July 24, 2009

Commissioner Fish was honored to welcome U.S. Housing and Urban Development Deputy Secretary Ron Sims to City Hall this morning for a breakfast meeting with local elected officials and housing community stakeholders.

Deputy Secretary Sims and Deputy Regional Director Martha Dilts joined the Commissioner for a discussion of federal stimulus programs and regional sustainability efforts. Oregon was recently awarded $27.3 million in federal stimulus funding for affordable housing projects.

The money, part of $2.25 billion in the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act allocated for Low-Income Housing Tax Credit projects, will fund projects across Oregon. At a time when Oregon is struggling with the highest rate of homelessness in the nation, this money will provide much-needed capacity to help our most vulnerable citizens find homes.