LOS ANGELES, CA - Five projects in Los Angeles County will receive $24 million in state funds from bonds designed to build affordable housing and reduce homelessness, Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger announced Wednesday. Statewide, 40 projects will receive $73 million to create 1,611 housing units. The five Los Angeles County projects will provide at least 295 units.
The funding comes primarily from the Propositions 1C and 46 bond measures approved by voters. "This will put people back to work and it will also create hope for some of the people in our state who need it most," he said in a statement. "Building a better life and pursuing opportunity begins with having a place to live."
The governor's news conference was held in downtown Los Angeles at the New Carver Apartments Project, run by the nonprofit Skid Row Housing Trust. The project will dedicate a portion of its units to people who are homeless, recovering addicts or are HIV-positive. Four of the projects are in or near downtown Los Angeles and are designed to provide housing or shelter for women, the homeless, recovering addicts, HIV/AIDS patients and low-income families. The fifth is the Transit Village project in Palmdale, which is designed to locate affordable housing near public transportation.
Los Angeles City Councilman Herb Wesson, who chairs the council's housing committee, said the city is in desperate need of more affordable housing. "We need all of the help we can get," Wesson said. "Every element - from low-income to market-rate to moderate - we just need it. And this program I think will be very helpful."
Schwarzenegger also announced the federal government has provided $5.6 million to California to help banking and mortgage industry workers who have been laid off because of the subprime loan crisis. The state estimates more than 8,400 workers in the California mortgage industry have lost jobs since last July. The funds will help them with retraining to work in other industries.
Source: DailyNews.com