JACKSON ANNOUNCES $400,000 GRANT TO TEXARKANA TO GIVE AT-RISK YOUNG PEOPLE CAREERS BUILDING AFFORDABLE HOUSING
$45 million in grants nationally will help thousands of students graduate
and build homes for others facing homelessness

FORT WORTH - Young people who drop out of high school face a lifetime of underemployment and can be at higher risk of homelessness. However, thousands of these "at-risk" young people are looking forward to graduation and careers in homebuilding because of $45.5 million in grants announced today by Housing and Urban Development Secretary Alphonso Jackson. Among the grantees was the City of Texarkana, which received $400,000.

The Youthbuild grants announced today will offer job training and leadership skills to an estimated 3,075 young
people nationally. Youthbuild grants will help these students, ages 16-to-24, to earn their high school diplomas and train them for a future in the construction trades while producing 702 homes for lower income families, many facing homelessness.

Jackson said, "With a modest investment by HUD, we can help these young people graduate high school, start them on a new career path, and create more affordable homes for families who might otherwise be living on our streets."

The City of Texarkana will use its $400,000 to train 30 youth and to construct a minimum of three to five new
houses. Major partners include the Arkansas Development Finance Authority (HOME), Region Bank, Capital One Bank and Southwest Arkansas Counseling and Mental Health.

Today's announcement marks a transition of the Youthbuild program from HUD to the Department of Labor. This transfer represents the fulfillment of a 2003 White House Task Force Report on Disadvantaged Youth and resulted in the passage of The Youthbuild Transfer Act, signed by President Bush in September.

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, and enforces the nation's fair housing laws.

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