ST. LOUIS- The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) has announced $48 million to increase access to housing counseling services and strengthen the nation’s housing counseling workforce. Acting Secretary Adrianne Todman made the announcement during remarks at the National Association of Housing and Redevelopment Officials’ National Conference.
Across America, thousands of HUD-certified counselors are working to help families achieve their goals and secure affordable homes. The awards will advance these ongoing efforts at more than 160 HUD-approved housing counseling agencies, state housing finance agencies, educational institutions, and national, regional, multi-state, and non-profit organizations. The announcement reflects the Biden-Harris Administration’s commitment to expanding access to homeownership, particularly for first-time and historically disadvantaged homebuyers. The Housing Options Provided for the Elderly, Inc, located in University City in the suburbs of St. Louis, received HUD counseling awards.
“Buying a home and keeping a home can be an overwhelming experience, particularly for first-time homebuyers,” said HUD Acting Secretary Adrianne Todman. “HUD-certified housing counselors are available to help every step of the way. They provide vital information about available resources, such as downpayment assistance. We value the work housing counseling do to provide expert advice and will continue to fight for funding to support their efforts.”
“We know that there are so many barriers and myths keeping potentially mortgage -ready people from buying their first home, and that especially impacts people of color,” said HUD Great Plains Regional Administrator Ulysses Clayborn. “HUD approved housing counseling is how we combat those barriers and myths, and it is wonderful to see these funds being made available in Missouri.”
The awards announced today will support organizations that provide housing counseling services, train housing counseling professionals, and deliver educational resources to consumers about pre-purchase homebuying, financial literacy, foreclosure and rental eviction prevention, reverse mortgage counseling, disaster recovery, appraisal bias, and heirs’ property management. The award recipients include 14 HUD-approved housing counseling agencies partnering with Historically Black Colleges and Universities to provide educational resources to homeowners, homebuyers, and renters to help bridge the racial homeownership gap.
“For so many individuals and families, finding a safe and affordable housing options may seem out of reach,” said Assistant Secretary of Housing and Federal Housing Commissioner Julia R. Gordon. “Unbiased housing counseling helps to turn the aspiration of obtaining safe and affordable place to call home into reality.”
Under the Biden-Harris Administration, HUD has redoubled efforts to help Americans with homeownership by supporting housing counselors and housing counseling agencies across the country. This month, as part of the ongoing “Let’s Make Home the Goal” campaign, HUD launched a new partnership with Zillow to raise awareness of pre-purchase housing counseling designed to reach communities of color and break down systemic barriers to homeownership. Additionally, HUD modernized a rule which will allow HUD-approved housing counseling agencies to use virtual methods to broaden access and reach even more people seeking assistance. In 2023, HUD also updated the Housing Counseling Program Handbook, which is now available in multiple languages to support the diverse communities HUD serves.
To locate a HUD-approved housing counseling agency nationwide, please visit www.hud.gov/findacounselor.