Acting Secretary Adrianne Todman from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development announced that Boulder County is one of 139 housing groups to become part of the Moving to Work program on Friday.
“The benefits of this designation goes beyond the 139 across the country that now have it because we have actually moved the needle on some of our housing policy because of the work of the agencies with this designation,” Todman said.
Moving to Work is a demonstration program for housing authorities across the country. The program allows these agencies to utilize federal dollars to design and test innovative housing strategies.
Typically, housing authorities must abide by a strict set of rules and regulations on how HUD funds must be used. This does not recognize the specific needs of a region, Todman said.
Boulder County is among 14 agencies recently added to the program.
“Now more than ever, everyone, in every corner of our nation is finding difficulty in finding housing they can afford,” said Dominque Jackson, regional administrator for HUD in the Rocky Mountain region. “We are witnessing more people getting closer to the devastating reality of homelessness.”
Through the program, Boulder County can use federal funds to increase affordable housing options. The Boulder Housing Authority will use the funding to expand its project-based voucher program. The program provides rental assistance to low-income families and individuals.
The funds from this program are already supporting two affordable housing projects in Boulder. When completed, Boulder will have 4,000 housing units designated as permanently affordable.
