Mon Valley Initiative gets HUD money for housing counseling

By JEFF STITT

jstitt@yourmvi.com

The Mon Valley Initiative has been awarded a U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development grant to support quality housing counseling services in the Mon Valley region.

HUD awarded a $183,639 housing counseling grant to MVI in Homestead. Uses for the funding include foreclosure avoidance for area homeowners and rental counseling services that can be used by many families as they work to recover from the COVID-19 pandemic, according to HUD spokesperson Nika Edwards.

“I encourage families and individuals who need help in making important housing decisions to contact the Mon Valley Initiative,” said Joe DeFelice, regional administrator of HUD’s Mid-Atlantic region. “Housing counseling can be the difference between a Mon Valley family keeping their home or losing it due to the financial impacts of COVID-19.”

HUD-approved housing counseling agencies provide services to address a full range of housing counseling needs, including assisting home buyers in evaluating their readiness for a home purchase and helping them navigate the home-buying process, according to Edwards. Agencies also help households find affordable rental housing, offer financial literacy training and provide foreclosure prevention counseling.

“The Mon Valley Initiative is committed to supporting people to become homeowners in our local communities as well as across the country,” MVI CEO Laura Zinski said. “This recent funding from HUD is supporting our housing counseling efforts locally and enabling us to support housing counseling organizations in other parts of the country as well. We are so grateful for HUD’s investment in this critically needed service.”

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