Bond Tours Grace Hill, Announces that $1 Million in Federal Funds for Low-Income Housing Renovation Clears Committee Hurdle
ST. LOUIS, MO – October 19, 2010 – (RealEstateRama) — U.S. Senator Kit Bond today visited Grace Hill Water Tower Health Center in St. Louis for an update on their mission to help revitalize and empower St. Louis neighborhoods most in need. The Senator also announced that $1 million in federal dollars to help Grace Hill renovate low-income housing cleared an important hurdle in Congress.
“It is hard to imagine how difficult it would be to hold down a job without knowing where you were going to sleep at night, or get a shower or a meal. So I am grateful to the staff and volunteers who work tirelessly to help St. Louis families, especially here in the North St. Louis area, succeed on their own,” said Senator Bond.
“Senator Bond has long championed Community Health Centers and the placed-based work of Settlement Houses in supporting working families with important foundations such as affordable housing, health care and childcare in the neighborhoods we are privileged to serve,” said Gerald Sonnenberg, Director of Communications at Grace Hill Neighborhood Health Centers.
After receiving an update and touring the Health Center, Bond praised Grace Hill and their partners for revitalizing and empowering neighborhoods in need. Through vocational training for low-income families, Grace Hill strives to help the underemployed reenter the work force and provide stability for their loved ones. Grace Hill also provides safe, affordable housing to ensure these individuals are able to maintain a stable home to live in as they work and live. At today’s event the Senator recognized the hard work and dedication of the people at Grace Hill, and their partners in other outstanding St. Louis organizations, such as Beyond Housing, BJC, Parents as Teachers; and Gateway Homeless Services.
Bond, ranking member of the Senate Appropriations Subcommittee that funds the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, recently secured $1 million in federal funds for Grace Hill. The funds were secured in the Transportation-Housing spending bill which passed the Senate Appropriations Committee in July. Before being signed into law, the bill must first pass the full House and Senate. The funds will be used to help Grace Hill in their renovation of 18-units of housing for low-income, working families in the College Hill neighborhood. Bond stressed that these funds are critical to furthering Grace Hill’s mission to target this blighted neighborhood so badly in need of development and reinvestment.
“Good housing is not just fundamental to individuals, it is the foundation of every community. The Grace Hill Settlement House can help anchor this community, stabilize families and provide the catalyst for a positive future,” said Senator Bond.
Bond is a long-time leader in the fight to provide safe and affordable housing for families in Missouri and nationwide. The Senator has pushed for reforms to housing policy such as focusing on permanent supportive housing, improving local, state and federal coordination, and providing supportive services like child care, mental health and substance abuse treatment and job training. In previous years, the Senator secured $15 million to help Grace hill Neighborhood Health Center implement a Lead Prevention and Remediation Project. As a result of Grace Hill’s program, St. Louis has made progress reducing lead poisoning in children under age 6 – with rates dropping from 14.6 percent when the program began to 3.6 percent in 2008.
