HUD Awards $2,000,000 to Goodwill for LaBelle Housing Construction

North Fort Myers, FL, January 28, 2009 --(PR.com)-- Goodwill Industries of Southwest Florida (www.goodwillswfl.org) has received funding in excess of $2 million from the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD). On Friday, January 23, 2009, HUD Miami Field Office Director Armando Fana presented a ceremonial check for $2,057,300 to Goodwill Vice President of Administration Rick Evanchyk and Goodwill Housing Committee Chair Jean Devereaux. The funds will be used to construct housing units for low-income people with disabilities in Hendry County.

LaBelle’s “Palmetto Ranch” will be a 14-unit apartment complex specially designed for people with physical disabilities, including amenities such as lower countertops, roll-in showers, and assistance railings. The HUD funding will be used for Phase II of the Palmetto Ranch project, which will provide an additional 14 units.

“There’s very little supportive or accessible housing for people with disabilities,” Fana said at the presentation ceremony. “Organizations like Goodwill are helping to serve that population. They’re putting this money to good use and helping to bridge the housing gap for people with disabilities.”

Goodwill operates 11 rent-subsidized apartment complexes in Southwest Florida for people with disabilities and for low-income seniors. LaBelle’s “Palmetto Ranch” is one of three additional complexes in the planning/construction stages. HUD has provided the majority of the funding for both phases of the LaBelle project.

“It’s really gratifying that we can have a housing presence in Hendry County,” explains Evanchyk. “There’s a great need for affordable housing for people with disabilities. If it weren’t for HUD, we wouldn’t be able to do this”

All of Goodwill’s housing complexes are in close proximity to services such as shopping and public transportation, in order to enable residents to live as independently as possible.

Goodwill Industries of Southwest Florida helps people with disabilities and other disadvantages discover and develop their full potential by helping to remove barriers to employment and independence.

For more information about Goodwill’s supportive housing for people with disabilities, call (239) 995-6100.

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