HUD ANNOUNCES MORE THAN $430,000 TO COLORADO PROGRAM - DOZENS OF YOUNG PEOPLE TO GET A NEW START IN LIFE
Grant to Colorado youth program will create affordable housing

DENVER - Approximately 34 low-income young people - high school dropouts - in Colorado will return to school and begin new careers in the homebuilding trades because of $430,000 in grants announced today by U.S. Senator
Wayne Allard and Housing and Urban Development Regional Director John Carson. The Youthbuild grant awarded in Colorado will help young people graduate high school, train them for a future in the construction trades and will produce affordable homes for lower income families, many facing homelessness.

Mile High Youth Corps (doing business as Year One Incorporated) received the Youthbuild funding in the amount of $434,000. The grant assists Mile High Youth Corps to train 34 low-income youth and to construct eight (8) new houses. The grants are part of more than $58 million in funding awarded nationwide through HUD's Youthbuild
Program.

"This HUD program encourages young people to earn their high school diplomas while introducing them to high-
demand skills," said Carson. "The grant is a win-win program since these young people will be putting hammer-to-
nail to produce more affordable housing in their own communities."

"These grants are an investment in the future workforce of Colorado," said Carson. "Through this program, young people will be given the opportunity to learn job skills to prepare them for a trade that can be a source of support
for themselves and their families."

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 affordable homes that are then sold at affordable prices to low and very low-income persons. The homes are being developed by the
Northeast Denver Housing Center.

Partners for Colorado's project include: Northeast Denver Housing Center, Inc., Colorado Youth Corps Association, Greiner Electric, PCL Construction Services, Educational Opportunity Center, Denver Justice and Peace Center, Millender White Construction, Empire Construction, Junior Achievement, and NPower Colorado.

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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