These LA County cities received federal grants for housing, development

Los Angeles city and Long Beach were the top-two municipal recipients of grants the federal government recently doled out for community development, affordable housing and assistance for those who are homeless — nabbing $84 million and about $8.8 million, respectively.

Overall, Los Angeles County agencies received about $136 million from three grant programs run by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. HUD announced the grants earlier this week.

Those programs are: The Community Development Block Grant, the HOME Investment Partnerships Program and the Emergency Solutions Grant.

Los Angeles city’s $84 million was by far the largest share. (LA also received another $24,017,909 from a fourth HUD program, the Housing Opportunities for Persons With HIV/AIDS initiative, known as HOPWA.) But Los Angeles County received about $32.5 million.

The $3.2 million Pasadena received was the third-highest total among L.A. County cities.

The cities that received HUD money touch every quadrant of the county, from Compton to Lancaster.

Long Beach’s money, for example, was part of a combined $12.5 million for cities in U.S. Rep. Robert Garcia’s 42nd District. Garcia announced on Friday, March 3, that Huntington Park also received about $1.7 million,  while Downey received nearly $1.5 million and Lakewood nabbed $456,232

“We have huge community and housing needs, so we are excited to see these federal funds go directly to our cities,” Garcia, D-Long Beach, who represents the area, said in a statement. “These resources will help house families, support neighborhoods, and invest in small businesses.”

The CDBG program is intended to improve low- and moderate-income communities by providing money for housing and expanded economic opportunities. The HOME Investment Partnerships Program is meant to create affordable housing, both to rent and own, for low-income families. And the Emergency Solutions Grant provides funding for homeless services efforts, including shelters and prevention programs.

In all, HUD gave $5.6 billion — through those three and two other related grant programs — to 1,200 communities throughout the United States and Puerto Rico.

California, the state with both the largest overall and homeless populations in the U.S., received the most money from HUD — $669,411,673. The next highest was New York, whose communities received $541,252,698 combined.

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“Viable communities must promote integrated approaches to develop decent housing, suitable living environments, and expand economic opportunities to the most vulnerable,” HUD Secretary Marcia L. Fudge said in a Monday, Feb. 27, statement. “These funds allow communities to address their unique needs by prioritizing what matters most to their residents and letting them own their investments in community development through these important federal resources.”

Multiple other Los Angeles County cities received money from those grants, including:

Carson: $709,223.
Compton: $2 million.
Gardena: $592,299.
Hawthorne: $1.85 million.
Inglewood: $2 million.
Lancaster: $2.2 million.
Lynwood: $1.4 million.
Montebello: $954,403.
Monterey Park: $963,809.
Norwalk: $1.4 million
Palmdale: $2 million.
Paramount: $1.06 million.
Pico Rivera: $559,364.
Pomona: $2.8 million.
Redondo Beach: $263,834.
Rosemead: $969,011.
Santa Clarita: $2.1 million.
Santa Monica: $1.8 million.
South Gate: $2.1 million.
Torrance: $510,196.
West Covina: $799,182.
Whittier: $982,061.

“This funding allows communities to address their most pressing local needs,” Marion McFadden, principal deputy assistant secretary for Community Planning and Development, said in a statement, “providing flexible resources to build homes, support renters and homeowners, provide life-saving assistance to people experiencing homelessness, and improve public facilities, community resilience, and local economies.”