Orange County and Federal Program Provide Residents with Housing Stability

Orange County and Federal Program Provide Residents with Housing Stability

This is the third in a series of stories highlighting the success of the federal Community Development Block Grant program, which is celebrating its 50^th anniversary this year.

Shannon Nazworth will likely never forget the interaction she had recently while visiting an affordable housing community.

A woman, who Nazworth had never met, leaned in and, with a soft voice, said, "You saved my life."

"Whenever I have a rough day, I remember that moment," recalled Nazworth, president and CEO of Ability Housing. "It reminds me that we have a positive impact on the residents we serve."

The woman who approached Nazworth was once homeless but now lives at one of the 11 Florida communities built by Ability Housing, a nonprofit that develops, renovates and manages multifamily housing affordable to low- and middle-income households. The organization provides these services thanks to Orange County and the federal Community Development Block Grant.

As Orange County celebrates the 50^th anniversary of the CDBG, it wants to shine a light on the program's far-reaching impacts as a flexible set of federal dollars used to address community development needs, including infrastructure, economic development projects and affordable housing.

Orange County receives roughly $7 million in CDBG funding a year. Over the past five years, the County has invested $16 million in CDBG funding into housing activities and $7 million into improvements to public facilities and infrastructure.

"The grant is critically important to us," asserted Nazworth. "It helps provide the resources we need to offer the on-site support our residents need. We're talking about people with significant barriers and disabilities who need support in order to avoid returning to homelessness."

In 2018, Ability Housing began renovating Wayne Densch Center, an existing housing complex located in Eatonville. It created 64 units of transitional housing and 75 high-quality apartments, with 50 percent of the units reserved as permanent supportive housing for the homeless. The County contributed $2 million to the effort.

When it reopened, the County chipped in another $250,000 in American Rescue Plan funding to help Ability Housing add a 2,500-sq.-ft. community center, which caters to residents' physical, social and emotional well-being with a multipurpose room for gatherings and events, laundry facilities that make everyday living more convenient, three private offices for residents to meet with case managers, and a computer lab and library.

"Housing stability is an important aspect of affordable housing, and it's accomplished by providing public services to vulnerable low-income populations such as seniors and persons with disabilities," explained Nancy Sharifi, assistant manager, Orange County Housing and Community Development. "Through CDBG, these populations can access case management, mental health services, Meals on Wheels, and other similar services to help them achieve or maintain housing stability."

For more information, go to Ability Housing.