Mentor To Receive Bump In Community Development Block Grant Funding

The city of Mentor's Community Block Development Grant allocation will be about $165,619, which is a four percent more than last year.

However, this bump does not bring the city back to where it was before it received an 18 percent cut to its CDBG funding in 2011.

Meanwhile, Lake County's CDBG allocation continued to drop. It was cut 17 percent last year and another 6.7 percent this year, according to The News-Herald.

The development grants are given by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development.

The city of Mentor -- because of its population -- is what's called an entitlement community. That means it's entitled to an annual grant that can be used to provide decent housing and opportunities to expand economic opportunities, principally for low- and moderate-income people.

Most of Mentor's CDBG funding goes to repairing dilapidated single-family homes or helping nonprofit organizations like Lake County Council On Aging or Neighboring maintain their facilities.

Fifteen percent is set aside to support Project Hope (the county's only homeless shelter,) Forbes House (a shelter for victims of domestic violence) and the Free Medical Clinic in Painesville.

People can still apply for CDBG funding. Applications will be available during a meeting at 4 p.m. Friday in .