FRRS Joins with Community Partners    to Address Area Housing Needs

Local Housing Needs

 Four Rivers Resource Services has stepped forward as a key

community partner in

addressing the critical

issue of affordable housing in the area.  Four Rivers and Generations are partnering to provide matching funds for Indiana Housing Finance  Authority (IHFA) grants to local towns and counties to determine their specific types of housing needs.

 

   In their work with people with disabilities and those seeking to get off of public assistance, Four Rivers staff were often confronted with the lack of decent housing at an affordable cost across the multi-county area.  In  keeping with the agency’s mission, Four Rivers  wanted to take action toward ensuring that sound, affordable housing options could be made available to the people it serves and was interested in joining forces with other agencies like Generations who had an interest in      providing similar opportunities to other populations, such as the aging and aged.

 

  Recipients of the IHFA grant funds, which are needed

to begin the housing study, must be city or county

governmental entities.  Southern Indiana Development

Commission (SIDC) is applying their expertise to       prepare the grant applications on behalf of the local governments and to conduct the needs assessments once grant funding is secured.   To date, SIDC has been successful in obtaining funding for a needs assessment in Daviess County, excluding Washington, and has begun the assessment process.   Applications for funding in Linton and  Bloomfield have also been

submitted and, if awarded, those needs assessment are slated for completion by November 2005.  Further plans are in place to submit applications for the remainder of Greene County, the town of Jasonville and Martin County.

  

   Meanwhile, based on a similar study which had previously been completed in Sullivan County, IMPACT Director Mark Hunter has already begun to work with city and county officials there to explore potential options for beginning to address the housing needs identified in that county.

  

   Once specific housing needs are clearly identified, next steps will be determined.  As a Certified Housing Development Organization, Four Rivers is qualified to access various types of funding which could be used for a variety of approaches to providing affordable housing. Four Rivers remains available and committed to being a part of local solutions for meeting such a basic human need in our communities.