HUD No. 09-001 Gloria Shanahan (305) 520-5030 |
For Release Friday January 9, 2009 |
HUD AWARDS $600,000 IN GRANTS TO HELP SOUTH FLORIDA LOW-INCOME FAMILIES GET JOB TRAINING AND EMPLOYMENT
MIAMI - U.S. Housing and Urban Development Secretary Steve Preston announced that public housing agencies in South Florida will receive $615,421 to provide low-income people with the necessary job training to put them on a path toward self-sufficiency (see below). The funding is part of nearly $49 million awarded to 48 states, the District of Columbia, Guam and Puerto Rico.
Funded through HUD's Housing Choice Voucher Family Self-Sufficiency Program (HCV/FSS), the grants allow public housing agencies (PHAs) to work with welfare agencies, schools, businesses, and other local partners to develop a comprehensive program to help participating individuals develop the skills and experience to enable them to obtain jobs that pay a living wage.
This program has proven its effectiveness in helping families develop the skills that lead to stable employment," said Preston. "Getting a decent job and increasing a person's potential for higher paying employment is the first step to becoming economically independent."
PHAs use the funding to hire family self-sufficiency coordinators to link adults in the Housing Choice Voucher
program (formerly Section 8) to local organizations
that provide job training, childcare, counseling, transportation
and job placement. PHAs can also hire homeownership coordinators to help families get homeownership
counseling.
Participants in the HCV/FSS program sign a contract that stipulates the head of the household will get a job and
the family will no longer receive welfare
assistance at the end of the five-year term. As the family's income rises,
a portion of that increased income is deposited in an interest-bearing escrow account. If
the family completes its
FSS contract, the family receives the escrow funds that it can use for any purpose, including a down payment on
a home, paying educational
expenses, starting a business or paying back debts.
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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. More information about HUD and its programs is available on the
Internet and espanol.hud.gov.
Housing Authority | Grant Amount |
West Palm Beach Housing Authority | $58,937 |
Housing Authority of the City of Fort Lauderdale | $63,018 |
Housing Authority of the City of Miami Beach | $63,000 |
Housing Authority of the City of Pompano Beach | $45,198 |
Housing Authority of the City of Fort Myers | $49,375 |
Hialeah Housing Authority | $70,927 |
Broward County Housing Authority | $60,592 |
Palm Beach Housing Authority | $72,537 |
Deerfield Beach Housing Authority | $15,474 |
Boca Raton Housing Authority | $50,500 |
Lee County Housing Authority | $45,955 |
Hollywood Housing Authority | $19,908 |