HUD recently announced that it’s awarding $6 million to the Local Initiatives Support Corporation (LISC) to provide critically needed technical assistance to distressed communities with populations under 40,000, including those located in Opportunity Zones and communities struggling to recover from natural disasters. 

“The technical assistance provided to these communities will help local planners deploy a variety of federal resources to stimulate job growth and economic recovery for the benefit of their citizens, including the leveraging of Opportunity Zone investment,” said HUD Secretary Ben Carson.

Using HUD’s technical assistance, LISC will:

• Focus on technical assistance that is community-specific and scaled to ensure a measurable impact on the community’s growth and resilience, as well as the efficient use of public funds;
• Help communities facing long-term economic challenges adopt effective, efficient, and sustainable financial management practices (including management of disaster recovery and resilience funds);
• Build capacity for financial management, economic revitalization, affordable housing, and disaster recovery and resilience in distressed communities by building partnerships between public agencies, community members, non-profits, and private organizations;
• Improve communities’ working knowledge of federal development programs, including sources such as Opportunity Zone investments and Low-Income Housing Tax Credits; and,
• Develop best practices and recommendations regarding financial management and disaster recovery and resilience that can be shared with other communities facing similar challenges.