FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
October 6, 2021
CONTACT Edwin Stubbs Edwin@narrative-project.com 973.223.0525
Elm City Communities Awarded $3.9 million to Evaluate and Reduce Hazards In Public Housing to Ensure Residents Access to Decent, Safe, and Sanitary Housing
New Haven, CT - Elm City Communities (ECC) announced today they were awarded $3.9 million to evaluate and reduce health hazards in Public Housing. The grant, administered by the Housing-Related Hazards Capital Fund Program as authorized by the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2020, will enable ECC to conduct activities to identify and eliminate housing-related hazards in Public Housing. “The health and wellbeing of our residents is always our top priority,” said Karen DuBois-Walton, President of Elm City Communities. “This award allows ECC/HANH to enact its vision where every resident has a safe, decent home and opportunities to fulfill their goals. We look forward to making intentional choices to invest in our community with equity and justice in mind.” The 2020 Housing-related Hazard Capital Fund NOFO makes $20 million available in new competitive grants for PHAs to identify and eliminate housing-related hazards in public housing such as mold, carbon monoxide, pest infestation, radon, fire hazards, and other housing hazards. “With this grant, Elm City Communities will further ensure that all of our residents all have equal access to safe, decent, sanitary, housing,” said Latweeta Smyers, Senior Vice President of Operations at Elm City Communities.” Our housing needs to support the wellness and safety of our residents, not cause illness or injury. So much work has been put into our buildings over the past few years, but this investment will allow ECC and our community to better evaluate, inspect, and resolve hazardous living conditions.” Adequate housing is universally recognized as one of the most basic needs. The United Nations Center for Human Settlements estimates that over 1 billion people live in inadequate housing in the world, and over 100 million people live in conditions classified as unhoused. ECC plans to begin remediation work in 2022. In the coming weeks, ECC will also issue requests for proposals to hire contractors that specialize in testing for, identifying, and eliminating housing-related hazards To learn more about ECC/HANH, visit www.elmcitycommunities.org.
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Elm City Communities/Housing Authority of New Haven (ECC/HANH) is the public housing agency serving the City of New Haven. We serve over 6,100 families and over 14,000 individuals through our public housing, housing choice voucher and low-income housing tax credit programs. Through our affordable housing programs, residents pay no more than 30% of their income toward their housing expenses. Families are supported in reaching their life goals through a full array of supportive services that lead to the increased income, entrepreneurism, education attainment, homeownership and more. Elm City Communities is committed to expanding access to affordable housing services and to ensuring that these services are available in every community.