Needy Neighborhoods Make Big Plans

“Top ten” list of neighborhoods in America dominate the news on the computer.  Often the stories entice readers with pictures and statistics about areas where things seem better.  Fiscally better or environmentally better.  Educationally better or geographically better.  But what about everyone else?  What about everyone who is trying to improve the problematic places that they live?

Neighborhoods like Olneyville in Providence or Southside in Wilmington have announced that they need some help becoming neighborhoods that are safe and positive places to live.  As a recruiter, you are probably familiar with many neighborhoods and watch as newly hired employees try to figure out where they can afford to live.

With the idea that changes in one single neighborhood can have long-term effect, the U.S. is extending its resources to help neighborhood leaders improve 17 communities.  The U.S. Housing and Urban Development (HUD) Secretary Shaun Donovan announced that these communities will be the first grant recipients through the Department’s new Choice Neighborhoods Initiative.  These communities will share a total of $4 million in Choice Neighborhoods Planning Grants while six other communities are selected as finalists to compete for approximately $61 million in Choice Neighborhood Implementation Grants.

Recipients of the grants will work on improving schools, public transit and employment opportunities.  They also plan to revitalize severely distressed public and/or assisted housing.

“Today, we turn a new page in the way we tackle intergenerational poverty,” said Donovan, in a White House announcement with U.S. Education Secretary Arne Duncan.  “President Obama has said that there is no greater economic policy than one that invests in our children’s future and helps America out-educate the world. But that’s not possible if we leave a whole generation of children behind in our poorest neighborhoods. The Choice Neighborhoods Initiative expands on the bipartisan success of the HOPE VI program by recognizing that we must link affordable housing with a mix of incomes and uses with quality education, public transportation, good jobs and safe streets.”