June 26, 2014
Media Contact:
Gordon Anderson (512) 475-4743
Public Inquiries: TDHCA Housing Resource Center: (512) 475-3976
KEY POINTS
- State contract to provide assistance to five colonias
- Self-Help Center expected to assist 9,100 people
- Program improves homes, provides consumer education
State housing agency’s $1 million contract to help county improve living standards in five colonias
(AUSTIN) — The Texas Department of Housing and Community Affairs (TDHCA) today announced that it has awarded a $1 million contract to El Paso County to continue funding operations of the county’s Colonia Self-Help Center, which promotes homeownership and self-sufficiency for residents in five colonias in the county.
The contract will provide a wide range of technical and consumer assistance to an estimated 9,100 residents living in the following colonias: Agua Dulce Units 1-5, Colonias del Paso, College Park, Lakeway Estates Units 1-3, and Horizon View Estates Units 17 and 20-22.
TDHCA’s El Paso Colonia Self-Help Center, one of seven along the Texas-Mexico border, supports the efforts of local colonia residents to improve their own living standards while making the most of limited housing funds.
“The Department’s Colonia Self-Help Center Program provides residents the skills and tools to improve their homes and communities through collaborative effort,” said TDHCA Executive Director Tim Irvine in announcing the contract. “Our state has a long history of working to better ourselves while offering a hand to our neighbors in need. Together with the county, we look forward to continuing that tradition.”
County officials will subcontract with area nonprofit organizations to carry out the activities of the center. The contract is expected to help rehab 10 homes, repair 16 homes through self-help activities, reconstruct four homes, and make utility connections to another four homes.
The remaining funds will be used to operate the center’s tool library, use of the center’s computer lab, and provide solid waste clean-up in the targeted colonias.
The Colonia Self-Help Center Program is funded by the federal Community Development Block Grant Program (CDBG) through a Memorandum of Understanding between the Texas Department of Agriculture, which receives the state’s CDBG allocation from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, and TDHCA.
For more information regarding this program, please contact El Paso County staff directly at (915) 834-8201.
About the Texas Department of Housing and Community Affairs
The Texas Department of Housing and Community Affairs is committed to expanding fair housing choice and opportunities for Texans through the administration and funding of affordable housing and homeownership opportunities, weatherization, and community-based services with the help of for-profits, nonprofits, and local governments. For more information about fair housing, funding opportunities, or services in your area, please visit www.tdhca.state.tx.us or the Learn about Fair Housing in Texas page.
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