THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1994, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Saturday, October 8, 1994 TAG: 9410080310
SECTION: LOCAL PAGE: B5 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY KAREN WEINTRAUB, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: VIRGINIA BEACH LENGTH: Short : 44 lines
Federal money for low-income housing nearly doubled recently, but the additional funds will barely put a dent in the city's housing problem.
The city Department of Housing and Neighborhood Preservation received $1.25 million in grants and federal allocations over the past few weeks to provide rent subsidies, homeless assistance and housing for the mentally disabled.
The grant money is ``good news for the city,'' Andrew M. Friedman, director of the housing department, said. It will be of ``great benefit to the people who will be eligible for these programs.''
But a quarter of the city residents who need housing assistance will still have to go without, he said. The city's waiting list for housing subsidies is more than 2,000 names long; many have been on the list for as long as eight years.
Part of the problem, Friedman said, is that the city receives significantly less money than most of its neighbors. Norfolk, Portsmouth and Chesapeake get two or three times as much federal housing money, relative to the size of their housing needs, Friedman said. Virginia Beach receives about $1.5 million a year in federal housing assistance.
``We're doing everything we can to bring more funds to Virginia Beach for decent, safe and affordable housing,'' he said.
The three grants are evidence of that effort, he said:
Last week, Congress approved a Department of Housing and Urban Development budget that included $800,000 to help the city combat homelessness. Friedman said a panel of citizens and city officials will decide how to spend the money.
Last month, HUD awarded the city a $450,000 grant to help shorten the 71-name-long waiting list of mentally disabled residents who need permanent assisted housing.
And late last month, HUD decided to give the city $800,000 more for federally subsidized low-income housing, known as Section 8. The grant will subsidize 20 housing units for five years. by CNB