housing in Baltimore

U.S. Senators Chris Van Hollen and Ben Cardin (both D-Md.) have announced $227,500 for the Neighborhood Housing Services of Baltimore, Inc. and $142,500 for the St. Ambrose Housing Aid Center through NeighborWorks America. This funding will support efforts to develop and preserve affordable housing, revitalize and sustain neighborhoods, and create jobs in Maryland. These are two of four grants being announced for Maryland, totaling over $1 million dollars in NeighborWorks funding. Senators Cardin and Van Hollen fought and secured significant funding for the program in the FY 2018 Omnibus, despite the NeighborWorks program being eliminated in the President’s FY 2018 budget.

“We need to increase the supply of affordable housing to help Maryland families who are struggling to make ends meet,” said Senator Van Hollen, a member of the Budget and Appropriations Committees. “This funding will not only provide more affordable housing, but also spur economic development and create jobs. I will continue fighting in Congress to support efforts to provide affordable housing and economic opportunity for all Marylanders.”

“Every Marylander – every American – deserves a safe and affordable place to call home,” said Senator Cardin, a member of the Senate Finance Committee. “These funds represent a critical federal investment in Baltimore housing, particularly in our efforts to keep our neighborhoods affordable. I made sure this issue was a priority when negotiating the FY18 budget, and for the sake of middle income families, will make sure it remains a top priority moving forward.”

NeighborWorks America is a public nonprofit organization, established by Congress in 1978 as the Neighborhood Reinvestment Corporation. It supports and enhances a network of nearly 250 local and regional nonprofit partner NeighborWorks organizations that bring together residents, private-sector business leaders, and representatives of local government to create communities of opportunity. For 40 years, NeighborWorks America has supported local solutions to community development and affordable housing in urban, suburban, and rural communities in all 50 states, the District of Columbia, and Puerto Rico by providing NeighborWorks organizations financial and grant support, training, technical assistance, organizational assessments, technology tools, and other services. In FY 2017, NeighborWorks America and the NeighborWorks network provided over 455,000 housing and counseling services, including 22,700 homeowners created and 15,200 quality, affordable rental homes developed.