Local nonprofits receive block grant funds for seniors, families in need

The city will receive $187,000 from the Community Development Block Grant program for the 2007-08 budget year, and officials announced last week how the money will be used.

The funds are provided by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development to benefit lowand moderate-income people, to help prevent or eliminate slums and blight, and to meet other urgent community development needs.

Moorpark will use $158,000 to help fund the design of the Ruben Castro Human Services Center to be built on Spring Road next year. Those funds were not available to community groups, said Councilmember Keith Millhouse.

Although they could not accommodate all the requests that came from eight different organizations and totaled $40,000, officials allocated $26,000 to several local nonprofit agencies that serve Moorpark residents,

Catholic Charities will receive $14,000, and groups that serve senior citizens, provide food for the needy and offer transitional living programs also received funds.

Mayor Patrick Hunter said he wanted to use the money to help agencies that provide the greatest good to the greatest number of people in Moorpark.

"There's never enough money to go around," said Millhouse.

- - Sylvie Belmond