HUD'S YOUTHBUILD PROGRAM DELIVERS $1.1 MILLION FOR SKILLS AND LEADERSHIP TRAINING IN NORTH CAROLINA
Two grants to train North Carolina young people and build affordable
housing

WASHINGTON - At least 60 North Carolina young people who never finished high school will get a second chance to receive their diplomas because of $1.1 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.

These grants will help train them for a future in the construction trades while producing more than homes for lower income families, many facing homelessness.

"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."

The funding announced today will benefit two North Carolina Youthbuild programs:

Serve Management Group of Marble, NC will receive $400,000 to train 30 young people and construct one home. Major partners include: Tri-County Community College; Far West Mountain Economic Partners; NC Employment Security and Vocational Rehabilitation Agencies; Smoky Mountain Center; Hinton Rural Life Center. For local information, contact Mr. Andy Morris, (404) 975-7058.

Housing Authority of the City of Wilmington will receive a Youthbuild grant in the amount of $700,000. The
grant will enable the Housing Auuthority to train 30 youth and rehabilitate nine public housing units. Major partners include: Cape Fear Community College; City of Wilmington Community Services Department; Communities in Schools
of Cape Fear; and, Youth Outreach Inc. For local information, contact Mr. Benjamin J. Quattlebaum at (910) 341-7700. Young people who enroll in local Youthbuild programs 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.

###