By Emmanuel Vincent

This past Thursday, the public meeting of Office of Strategic Planning and Community Development’s (OSPCD) HUD Year One Action Plan took place. Hosted by the Mayor’s Office, this was a virtual assembly, which abides by Governor Baker’s emergency orders as it relates to the Open Meeting Law. Highlighted were the action plan goals for 2020-2021, which includes sectors such as Economic Development, Housing Rehabilitation and Homeless Prevention Programs.

One Year Action Plans concern the budgets for the HUD CDBG, Home and ESG funds for each year, aided by the requirements and priorities established in the five-year integrated plan. The goal of the HUD funds is to create feasible urban communities. This would essentially be done by offering adequate housing and living environments, while extending economic opportunities for those of low income status.

While this meeting usually takes place in the spring, it was pushed back due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The impact of the virus is undoubtedly unprecedented. The lives of many have been altered in ways one could never of anticipated.

Despite this, the city is still working diligently to reach their goals. “The city remains committed to moving forward with projects and programs that were in place prior to the pandemic,” said Alan Inacio, Director of Finance and Administration for OSPCD. “With that being said, to best respond to this historic crisis, the city did re-evaluate immediate needs and shift some short term funding decisions.”

The Financial support the city has received during time has provided some relief and security. Also, it sees that the areas that are most in need of funding will get the assistance it. According to Inacio, “An important benefit of this funding and why it’s been a key resource during the crisis is that because of its inherent flexibility it has enabled us to remain creative and responsive to the evolving needs of those most impacted by the pandemic and the financial crisis in our low-moderate- income communities.”

The public meeting opened the comment period for the draft plan, which will stay open until October 9. From there, the city will review the public responses in that are in the final HUD plan.