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Officials hope a new county program that aims to make tangible improvements to struggling single-family neighborhoods will rejuvenate the Wheaton and Aspen Hill areas by cleaning up foreclosed and unruly property.

The Focused Neighborhood Assistance program, an initiative of Montgomery County's Department of Housing and Community Affairs, will hold a community meeting for residents in the Wheaton and Aspen Hill neighborhoods to discuss the project, which is cutting its teeth in the mid-county region. The meeting will be held 7-9 p.m. Tuesday in the Wheaton High School cafeteria, 12601 Dalewood Drive.

Residents who live in the neighborhoods between Veirs Mill Road and Georgia Avenue, north of Randolph Road and south of Turkey Branch Parkway, are invited to discuss their perceptions of the community and suggestions for infrastructure and social improvements, said Cathy Mahmud, a DHCA senior planning specialist.

Residents will discuss ways to rejuvenate their neighborhoods through new or existing county programs that could help pay for improvements to dilapidated houses, install welcome signs to mark neighborhoods and fund possible after-school initiatives, said Rick Nelson, DHCA director.

Nelson said the Wheaton and Aspen Hill neighborhoods of Glenmont, Stonybrook, Connecticut Avenue and Greenwood Knolls were chosen for the revitalization project in part because they were some of the hardest-hit neighborhoods in the county when the housing bubble burst.

The area has some of the county's highest foreclosure rates, free and reduced meal rates—and indicator of poverty—and criminal activity, according to DHCA reports. In the fourth quarter of 2008, 44 out of 3,428 homes were foreclosed in the area, according to the DHCA.

Nelson said past DHCA programs have focused on revitalizing downtown areas, but the Focused Neighborhood Assistance program is the first of its kind to concentrate on single-family neighborhoods. According to the DHCA, 94 percent of homes in the midcounty region are single-family.

Since the program launched in late February, DHCA officials have been canvassing the neighborhoods, including portions of Germantown in the upcounty area, to talk to community members and take stock of rundown, unkempt and abandoned properties.

Several Glenmont residents have said they welcome the DHCA's attention. Kris Kumaroo, president of the Greater Glenmont Civic Association, said he hopes to work with county officials to mitigate crime in the area. Sprucing up homes that have abandoned mattresses and cars in their yards is another problem he said he'd like to tackle with the help of the DHCA.

The DHCA hopes to take a holistic approach to improving the neighborhood, Mahmud said. Tuesday night's meeting will be about listening to specific residents' concerns and not just the voices of community organizations, she said.

Mahmud said officials hope to implement some improvement projects in fiscal 2010's budget, but Nelson has said budget constraints are the new program's biggest challenge. He estimated that any money for projects won't come until fiscal 2011.

A community meeting about the county's Focused Neighborhood Assistance program will be held

7- 9 p.m. Tuesday in the cafeteria at Wheaton High School, 12601 Dalewood Drive. Light refreshments will be served. For more information and data on the program, visit www.montgomerycountymd.gov/

dhctmpl.asp?url=/content/DHCA/

housing/foreclosure.