Two new affordable housing initiatives coming

[Rob Bergeron]

https://insiderlouisville.com/economy/mbb20180924/

A nonprofit development and federal funding will increase access to affordable housing for two groups of people — disabled individuals and homeless families affected by HIV/AIDS.

The Louisville Metro Housing Authority announced it will receive $707,134 in federal funding through the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development’s 2018 Mainstream Voucher program. The funding will pay for 107 housing vouchers for non-elderly people with disabilities who are transitioning out of an institution or “other segregated settings,” a news release about the allocation states.

Wellspring, the Center for Accessible Living and Volunteers of America Mid-States will refer potential recipients to the Louisville Metro Housing Authority for a voucher.

“This funding will provide disabled persons more options to rent affordable housing on the private market in neighborhoods all around our community,” Lisa Osanka, LMHA’s interim director, said in the release. Federal funding for the vouchers will need to be renewed annually.

Meanwhile, House of Ruth, in partnership with nonprofit River City Housing, is breaking ground on a small affordable housing project in the Shelby Park neighborhood. The nonprofit will construct a duplex, which will provide shelter for two currently homeless families impacted by HIV/AIDS.

House of Ruth currently has a housing waiting list of nearly 100 households, according to a news release. —Caitlin Bowling