HUD'S YOUTHBUILD PROGRAM DELIVERS $54 MILLION FOR SKILLS AND LEADERSHIP TRAINING
Two Florida programs awarded grants totaling $1.4 million

WASHINGTON - More than 100 young people in Florida who never finished high school will get a second chance to receive their diplomas because of $1.4 million in grants announced today by Housing and Urban Development Secretary Alphonso Jackson. The grants are 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.

Two grants, one in Jacksonville and the other in St. Petersburg, will help train young persons for a future in the construction trades while producing seven homes for lower income families, many facing homelessness (see
attached summaries).

"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 (see attached list) 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 to homeless individuals and
families. In addition, these grants are anticipated to generate millions of additional dollars from other public and private sources.

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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HUD 2004 YOUTHBUILD GRANTS IN FLORIDA

Jacksonville

Daniel Memorial JaxBuild, Inc. will receive a Youthbuild grant in the amount of $700,000. The grant will enable Daniel Memorial JaxBuild, Inc to train 40 youth and rehabilitate six houses. Major partners include: Builders Care; Housing Partnership of Jacksonville.

St. Petersburg

Boley Centers for Behavioral Health Care, Inc. will receive a Youthbuild grant in the amount of $700,000. The grant
will enable Boley Centers to train 78 youth and construct one new house. Major partners include: the City of St. Petersburg; Eckerd Family Foundation; Juvenile Welfare Board; Mt. Zion; and, Pinellas Technical Education Centers.