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• High foreclosure rate was still a relevant issue <br /> • Large elderly population living in homes they could not maintain <br /> • Many issues including unemployment, under employment, and foreclosures can take a toll on a <br /> person's emotional and mental health. Such issues could be a contributing factor <br /> to abuse, addiction, and homelessness. <br /> South Bend's neighborhood revitalization focus became more urgent in recent years with the onset of <br /> the national housing crisis and the resulting number of vacant and abandoned homes. That situation, <br /> coupled with an aging housing stock, created a challenging environment for neighborhoods and the , <br /> community. Complementary responses including acquisition/rehabilitation, owner-occupied rehab, and <br /> homebuyer assistance were seen as necessary and critical to achieving revitalization and assuring other <br /> investment.Therefore, resources were directed toward programs that addressed those activities. <br /> Actions taken to reduce lead-based paint hazards. 91.220(k); 91.320(j) , <br /> The City actively worked with numerous community partners through the Lead Affinity Task <br /> Force. Coordination with local secondary educational institutions, the South Bend Community School 1 <br /> Corporation,St.Joseph County Health Department, and the Near Northest Neighborhood, Inc., as well <br /> as local medical partners resulted in new and increased avenues for education, marketing and testing <br /> for elevated blood levels in children. <br /> In October of 2018,the City was a receipient of a $672,000+ lead hazard reduction grant through the <br /> Indiana Housing and Community Development Authority. The grant is to address lead hazards in 40 <br /> owner-occupied and/or tenant units. Additionally, in late 2018 the City submitted an application directly <br /> to the Department of Housing and Urban Development Lead Hazard Reduction Program for$2.3 million I <br /> to address 100 units. Negotiations on this grant award will occur in early 2019. <br /> The Housing Authority of South Bend maintained a Section 8 Landlord Assistance Program in which any <br /> resident living in a Section 8 unit identified as lead-contaminated, and where the owner refuses to bring <br /> the home into a lead safe status, has an absolute preference on the Public Housing waiting list for the <br /> first available unit. Additionally, any pre-1978 Section 8 home that was identified during the Housing <br /> Authority's Annual Housing Quality Standards Inspection as having chipped, peeling, or cracked paint <br /> had to receive and pass a clearance test by a State certified inspection. ' <br /> These policies significantly increased the number of affordable housing units that are lead-safe in the <br /> City.The HASB also maintains an active list of current lead safe addresses. <br /> Actions taken to reduce the number of poverty-level families. 91.220(k); 91.320(j) ' <br /> Examples of the variety of mechanisms the community has employed to address poverty included the <br /> following: , <br /> CAPER 24 <br /> OMB Control No:2506-0117(exp.06/30/2018) <br />