HUD Secretary Fudge Visits Brooklyn Residents,
Highlights Minority-Owned Affordable Housing Developments
 HUD Secretary Marcia L. Fudge traveled to Brooklyn, New York, to visit a senior housing community, a joint venture with a faith-based institution focused on increasing the supply of affordable housing. The development is home to 100 low-income seniors subsidized with HUD Section 8 vouchers. This is the Secretary’s second visit to New York hosted by HUD Regional Administrator Alicka Ampry-Samuel to hear from Black and faith-based affordable housing developers.
Sec. Fudge held a listening session and a roundtable discussion with stakeholders and building residents about best practices and challenges to building affordable housing. Attendees included Congresswoman Yvette Clark, Evangelical Crusade Christian Church Senior Pastor Rev. Dr. Samuel Nicolas, Senior Communities VP Mohini Mishra, Neighborhood Housing Services of Brooklyn CEO Tonya Ores, NHS Director of Property Management, Dionne Christopher, CAMBA Vice President of Intergovernmental Affairs, Drew Gabriel. HUD Assistant Secretary for Congressional and Intergovernmental Relations Kimberly McClain, and HUD Director of Stakeholder Engagement in the Office of the HUD Secretary, Dr. Ruth Jones Nichols also attended.
Secretary Fudge’s next stop was Brooklyn’s Nehemiah Spring Creek, a multiphase initiative that transformed 45 acres of former wetlands and a landfill into a suburban, mixed-income, smart-growth community that offers over 1,600 affordable apartment rentals, townhouses for homeownership, and retail businesses. The project received public and private investments and benefits from HUD sustainability resources.
There, HUD Secretary Fudge toured and led a discussion about affordable housing development with St. Paul Community Baptist Church and East Brooklyn Congregations Associate Pastor Rev. Dr. Dexter Henderson, Monadnock Development President Kirk Goodrich, Nehemiah Housing Development Fund Corporation (HDFC) Executive Director Aaron Graf, Nehemiah HDFC Director Arshad Bacchus, Nehemiah homeowner Ms. Linda Boyce, Spring Creek Community School Principal Astrid Rousseau, Genesis Companies Managing Director of Development Nicole Lockett, EBC Nehemiah Brownsville President Matilda Dyer, and EBC Nehemiah New Lots President Carmen Daniels.
 January is Human Trafficking Prevention Month, a presidentially designated observance designed to educate the public about human trafficking and the role they can play in preventing and responding to human trafficking.
The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services’ theme for Human Trafficking Prevention Month 2024 is Activate Connections to Prevent Human Trafficking. The theme will focus on activating connections to build individual, family and community resilience to human trafficking. Each week will focus on how people working in various sectors can help prevent and respond to human trafficking. Preventing human trafficking cannot be accomplished alone; rather, we must build partnerships across all sectors of society to improve the lives of those we serve. When we #Partner2Prevent, we can enhance our efforts to keep everyone safe from human trafficking.
The theme for the second week of Human Trafficking Prevention Month 2024 (January 7-13, 2024) is “Activating Connections to Promote Individual Health and Well-Being.”
Thursday, January 11, is Human Trafficking Awareness Day or #WearBlueDay! Join us in raising awareness about human trafficking. Share your photo by using the hashtag #WearBlueDay.
Learn more about human trafficking, a crime and public health concern that affects individuals, families, and communities across generations, at https://www.acf.hhs.gov/otip/human-trafficking-prevention-month. There you will find the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Human Trafficking Prevention Month Toolkit 2024 – download your copy today!
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