NeighborWorks America Issues Over $100,000 in Grants to Partners Impacted by Hurricane Isaac

WASHINGTON, DC--(Marketwire - Sep 28, 2012) - NeighborWorks America issued over $100,000 in grant funds to its partners impacted by Hurricane Isaac in Louisiana and Mississippi. The grants will increase these organizations' capacity to coordinate outreach and volunteer efforts in their targeted communities. Hurricane Isaac devastated the Gulf Coast in August.

NeighborWorks America, which creates opportunities for people to live in affordable homes, improve their lives and strengthen their communities, supports a network of more than 235 nonprofits, located in every state, the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico.

"Particularly when severe weather strikes and destabilizes people's lives, NeighborWorks America is committed to building and maintaining strong communities," said Eileen Fitzgerald, chief executive officer of NeighborWorks America. "It's a privilege to be able to step in to assist our partners in times of need when we see opportunities to create impact."

NeighborWorks America supplied the following partners with grant funds:

United Houma Nation (Houma, LA) - $35,000. United Houma Nation's area of concentration includes lower Jefferson, Terrebonne and Plaquemines parishes which include the cities of Braithwaite, Houma and Lafitte in Louisiana. All of these areas experienced significant damage and home loss due to the floods. The United Houma Nation, a Louisiana state-recognized Native American tribe, estimates a total of 3,300 tribal citizens were directly impacted by Hurricane Isaac in Houma. This represents 25 percent of the total population of tribal citizens residing within the United Houma Nation service area.

Hope Community Development Agency (Biloxi, MS) - $20,000. Hope Community Development Agency, a NeighborWorks organization, seeks to enhance its outreach to the residents and homeowners in Biloxi affected by the flooding along the Mississippi gulf coast. The agency is also focused on assisting the growing elderly population in Biloxi with emergency home repairs. The grant will provide needed resources to organize and execute a volunteer outreach campaign.

Hancock Housing Resource Center (St. Louis, MS) - $30,000. The property damages caused by Hurricane Isaac drastically increased the demand for Hancock Housing Resource Center services. The grant will increase Hancock Housing Resource Center's capacity to provide home repair and minor rehab for residents of hard hit areas of Bay St. Louis and Waveland in Mississippi.

Neighborhood Housing Services of New Orleans, Inc. (New Orleans, LA) - $25,000. There was massive flooding on the north shore, including the city of Covington, in Louisiana. Neighborhood Housing Services of New Orleans, Inc., a NeighborWorks organization, is providing services to this community.

For more information about NeighborWorks America, go to nw.org.

About NeighborWorks America
NeighborWorks America creates opportunities for people to improve their lives and strengthen their communities by providing access to homeownership and to safe and affordable rental housing. In the last five years, NeighborWorks organizations have generated more than $19.5 billion in reinvestment in these communities. NeighborWorks America is the nation's leading trainer of community development and affordable housing professionals.