HUD No. 02-100 | For
Release Friday September 13, 2002 |
BUSH ADMINISTRATION ANNOUNCES $2.2 MILLION TO HAWAII AND
ALASKA UNIVERSITIES TO SPUR LOCAL ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT
HUD Assistant Secretary Liu Awards $1.8 Million to Hawaii Institutions
HONOLULU - Housing and Urban Development Assistant Secretary Michael Liu
announced today $2,164,497 million
in grants to Native Hawaiian
and Alaskan universities to give them the resources they need to
address economic development needs in their communities.
"These
grants will help these local institutions improve housing, spur
economic development, create jobs and
revitalize neighborhoods for
their most needy citizens," said Liu who spoke at the first
conference of the Council for Native Hawaiian Advancement being
held at the Sheraton Waikiki Hotel through Saturday.
The three Hawaiian universities to receive $1,769,497 million in funding are:
- The University of Hawaii - Leeward Community College $579,586
- The University of Hawaii - West Oahu Campus $599,875
- The University of Hawaii - Windward Community College $590,036
HUD's Alaska Native/Native Hawaiian Institutions Assisting Communities Program grants, first awarded in 2000, gives colleges and universities additional resources to expand their role and effectiveness in dealing with community development needs in the areas they are located.
The
receiving institutions can use the funding to do several activities
related to neighborhood revitalization including
- acquisition of
real property, clearance and demolition, rehabilitation of residential
and commercial buildings, direct homeownership assistance to low-
and moderate-income persons, eligible public service activities,
establishment of Community Development Corporations (CDC).
Specifically, the Hawaiian universities will use the grants in this way:
The
University of Hawaii - Leeward Community College
The University of Hawaii - Leeward Community College in Pearl City,
Hawaii will utilize the grant to support and
sustain the two-year
Waianae Organic Agriculture Initiative (WOAI). The WOAI will improve
the Waianae's food security - in the predominately Native Hawaiian
community residing in and along the Waianae Coast of Oahu. The school
will acquire land and buildings, establish the Waianae Organic Agricultural
Center, and develop a curriculum, specifically a Microenterprise
Training Program.
The
University of Hawaii - West Oahu Campus
The University of Hawaii - West Oahu Campus will help the university
create the Hana Marketplace. Hana is a
remote community of about
2,000 residents located on the western coast of Maui. Each year
some 500,000 tourists visit the scenic town. Working with the Hawaii
Alliance for Community-Based Economic Development, Lokahi Pacific,
Office of Hawaiian Affairs, and Hina-malailena, the University of
Hawaii - West Oahu will make the most its tourist population by
creating this new marketplace. The Hana Marketplace will provide
commercial space for resident-
owned small business, create new job
opportunities, offer training in entrepreneurial enterprises and
computer applications to business management, and encourage the
startup and incubation of local companies by getting their operations
online through computer technology training.
The
University of Hawaii - Windward Community College
The University of Hawaii - Windward Community College will use its
grant for a community development project. Together with the Housing
and Community Development Corporation of Hawaii, they will begin
the HOPE VI Phase I redevelopment and revitalization of Kuhio Park
Terrace in the older, low- to moderate-income neighborhood of Kalihi-Palama.
A 50,000 square foot Community Resource Center will be constructed
which will become home to various community service agencies. Selected
agencies include Parents and Children Together (PACT) which will
play an instrumental role in providing life skills, jobs and micro
enterprise training programs while the University of Hawaii's Employment
Training Center will operate a fully operational training kitchen
and food service area for residents.
In
addition to the Hawaiian universities, the University of Alaska
at Fairbanks will receive $395,000 and will use its grant to partner
with the Northwest Arctic Borough to construct an artist's shop
and retail store. The Sulainich
Arts Center will benefit the residents
of Kotzebue and Inupiaq Eskimo community located 30 miles above
the Arctic Circle. The Centers will house a local art cooperative
that will offer members the opportunity to build individual
micro-businesses
and make a living by creating traditional arts and crafts in a safe
environment. The grant will also
provide
a positive alternative
for the high rate of individuals engaged in drug and alcohol addiction.
Liu,
who heads HUD's Office of Public and Indian Housing and a Native
Hawaiian, also told conference attendees
that the $9.6 million in
Native Hawaiian Housing Block Grant Program funding he previously
announced is now
available to use. This funding, announced during
HUD's National Homeownership Month in June, allows Native Hawaiians
to have access to Federal housing block grant funds appropriated
solely for the benefit of Native
Hawaiians eligible to live on Hawaiian
Home Lands. The funding is similar to that that has been available
to American Indians and Alaska Natives since 1996. These block grant
funds this year will help the Department of Hawaiian Home Lands
fund affordable housing activities. Another $10 million is included
in HUD's fiscal year 2003 budget with the potential for more funding
at higher levels in the future.
Liu
also told the group HUD was creating a new permanent position for
a Native Hawaiian Specialist who would be based in HUD's Honolulu
Field Office. This individual would be part of HUD's Office of Native
American Programs and focus specifically on Native Hawaiian Programs
such as the Native Hawaiian Block Grant and the Native Hawaiian
Loan Guarantee Program.
HUD
is the nation's housing agency committed to increasing homeownership,
particularly among minorities, creating affordable housing opportunities
for low-income Americans, 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 at www.hud.gov.
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