SAN ANTONIO: Opportunity Home San Antonio is receiving $11 million in federal funding aimed at making affordable housing safer and healthier.

The organization serves nearly 60,000 people and manages 55 social housing units within its organization.

“It’s important that we have the federal funding to address deferred maintenance, and that means maintenance has been building up over many decades,” said Acting President Michael Reyes.

We’re told that more than 34 million homes contain lead paint, and of those, 3 million are low-income households with young children.

“It’s about making sure, simply put, that the units are safe, hygienic and that families can live with them without having to worry about their health,” he said.

The good news, $11 million is coming from the Department of Housing and Urban Development to address this and other housing risks.

More than half of the funding will go to the Alazan courts.

Kayla Miranda lives there with her four children and says she began having health problems after suffering from migraines.

“These apartments are over 80 years old and require a lot of work. There are many ways to obtain financing. I would just like to see them use this funding in the right way,” Miranda said.

This comes as recent plans to expand the Alazan courts were put on hold due to a lack of funding.

This new boost will not help solve this problem, but residents consider it a positive sign.

“It was pretty easy to get the funding for the lead abatement, and I think it would be just as easy to get the funding for the redevelopment if they choose to do that,” she said. declared.

Opportunity Home tells us that lead paint has already been removed from some homes and that other hazards will also be examined, not only in Alazon Courts, but in other public housing as well.

“They’ve already identified, so they found the contractors who were here a few minutes ago. They are already working on it. So they are removing lead paint from many residents,” said Congressman Henry Cuellar.

Which brings some relief to the people who live there.

We tried to ask Opportunity Home San Antonio about the redevelopment plans on hold in Alazan Courts, and they declined to comment on the subject.