CCUSA welcomes Housing Opportunity Through Modernization Act

July 15, 2016

Sister Donna Markham OP, PhD, President and CEO of Catholic Charities USA (CCUSA), welcomes the passage of the Housing Opportunity Through Modernization Act (HR 3700/S3083). “This legislation represents an important step forward related to the provision of affordable housing for all persons and families,” she said. “This law provides more tools to preserve affordable housing, reduce homelessness and increase self-sufficiency.”

Sister Donna further explained that affordable housing for vulnerable persons is a priority for Catholic Charities.

“As the Senate debated and passed this housing bill, CCUSA convened more than 25 local Catholic Charities agency leaders from across the United States to launch a new strategic initiative. Our efforts will focus on developing and providing long term, safe and affordable housing opportunities, especially for persons and families with extremely low incomes.”

“Catholic Charities’ new initiative will leverage our collective impact in the housing development sector to increase the number of units available for those in need. Various new financial tools and products are also being explored,” Sister Donna continued.

In 2015, Catholic Charities agencies throughout the United States and its territories provided permanent housing to over 75,000 persons through its 31,000 units, and provided another 41,000 clients with supervised living services for children, adolescents, foster care clients and seniors. Catholic Charities agencies manage temporary shelters and transitional housing programs, serving over 125,000 persons annually. An additional 208,000 clients received housing support, counseling and assistance. Currently, 19 local Catholic Charities agencies report developing 39 new affordable housing projects for an additional 1,755 units to be available soon.