The funding is coming from the $5.4-billion Community Development Block Grant assistance that HUD allocated to Mississippi following Hurricane Katrina in 2005. The money is geared toward building affordable housing to replace what was damaged or destroyed during Hurricane Katrina. Because the majority of destroyed homes belonged to residents earning less than 120% of the area media income, the grant is dedicated to rebuilding and repairing units in mixed-income neighborhoods.

The state intends to create mixed-income communities through market-rate rental units and affordable rates, aimed at a range of income levels for multifamily and single-family dwellings.

A HUD spokesman tells GlobeSt.com that Mississippi's overall plan is to get people moving back, which means development and/or renovation of owned and rental units. "They're going to get to work soliciting bids from non-profits, private developers and others to go out and build housing from scratch, renovate housing that needs it, or provide closing costs to struggling families," he adds.