Published: January 23, 2007 11:45 am      

New Albany Housing Authority gets Indiana's whole slice of federal pie

A local program that makes living alone in public housing easier for the elderly and disabled has accomplished enough to warrant another three-year federal grant, the New Albany Housing Authority has learned.

The Department of Housing and Urban Development announced nearly $8.8 million in such Resident Opportunities and Self-Sufficiency grants to 32 groups nationwide on Thursday. The New Albany Housing Authority is the only recipient in Indiana, earning $350,000 — $50,000 more than its peer in Chicago.

“We’re very fortunate. It is very competitive,” said Bob Lane, the local authority’s executive director. “The program’s been very successful and helped many people. We’ll be able to offer more services to more people.”

In 2004, a similar but smaller grant funded the development and operation of the program, administered by two authority employees. They give and arrange rides to doctor’s appointments and grocery stores, help residents get their homes professionally cleaned and distribute emergency beacons to be worn around the neck or wrist.

The staff also responds to a variety of day-to-day needs that pose bigger challenges for the elderly or disabled.

New Albany’s grant application prevailed in a competitive field because of need and demonstration of previous success, Lane said. Though the authority’s budget is about $8 million a year, the obligations of maintenance and capital improvements leave little to spare.

“It’s one of those programs where if we do not have the grant, we do not have the program,” Lane said.

John Miller, executive director of the city’s Community Housing Development Organization, was glad to hear about the authority’s grant and empathized with the difficulty in getting federal help.

“Federal housing money comes in many, many shapes and sizes,” Miller said. “Some of it’s hard (to get), and some of it’s really hard.”

The main thrust of a public housing authority is the housing itself, but Lane said the authority’s self-sufficiency program and youth recreation and education programs “enhance the quality of life of participants. It just makes things better for them.”