MARION COUNTY — Marion County Housing Authority has been awarded an Emergency Safety and Security Grant from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. MCHA is one of only 22 public housing authorities in the country to receive this grant in 2018.

The $151,500 grant that was awarded to MCHA will be used to provide additional safety and security measures in the Malcolm Bryant (west of St. Mary’s Hospital) and Upchurch (Maulding Drive) neighborhoods in Centralia.

New fencing, security cameras, and outdoor lighting will be installed in these neighborhoods to support MCHA’s mission of offering safe and affordable housing to the community.

“We are thrilled to be one of only 22 housing authorities to receive this grant,” said Kelly Tinsley, Executive Director of MCHA.  “We collaborated with the Centralia Police Department to ensure our most immediate needs were addressed, completed all required documentation from HUD and submitted the proposal in a timely fashion in hopes that MCHA would be chosen to receive one of the grants.

Those efforts paid off, and I couldn’t be more pleased,” Tinsley added.