by Nicole Bradford
The largest share of Pearland’s Community Development Block Grant funding will go toward home repairs.
The City Council on Aug. 12 approved an action plan for the fiscal year 2025 block grant program. Awarded through the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, the funds can be used in 24 categories, including housing, social services, redevelopment, and infrastructure.
Of the total $456,770 in allocated funding for Pearland, $226,901 has been designated for housing repair.
“We are also seeing a huge increase in people who need a little bit of assistance with rental and housing, but primarily they are in a home they can afford — they just can’t afford repairs to get it back to livable condition,” said Actions Inc. of Brazoria County executive director Breah Knape.
She urged city leaders to consider an increasing number of homebound seniors in need of transportation services.
“You have an aging population, then you have this influx of new residents moving into our area,” she said. “With the transportation need increasing so drastically in your community, I wanted to plant that seed and see if there is anything we can do to help moving forward.”
Another $68,515 of block grant funding will go toward social services, and $91,354 is earmarked for program support, with $70,000 for housing repair administration.
