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IU institute's Back Home in Indiana Alliance receives major award from federal agency
Sept. 19, 2000
BLOOMINGTON, Ind. -- Back Home in Indiana Alliance, a project of Indiana University's Indiana Institute on Disability and Community, is one of three Indiana projects to receive a "Best of the Best" award from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD).
The Back Home in Indiana Alliance, which helps people with disabilities become homeowners, also is one of 100 programs selected from more than 2,800 nominated nationwide. It and other Indiana recipients of the HUD award were featured at the 10th annual Indiana Affordable Housing Conference last week in Indianapolis.
In announcing the IU project's selection at HUD's second annual Best Practices and Technical Assistance Symposium last month, HUD Secretary Andrew Cuomo said, "I salute today's Best Practices winners. They're our success stories at using HUD assistance for innovative programs that revitalize communities and bring new opportunities to American families. By honoring their efforts, we help communities across the nation learn from each other."
The Back Home in Indiana Alliance works across a number of Indiana communities. The HUD award resulted from the work of an Alliance-initiated local planning team to increase home ownership opportunities for people with disabilities in the United States.
Several Alliance representatives, in conjunction with the Indianapolis Neighborhood Housing Partnership (INHP) and Habitat for Humanity of Greater Indianapolis, have worked together to create affordable home ownership for a number of low-income families. Funding to assist individuals includes low interest loans through the INHP, down payment assistance, and home modification funding through Vocational Rehabilitation Services and United Cerebral Palsy, Inc.
Persons with disabilities are the most under-served by lenders and mortgage companies. It is estimated that less than 1 percent of people with disabilities own their own homes, compared to approximately 66 percent of all Americans.
The Alliance is comprised of Indiana leaders in several affordable-housing and disability-related organizations. They include the Assistive Technology Training and Information Center, the Indiana Bureau of Developmental Disabilities, Fifth Third Bank, the Governor's Planning Council for People with Disabilities, the Independent Residential Living Center of Central Indiana, the Indiana Housing Finance Authority, the Indiana Association for Community Economic Development, the Indiana Institute on Disability and Community, Key Consumer Organization, Near North Development Corp., Partners in Policy Making, Self-Advocates of Indiana, and the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development.
For additional information about the Back Home in Indiana Alliance, contact Deborah McCarty of the Indiana Institute on Disability and Community at 812-855-6508 or dlmccart@indiana.edu
(Joel F. Fosha, IIDC, 812-855-6508, foshaj@indiana.edu)