By Zach Crafton. Last week, I attended an announcement for the third round of funding for HUD's Neighborhood Stabilization Program. The event was held at a home, in Cleveland’s Detroit-Shoreway neighborhood, that was rehabbed with the aid of stabilization money from the program’s previous round of funding.

The Neighborhood Stabilization Program provides emergency assistance to state and local governments to purchase, redevelop, and/or demolish foreclosed homes. With this latest round of funding, Ohio and its municipalities are set to receive nearly $52 million to help reverse the negative impacts the foreclosure crisis has had on the state and its communities.

The event brought together officials from federal, state and local governments – including Congressman Dennis Kucinich, Congresswoman Marcia Fudge, representatives of Senator Sherrod Brown, Ohio Department of Development Director, Lisa Patt-McDaniel, and the City of Cleveland Mayor, Frank Jackson – to announce Cleveland’s award. Officials spoke about the city’s strategic use of program funds to rehab and demolish foreclosed homes in order to protect and enhance the vitality of Cleveland neighborhoods, and how this latest round of funding is intended to further support these efforts in Ohio.

For more information about the program and Ohio awardees see here.