Photo: (l to r): Juawana Grant (new Housing Coalition Director), Kena Adams (Indian Voices Regional Advertising Director) Corina Styles (HUD Southwest Office of Native Programs Director, Adrienne Babbitt (HUD Field Office Director), David Passey (HUD Regional Administrator, Region IX)
by Kena Adams, Indian Voices Las Vegas Coordinator
On Thursday, May 9, Adrian Babbitt, the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development’s (HUD) Nevada Field Office Director, invited Indian Voices to meet Corinna Stiles, the new Southwest Office of Native Programs Director. The roundtable took place in downtown Las Vegas, Nevada.
The weather was mild, and it seemed a perfect day to collaborate and help educate people about the awesome opportunities available through HUD right now with all the funding that was just secured last month for Indian Country.
The new administrator’s jurisdiction is spread out among five states — Nevada, California, Arizona, New Mexico and Texas. She definitely has her work cut out for her as she collaborates with so many states and tribes.
There are so many awesome things going on in Indian country right now, from Senator Mastos’ bill securing dollars for missing and murdered indigenous women and mental health to the new money just awarded by HUD for Indian Country infrastructure here in the southwest.
The meeting went well. The Nevada Housing Coalition Director educated the new administrator on current projects with Northern Nevada tribes, while Indian Voices covered the Southern Nevada tribes, friends and partners that collaborate within the multicultural and indigenous community in Southern Nevada and Southern California. The new administrator looks forward to collaborating with native communities in her jurisdiction to educate and assist tribal communities in accessing all the great things that HUD has to offer the indigenous community.
SWONAP ensures that safe, decent and affordable housing is available to Native American families. It creates economic opportunities for tribes and Indian housing residents. It also assists tribes in the formulation of plans and strategies for community development and assures fiscal integrity in the operation of the programs.
HUD recently awarded $95 million to 55 communities through the Indian Community Development Block Grant (ICDBG) Program. Grant funds may be used for infrastructure, community facilities, housing rehabilitation, economic development, and more to support Native American and Alaskan Native families on Indian reservations and in other Indian areas.
The ICDBG program is a competitive grant that provides a range of eligible activities on reservations and related areas. Eligible activities include housing rehabilitation, land acquisition, roads, water and sewer facilities, and single or multipurpose community buildings.
For more information, contact SWONAP at:
Phoenix Office, 2800 North Central Avenue - Suite 700
Phoenix, AZ 85004 • (602) 379-7100
