U.S. Sen. Mark Udall announced that two tribes in southwestern Colorado were awarded about $2.5 million from the Indian Housing Block Grant program at the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development.

The Ute Mountain Ute Housing Authority received $1.347 million and the Southern Ute Indian Housing Authority received $1.165 million, to be used to create affordable housing solutions for their tribes.

“These competitive grants will help tribal leadership meet the critical need for affordable and adequate housing infrastructure on the Ute reservations,” Udall said in a press release. “The grants will also provide the tribes with the flexibility to decide how best to use them to improve the lives of their community members. In particular, the grants can help keep families together on reservations and strengthen their communities.”

The funds may be used for eligible activities such as operating assistance; development of affordable housing that can include new construction, acquisition, modernization or rehabilitation; housing services; housing management for low-income housing; or crime prevention and safety activities. The Indian Housing Block Grant approach to housing was enabled by the Native American Housing Assistance and Self Determination Act of 1996.