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Rust to Rehabilitate Nearby Homes for Needy

By Danielle Carrington

In collaboration with the city of Holly Springs, Miss., Rust College is beginning a project to rehabilitate nearby homes with more than $500,000 from the federal Department of Housing and Urban Development.

Christen Ratcliff, Rust director of grants and contracts, said the project targets low- and moderate-income persons and needy and elderly homeowners in the Martin Street neighborhood. Rust competed against other historically black colleges and universities to win the bid, she said.

The program, authorized under the Housing and Community Development Act of 1974, is meant to "assist HBCUs expand their role and effectiveness in addressing community development needs in their localities, including neighborhood revitalization, housing, and economic development."

Ratcliff said that the college would carry out the Martin Street rehabilitation project in concert with the city of Holly Springs, as required by HUD. She said that Rust had received the maximum available for such HBCU/HUD revitalization projects, based on successfully completing a previous community project also funded by the department.

In welcoming the partnership, Andre DeBerry, mayor of Holly Springs, noted the college�s invovlement with a similar project with the city -- "a joint venture in the rehabilitation of Rust Avenue, where the money acquired by the college was used to build a community center and to improve the residential buildings in the area."

The city matched the efforts by reconstructing and widening the roads around the college. Rebuilding and giving a facelift to areas that were once thriving is a great way to improve the city, the mayor said. The project is expected to bring the city new investment opportunities. "I believe in constant improvement, which there's always room for," he said.

The average financial assistance available to HBCUs ranges from $300,000 to $500,000. HUD awards more than $10 million in grants to 38 HBCUs to help them revitalize blight neighborhoods around their campuses. The money can also be used to establish economic activities such as small business enhancement and job creation opportunity and training in the community.

Ratcliff said that the grant would enable the college to establish a Rust College Community Development Corp. and to hire a director and other administrative staff to ensure the execution of the projects. More than 10 substandard homes are to benefit in the renovation and upgrading.

Danielle Carrington is a student at Rust College and writes for the Rustorian.