City Beautiful did not receive MHC grant, encouraged to apply again

In recent years, Mayor Johnny Magee and the City of Laurel have worked to improve housing options throughout the community. To that end, the city has consistently applied for available housing grants.

In 2019, the City was awarded a grant package from the Mississippi Home Corporation (MHC) to repair and replace a limited number of homes in the city. The project was delayed due to the pandemic but was completed last Spring. (For more information on that, visit https://www.laurelms.com/city-of-laurel-works-to-make-sure-all-citizens-have-a-beautiful-safe-place-to-call-home/)

At that same time, the City also received USDA funding for a Housing Preservation Grant that provided repairs for 11 homes in the City.

Since then, the city has been in the process of applying for a second round of Housing and Urban Development funding through the Mississippi Home Corporation . Unfortunately, Mayor Magee received a letter from the MHC advising him that the city did not receive one of the five grant packages awarded for the 2024 cycle.

“While we are disappointed that we did not receive this grant, we are optimistic that we will qualify for other opportunities and are still working on some projects that we hope will come to fruition in the future,” Mayor Magee said. “We would appreciate everyone letting their friends and neighbors know that we do not have housing grant funding available at this time.”

The notice from Mississippi Home Corporation reads as follows:

“Mississippi Home Corporation (MHC) has completed its review of the 2024 Home Investment Partnerships Program (HOME) applications submitted for funding in the Homeowner Rehabilitation/ Reconstruction category.

Limited HOME funds made the selection process very competitive. MHC received 25 applications and was able to fund five (5) projects. Based upon the review and rating process established for the HOME program, your application did not score high enough to be funded.

Thank you for your interest in the 2024 HOME Investment Partnerships Program to address critical community housing needs. We look forward to working with you if your community decides to apply again in the future. “