DHCD Day Trips Tour Comes to Charles County
Secretary Day visits with local leaders to talk infrastructure, broadband, housing affordability, and economic growth
LA PLATA, Md. – Maryland Department of Housing and Community Development Secretary Jake Day visited Charles County on Tuesday as the latest stop of the department’s Day Trips tour across the state.
The visit was the sixth county Secretary Day and DHCD leadership have visited since the tour began in late 2023 and the first in Southern Maryland. The day-long event gave the Moore-Miller Administration’s DHCD team the chance to interact with public officials, business owners and residents about what’s happening in their communities.
“Our mission is to help Maryland communities achieve their full potential and the best way for us to learn how we can support their aspirations is to spend time in the towns and neighborhoods of each county,” said Maryland Department of Housing and Community Development Secretary Jake Day. “DHCD has a great relationship with our county and municipal leaders here and I’m confident we can continue to work together to make this Charles County’s and Maryland’s Decade.”
“Today’s visit with Secretary Day was an opportunity to focus on the positive results of our collaboration with the State of Maryland to revitalize homes and storefronts across Charles County. We engaged in meaningful conversations on topics such as affordable housing, community development, and broadband expansion,” said Charles County Commissioner President Reuben B. Collins, II, Esq. “I appreciate the Department of Housing and Community Development team coming to Charles County to see state and local partnerships in action. Our joint efforts are instrumental in helping sustain and enhance our thriving community.”
“The Department of Community Services is pleased to host Secretary Day and his team from the Department of Housing & Community Development for their day trip to Charles County,” said Dina Barclay, director of Charles County’s Department of Community Services. “We collaborated across local government to develop an interesting itinerary of projects to visit and discuss, all of which were funded in whole with state funds from his Department. The longstanding partnership that exists between our County Departments, private and non-profit businesses, and the Department of Housing & Community Development has resulted in many new services and community improvement projects that directly benefit the residents of Charles County.”
From Fiscal Year 2020 to so far in Fiscal Year 2024, DHCD has invested more than $78 million to create affordable housing, improve broadband service and revitalize neighborhoods in Charles County.
DHCD’s visit featured a stop in Bel Alton to speak to homeowners who are receiving home upgrades through the department’s Special Loans Programs. The programs help eligible Maryland homeowners with home repairs that improve comfort, livability and accessibility.
Afterward, Secretary Day and other DHCD officials attended a roundtable discussion with community leaders and Charles County public officials in Nanjemoy to talk about the status of broadband infrastructure for the area.
The Office of State Broadband, which is a part of DHCD, has provided $1.2 million to Charles County to cover digital equity initiatives. This includes roughly a $1 million investment into the K-12 populations ensuring access to the internet and support for distance learning as well as $150,000 to distribute 800 laptops to covered populations.
The tour ended in Waldorf, where Secretary Day and staff visited local businesses that received facade improvement grants.
DHCD’s Day Trips tour will continue in March in Queen Anne’s County.
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