HUD AWARDS OVER $800,000 TO PROMOTE SELF-SUFFICIENCY FOR PUBLIC HOUSING RESIDENTS IN COLORADO
Grants to help hire/retain service coordinators

DENVER - The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) today awarded $836,765 in grants to promote self-sufficiency for public housing residents in Colorado. This funding is part of more than $28 million in grants being awarded nationwide to public housing authorities, resident associations, Indian tribes, and non-profit organizations to hire or retain service coordinators to help public housing residents find jobs and achieve economic and housing independence. The funding will also link the elderly and people with disabilities with supportive services that allow them to maintain independent living and age-in-place.

Colorado Grants:

HUD's Resident Opportunities and Self Sufficiency - Service Coordinators Program (ROSS-SC) helps public housing authorities, resident associations, non-profit organizations, Indian tribes or entities representing Indian tribes hire or retain "service coordinators" who work directly with residents to assess their needs and connect them with education, job training and placement programs, and/or computer and financial literacy services available in their community to promote self-sufficiency. For an elderly or disabled resident, the service coordinator arranges supportive services that allow them to maintain their independence.

"These service coordinators will help thousands of public housing residents improve their quality of life by connecting them to jobs and opportunities that lead to self-sufficiency," said HUD Secretary Shaun Donovan.

HUD's Rocky Mountain Region's Administrator Rick Garcia added: "I am pleased HUD can make these resources available again to help people in Colorado achieve their personal and career goals."

The purpose of HUD's ROSS-SC program is to encourage local, innovative strategies that link public housing assistance with public and private resources to enable participating families to increase earned income; reduce or eliminate the need for welfare assistance; and make progress toward achieving economic independence and housing self-sufficiency.

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HUD's mission is to create strong, sustainable, inclusive communities and quality affordable homes for all. HUD is working to strengthen the housing market to bolster the economy and protect consumers; meet the need for quality affordable rental homes: utilize housing asa platform for improving quality of life; build inclusive and sustainable communities free from discrimination; and transform the way HUD does business. More information about HUD and its programs is available on the Internet at www.hud.gov and espanol.hud.gov. You can also follow HUD on twitter @HUDnews, on facebook at www.facebook.com/HUD, or sign up for news alerts on HUD's News Listserv.