Paragould Housing Authority and Arkansas Methodist are getting some help to develop senior housing options in Arkansas. Paragould Housing Authority has received a $360,000 Affordable Housing Program (AHP) grant from the Federal Home Loan Bank of Dallas (FHLB Dallas) and First National Bank in Paragould, which will be used toward the construction of Oakwood Villa, a four-plex for seniors and disabled residents that will cost approximately $460,000 to build. Additionally, U.S. Senators Blanche Lincoln and Mark Pryor and U.S. Representative Marion Berry (AR-01) announced that Arkansas Methodist Hospital in Paragould will soon receive $99,000 from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services to help fund a continuing care retirement community that will better meet the needs of Paragould’s seniors. The funds will be used to for a 59-unit assisted living center at a 53 acre project which is scheduled to open in summer of 2011 that will include one and two bedroom units.
"Affordable, low-income senior housing is the highest need we see on our waiting list for housing. A good 100 to 150 people on our waiting list for Section 8 are elderly and disabled," said Polly Fisk, assistant executive director of the Paragould Housing Authority in Paragould, Arkansas.
“It is so important that communities across Arkansas have the necessary resources to take care of their seniors,” Lincoln said. “The assisted living facility being built in Paragould will provide a good residential option for our aging population. The center will make sure that its residents are safe and well taken care of, while also allowing our seniors to maintain their independence. I am committed to ensuring that Arkansas’s seniors have the resources and care they need.”
