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.
“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 affordable housing, community development, and broadband expansion,” said Charles County Commissioner President Reuben B. Collins, II “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.”
This was the sixth county Secretary Day and Department of Housing and Community Development leadership has visited since the tour began in late 2023 and the first in Southern Maryland. The day-long event allowed the Moore-Miller Administration’s Department of Housing and Community Development team to interact with public officials, business owners, and residents about what was 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,” Day said. “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.”
The Department of Housing and Community Development’s visit featured a stop in Bel Alton to speak to homeowners 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 Department of Housing and Community Development officials attended a roundtable discussion with community leaders and Charles County public officials in Nanjemoy to discuss the area's broadband infrastructure status.
During the event, Secretary Day presented Charles County officials with a check for $1.1 million from the Office of Statewide Broadband’s Home Stretch-Difficult to Serve Properties grant program.
The program utilizes Coronavirus Capital Projects Funding to provide financial assistance to jurisdictions for projects focused on bringing high-speed internet access to premises with difficulty obtaining service due to their remote location, distance from broadband infrastructure, or other issues that discourage Internet Service Providers (ISPs) from delivering broadband service.
The Office of State Broadband, part of the Maryland Department of Housing and Community Development, 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 internet access and distance learning support, and $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.
“The Department of Community Services is pleased to host Secretary Day and his team from the Department of Housing and 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 funded with state funds from his department. The longstanding partnership between our County Departments, private and non-profit businesses, and the Department of Housing and 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 fiscal year 2024, the Maryland Department of Housing and Community Development has invested more than $78 million in creating affordable housing, improving broadband service, and revitalizing neighborhoods in Charles County.
DHCD’s Day Trips tour will continue in Queen Anne’s County in March.
Click here to view photos from the event.
