RI secures $3.8M in federal funding to tackle housing crisis
PROVIDENCE, R.I. (WPRI) — Rhode Island is set to receive a more than $3.8 million federal grant to address the state's housing crisis.
The money was earmarked through the Pathways to Removing Obstacles to Housing (PRO Housing) program, which aims to identify and remove affordable housing barriers, as well as lower housing costs, nationwide.
"It is no secret that we are facing a housing crisis in this country," said Dr. Kimberly McClain, assistant secretary of the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. "For more than a decade, the housing supply has not kept pace with the demand."
"To lower housing costs, we must build more housing," she continued. "To keep existing home affordable, we must preserve, repair and revitalize them. To prevent displacement and to empower our first-time homebuyers, we must offer support."
McClain visited the Ocean State Wednesday to stress the importance of the PRO Housing program.
"These investments have been transformative and will result in tens of thousands of new homes," McClain said. "Affordable housing is housing that we can all live in ... When we talk about affordable housing, we mean housing for all of us."
SEE ALSO: New RI law makes it easier to add rental units to homes
R.I. House Speaker Joseph Shekarchi echoed McClain's sentiment.
"We can't escape this [housing crisis]," Shekarchi said. "We can only solve it."
Rep. Gabe Amo emphasized that most Rhode Islanders are hurting due to the current cost of living.
"One-third of Rhode Islanders are spending at least 30% of their income on housing," Amo said. "No one should have their family budget suffocated by housing costs."
Amo hopes the grant funding will bring housing costs down and ease Rhode Islanders' financial burdens.
"Housing spills over into everything," he continued, adding that investments in affordable housing will "rebalance the economic scales and make it easier for hardworking families to keep a roof over their heads."
Amo said the federal funding will bolster Rhode Island's Health Equity Zone initiative, which is designed to improve the well-being of residents in cities and towns across the state.
"Removing affordable housing barriers is the name of the game, and with a vision, we can overcome those barriers," he said.
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