More than $14.4 million in housing counseling grant funding was recently awarded to 180 housing counseling organizations, according to a Friday announcement from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development’s Office of Housing Counseling.
In New Jersey, HUD awarded $491,487 to nine housing counseling organizations.
“Homeownership is the primary way most people in this country build wealth. It has the power to transform not only your life, but the lives of your family members,” HUD Secretary Marcia Fudge said. “Housing counseling services help ensure current and prospective homeowners have all the tools they need to purchase and maintain the homes of their dreams.”
The awards will support the comprehensive housing counseling services provided by grantees to homebuyers, homeowners and renters, and will help to continue the important work that began in 2021 to reach deeper into underserved communities through partnerships between HUD-approved housing counseling agencies, Historically Black Colleges and Universities and other Minority Serving Institutions.
“HUD wants you to own your own home. HUD provides valuable resources so that homebuyers of all ages and income levels can make their dream of homeownership come true,” Alicka Ampry-Samuel, HUD regional administrator for New York and New Jersey, said. “HUD-approved Housing Counseling Agencies take homebuyers by the hand and guide them through the home purchasing process. Families that purchase a home create generational wealth and stabilize communities, fostering growth and a better quality of life for all residents.”
The New Jersey awards are as follows:
- Consumer Credit and Budget Counseling, DBA National Foundation for Debt Management, Marmora, $154,999;
- Garden State Consumer Credit Counseling Inc., DBA Navicore Solutions, Manalapan, $154,073;
- Housing and Community Development Network of New Jersey, Trenton, $88,566;
- New Jersey Housing and Mortgage Finance Agency, Trenton, $53,216;
- North Hudson Community Action Corp., Union City, $16,746;
- Fair Housing Council of Northern New Jersey, Hackensack, $9,477;
- Senior Citizens United Community Services of Camden County Inc., Audubon, $7,356;
- Housing Authority of the City of Paterson, Paterson, $3,954;
- Ocean Community Economic Action Now Inc., Toms River, $3,100.