HUD Awards Over $2.5 Million to Montana Native American Communities For Housing and Economic Development For Low-Income Families

Grants provided by HUD’s Indian Community Development Block Grant Program

Today, the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development awarded more than $2.5 million in grants to tribal communities in Montana to improve or create housing and economic development opportunities for low- to moderate-income families.

Regional Administrator Rick M. Garcia said, "The competitive grants are provided through HUD’s Indian Community Development Block Grant (ICDBG) Program http://portal.hud.gov/hudportal/HUD?src=/program_offices/public_indian_housing/ih/grants/icdbg to support a wide variety of community development and affordable housing activities."

"These funds will help American Indian and Alaska Native tribal governments create sustainable and community-driven solutions," said HUD Secretary Shaun Donovan. "Housing and infrastructure needs in Indian Country are severe and widespread. I’m inspired by the work the tribal communities are taking on to leverage these funds and get their communities on the right track."

The ICDBG program was established in 1977 to help Indian tribes and Alaska Native villages to meet their community development needs. Federally recognized Indian tribes, bands, groups or nations (including Alaska Indian, Aleuts and Eskimos,) or Alaska Native villages compete for this funding. The recipients use the funding to develop viable communities, including rehabilitating housing or building new housing or to buy land to support new housing construction.

The funding can also be used to build infrastructure such as roads, water and sewer facilities, and to create suitable living environments. To spur economic development, recipients have used the grants to establish a wide variety of commercial, industrial and agricultural projects. The grants have been used to build community and health centers, or to start businesses to support the community, such as shopping centers, manufacturing plants, restaurants or convenient stores/gas stations.