Wallace Davis, Executive Director, Volunteers of America Southeast, Inc. (VOA), hosted HUD and 40 representatives of Mobile area agencies at a consolidated grant award ceremony on January 26, 2006. At the ceremony, Birmingham Field Office Director Cindy Yarbrough announced $5,621,012 of HUD grants and presented ceremonial checks to the organizations. Five Mobile area agencies received funds for a range of projects that included two Section 811 awards, a Continuum of Care award representing seventeen local organizations and two Resident Opportunity and Self Sufficiency grants.

Wallace Davis of VOA accepts ceremonial check for $1,318,700 for a 15 unit Section 811 project to be developed by Volunteers of America.

Dan Williams, Executive Director, Homeless Coalition of the Gulf Coast, Inc., the Mobile area Continuum of Care, accepted an award of $2,540,845 on behalf of 17 different homeless assistance projects. The grants fund a wide variety of programs-from street outreach and assessment programs to transitional and permanent housing for homeless persons and families. The Mobile Continuum has been a leader among Alabama's homeless advocates in promoting the campaign to end chronic homelessness.

Charles Priest, Executive Director, Alabama Head Injury Foundation accepts ceremonial check for $1,687,500 to build 15 units of housing for the disabled.

Charles Priest, Executive Director, Alabama Head Injury Foundation accepted an award of $1,687,500 for a project his organization has undertaken with the Minneapolis, MN-based Accessible Space. The Mobile project is the third project the Head Injury Foundation has provided services or oversight for, but the first 811 project in which the Foundation has been a co-applicant.

Wallace Davis, in addition to hosting the event, accepted a ceremonial check for $1,318,700 for a Volunteers of America (VOA) project that will serve the Chronic Mentally Ill. The new 15-unit 811 project will build on the success of another facility located near the offices of the Mobile Mental Health Center, shopping and other amenities and accessible to public transportation. The strategic location increases the resident's ability to be self-sufficient.

Dan Williams, Executive Director, Homeless Coalition of the Gulf Coast accepts ceremonial check for $2,540,845 on behalf of 17 organizations that provide homeless services in the Gulf Coast region.

Charles Pharr, Executive Director, Prichard Housing Authority and Stephens Gregory, Executive Director, Mobile Housing Board accepted awards of $44,748 and $29,219 respectively for their Resident Opportunity and Self Sufficiency programs (ROSS). The funding to be received under this announcement will support ongoing Family Self Sufficiency (FSS) programs of each Authority. Under the ROSS program, coordinators work closely with public housing residents to link them to training opportunities, recruiters and local employers. Residents sign a contract to participate in the multi year program, which aims to move residents from welfare to work. Residents keep increased income in escrow and use it on completion of the program to continue their education or to help purchase a home.

The variety of projects funded reflects the scope of HUD's assistance to low-income people and families: the homeless, people with disabilities, and public housing residents. The consolidated award ceremony emphasized HUD's reliance on local organizations, such as Public Housing Agencies (PHAs), resident organizations, homeless providers and nonprofit organizations, to carry out its federally funded assistance programs.