HUD ANNOUNCES $2.2 MILLION TO FOUR MICHIGAN PROGRAMS � 136 YOUNG PEOPLE TO GET NEW START IN LIFE
Benton Harbor, Detroit, Jackson and Manistee youth will begin careers building affordable housing

CHICAGO - Approximately 136 low-income young people in Michigan will return to school and begin new careers in
the homebuilding trades because of $2.2 million in grants announced today by Joseph P. Galvan, HUD Regional
Director for the Midwest (Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Minnesota, Ohio and Wisconsin). Four grants to Michigan
programs will help these young people graduate high school, train them for a future in the construction trades and
will produce affordable homes for lower income families, many facing homelessness.

Community Action Agency (Jackson) will receive a Youthbuild grant in the amount of $400,000. The grant will enable Community Action Agency to train 40 youth between the ages of 16-24 and to construct 2 houses. Major partners will be Jackson Area Career Center, Western Options Center, and Greater Jackson Habitat for Humanity (GJHAFH).

Manistee Housing Commission will receive a Youthbuild grant in the amount of $400,000. The grant will enable Manistee Housing Commission to train 16 youth between the ages of 16-24 and to rehabilitate 10 rental residential units. Major partners will be City of Manistee, The Casman Academy, and Economic Consultants for Housing Opportunities, Inc.,(ECHO).

Michigan Works (Benton Harbor) will receive a Youthbuild grant in the amount of $700,000. The grant will enable Michigan Works to train 20 youth between the ages of 16-24 and to rehabilitate 10 multifamily housing units. Major partners will be Bridges to Digital Excellence, Skill Blenders, Partners in Adult Learning, and the Citizens for
Progressive Change, and the Cornerstone Alliance.

Young Detroit Builders will receive a Youthbuild grant in the amount of $700,000. The grant will enable Young Detroit Builders to train 60 youth between the ages of 16-24 and to construct two and rehabilitate five houses. Young Detroit Builders has a major partnerships with both United Community Housing Coalition and YouthBuild USA.

"These programs gives new hope to high school dropouts, enabling them to build housing for families in need while building new careers and new lives for themselves," Galvan said. "Through these non-profit organizations, the Youthbuild Program is helping young people work their way out of poverty. These students produce affordable
housing in their communities while they gain a skill, a GED, a job and a new lease on life."

Nationwide, the $45.5 million in Youthbuild grants announced by Housing and Urban Development Secretary
Alphonso Jackson (see chart at end of release) will offer job training and leadership skills to an estimated 3,075
young people. Young people who drop out of high school face a lifetime of underemployment and can be at higher
risk of homelessness. However, thousands of these "at-risk" young people are looking forward to graduation and careers in homebuilding because of Youthbuild grants that will help these students, ages 16-to-24, to earn their
high school diplomas and train them for a future in the construction trades while producing 702 homes for lower income families, many facing homelessness.

Jackson said, "With a modest investment by HUD, we can help these young people graduate high school, start them on a new career path, and create more affordable homes for families who might otherwise be living on our streets."

Today's announcement marks a transition of the Youthbuild program from HUD to the Department of Labor. This transfer represents the fulfillment of a 2003 White House Task Force Report on Disadvantaged Youth and resulted
in the passage of The Youthbuild Transfer Act, signed by President Bush in September.

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. For more information about FHA products, please visit www.fha.gov.

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NOTE: Contacts for the Michigan grantees awarded funding through HUD's Youthbuild Program:

FISCAL YEAR 2006 YOUTHBUILD GRANT AWARDS

NOTE: Detailed State-by-State breakdown of individual grant recipients is available on the HUD website.