PULASKI TECHNICAL COLLEGE RECEIVES $397,832 HUD GRANT FOR YOUTH SKILLS AND LEADERSHIP TRAINING

LITTLE ROCK, AR - Twenty-five young Arkansas people who never finished high school will get a second chance to receive their diplomas because of a $397,832 grant announced today by Housing and Urban Development Secretary Alphonso Jackson. The grant is part of $54 million HUD is awarding through its Youthbuild Program to offer job
training and leadership skills to young people while putting them back on a path toward graduation.

The grant to Pulaski Technical College will help train them for a future in the construction trades while producing
more homes for lower income families, many facing homelessness.

"This funding will offer hope and opportunity to young men and women across the country," said Jackson.
"Youthbuild enables them to return to the classroom, acquire construction skills and put their minds and hands
to work producing more affordable housing in their own communities."

Young people who enroll in local Youthbuild programs lack high school diplomas and the job skills necessary to find meaningful employment. The funding announced today will help young men and women, ages 16-to-24, to receive their high school equivalency diplomas and provide them training in homebuilding skills that will qualify them for
careers in the building industry.

Program participants will receive on-the-job training in the building trades and help build and renovate homes that
are then sold at affordable prices to low- and very low-income persons as well as homeless individuals and families.
In addition, these grants are anticipated to generate millions of additional dollars from other public and private sources.

Pulaski Technical College will use its $397,832 Youthbuild grant to train 40 youth, construct two houses and rehabilitate one house. Major partners include: Youth Challenge; Job Corps; Workforce Investment; North Little
Rock School District; Pulaski County Adult Education Center; Little Rock Adult Education Center, Argenta Academy; City of North Little Rock; North Little Rock Community Development Agency; and the North Little Rock Housing Authority.

HUD is the nation's housing agency committed to increasing homeownership, particularly among minorities; creating affordable housing opportunities for low-income Americans; and supporting the homeless, elderly, people with disabilities and people living with AIDS. The Department also promotes economic and community development as well as enforces the nation's fair housing laws. More information about HUD and its programs is available on the Internet and espanol.hud.gov.

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