HUD Archives: News Releases

MASSACHUSETTS AWARDED $960,000 TO PROMOTE JOBS, SELF-SUFFICIENCY FOR PUBLIC HOUSING RESIDENTS

BOSTON - The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development today awarded $960,000 to the following Massachusetts Housing Authorities: Chelsea, Gloucester, Malden and Somerville. These grants are part of $31 million awarded nationally today to public housing authority resident associations and non-profit organizations across the U.S. to help public housing residents connect to services available in the community to find employment to increase their economic 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. (See below for Massachusetts funding).

"Our investments in communities need to link housing to the services people need to connect to local jobs. As we seek to promote self sufficiency these ROSS grants will provide housing authorities with the necessary resources to hire caseworkers who can help residents connect to opportunities that will improve their quality of life," said HUD New England Regional Administrator Barbara Fields.

HUD's Resident Opportunities and Self Sufficiency (ROSS) - Service Coordinators Program helps public housing authorities (PHAs), resident associations or non-profit organizations to hire or retain service coordinator who works directly with residents to assess their needs to 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 independent lifestyle.

The purpose of HUD's ROSS - Service Coordinators 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 as a 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.

Resident Opportunity and Self-Sufficiency Service Coordinators Program Fiscal Year 2010