The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development announced more than $12.5 million in supplemental housing counseling grants awarded nationwide, including more than $400,000 awarded to New Jersey organizations.
The grants will support quality housing counseling services, including foreclosure avoidance and rental counseling services used by many families trying to recover from the COVID-19 pandemic’s effects, HUD said in a news release.
“During the pandemic, housing counseling agencies have been critical in assisting renters and homeowners here in the nation’s epicenter of New York and New Jersey,” Lynne Patton, the HUD regional administrator for the two states, said in a prepared statement. “Housing counselors provide a vital role on a variety of housing matters, including negotiating payment plans with landlords, assisting seniors with reverse mortgages, avoiding foreclosure actions and much, much more.”
The nine New Jersey organizations receiving grants totaling $404,809 were:
- Garden State CCC Inc., dba Navicore Solutions, Manalapan, $162,907;
- Housing and Community Development Network of New Jersey, Trenton, $90,154;
- New Jersey Housing and Mortgage Finance Agency, Trenton, $69,711;
- Consumer Credit and Budget Counseling Inc., Marmora, $37,322;
- Hudson County Housing Resource Center Inc., Jersey City, $14,826;
- Ocean Inc./Ocean Community Economic Action Now Inc., Toms River, $13,654;
- Senior Citizens United Community Services Inc., Audubon, $7,059;
- North Hudson Community Action Corp., Union City, $4,588;
- Paterson Housing Authority, Paterson, $4,588.
Grants went to 219 HUD-approved agencies and organizations nationwide through the Supplemental Comprehensive Housing Counseling Grant or Comprehensive Housing Counseling programs.
