Press Releases

Congresswoman Chellie Pingree (D-Maine) today announced the state of Maine will receive $16.5 million in funding from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development for the state’s response to the coronavirus pandemic. More than $3 million of that funding will go directly to communities in Pingree’s district. These funds were authorized through the CARES Act, Congress’ third legislative response to the coronavirus outbreak.

“Mainers are feeling the uncertainty brought about by the coronavirus pandemic, and it is the federal government’s responsibility to support them through these trying times, said Pingree. “This robust funding from the Department of Housing and Urban Development will empower our cities and towns to respond to COVID-19, allowing us to ensure stability in housing; if you don’t have access to housing, you can’t shelter in place and keep yourself protected. I proudly advocated for this funding in Congress’ most recent coronavirus response bill, and I look forward to seeing this funding protect Mainers and help us rebuild our communities.”

Maine received a total of seven Community Development Block Grants from HUD, a flexible program to help cities, counties, and states recover from Presidentially-declared disasters. Three of these grants go to Pingree’s district: 

• Biddeford: $276,034
• Cumberland County: $920,165
• Portland: $1,137,154
• Maine nonentitlement (cities with populations of less than 50,000 or counties with populations of less than 200,000): $7,022,416

Portland received $574,734 in Emergency Solutions Grants (ESG), which assists those experiencing homelessness to quickly regain stability in permanent housing. The State of Maine received $4,796,255 in ESG. 

The Frannie Peabody Center in Portland received three grants totaling $418,938 through the Housing Opportunities for Persons with Aids (HOPWA) program to support the agency’s response to HIV and AIDS during the COVID-19 outbreak. 

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