COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT

The Housing Authority of St. Mary's County, Maryland has expanded its Community Development Program, which performs public outreach, program marketing, and agency partnering to improve the socio-economic status of residents of St. Mary’s County. This may include neighborhood improvement projects, community building activities, safe neighborhood projects, activities for children, and/or financing community policing and drug prevention programs. This department continually solicits grant funding to design programs and services that compliment ongoing activities performed by other agencies in the county with similar missions. Some of this activity includes, but is not limited to:

Emergency Shelter Grants

This Federal funded program provides operational support to the Three Oaks Center, Angels Watch, and the St. Mary’s County Department of Social Services to provide emergency transitional housing and continuum of care. This program is accessed annually and has become a staple of funding for these agencies.

Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) Programs

This Federally funded program, which is coordinated and awarded through the Maryland Department of Housing and Community Development (DHCD), has funded several community-related projects in St. Mary’s County.  Examples of this include funding awarded for Gateways Infrastructure, Hunting Creek Planning Grant, and Homeless Management Information System (HMIS).  The most recent grant was awarded in 2006 for the Colony Square Rehabilitation Project.

Community Legacy

Community Legacy, a program of the Department of Housing and Community Development (DHCD), provides flexible capital and operating resources through annual competitive funding rounds to assist local governments and their nonprofit partners in planning and realizing comprehensive community revitalization initiatives.  Recently funded projects include Lexington Manor Homeownership and Colony Square Revitalization.

Maryland Affordable Housing Trust (MAHT)

The Maryland Affordable Housing Trust provides grants to create, preserve, and promote affordable housing throughout the State.  Colony Square Revitalization Project (Phases I & II) were both awarded funds under this program.

Federal Home Loan Bank of Atlanta (FHLBA)

The Jarboe Center received assistance under the Economic Development and Growth Enhancement Program (EDGE), and The Gateways has been awarded grant funds to assist homebuyers with down payment and closing costs under the Affordable Housing Program (AHP).