HUD No. 11-72 Adam Glantz (212) 264-1100 |
For Release Thursday September 15, 2011 |
HUD AWARDS NEW YORK $6 MILLION TO PROMOTE JOBS, SELF-SUFFICIENCY, INDEPENDENT LIVING FOR HUD-ASSISTED HOUSING RESIDENTS
NEW YORK - The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) today awarded New York $6,034,445 in grants to help public and assisted housing residents find employment; connect with needed services; and help the elderly and people with disabilities maintain independent living. The funding also allows the grantees to retain or hire "service coordinators" or case workers to work directly with these HUD-assisted families to connect them to the supportive services that meet their individual needs.
Entities in New Jersey received the following:
Recipient Name |
Funding Amount: |
Funding Amount: |
Total |
Buffalo Municipal Housing Authority | $69,000 | $720,000 | $789,000 |
Geneva Housing Authority | $65,642 | $65,642 | |
Mechanicville Housing Authority | $34,479 | $34,479 | |
Municipal Housing Authority of the City of Schenectady | $57,199 | $57,199 | |
Municipal Housing Authority of the City of Yonkers | $480,000 | $480,000 | |
Niagara Falls Housing Authority | $236,784 | $236,784 | |
New Rochelle Municipal Housing Authority | $69,000 | $69,000 | |
Ocean Bay Community Development Corporation | $720,000 | $720,000 | |
Rochester Housing Authority | $66,136 | $683,484 | $749,620 |
Syracuse Housing Authority | $480,000 | $480,000 | |
Troy Housing Authority | $61,955 | $61,955 | |
White Plains Housing Authority | $235,000 | $235,000 | |
Total New Jersey |
$423,411 |
$3,555,268 |
$3,978,679 |
Multifamily Housing Service Coordinator
RECIPIENT |
CITY |
AMOUNT |
Stryker Housing Development Fund Company, Inc. | Auburn | $198,539 |
SEBCO HDFC Inc. | Bronx | $150,064 |
Friendset Housing Company Limited Partnership | Brooklyn | $246,896 |
Shore Hill Housing Associates, L.P. | Brooklyn | $390,000 |
Covenant Manor Housing Development Fund Co., Inc | Jamestown | $106,583 |
Pitcher Hill Housing Development Fund Company, Inc. | North Syracuse | $187,770 |
Grace View Manor Housing Development Fund Corp. | Norwich | $109,521 |
St. Peter's Italian Church Housing Development Fund Co. Inc. | Syracuse | $190,007 |
SNI Development Company Limited Partnership | Troy | $240,225 |
Hollows Associates Limited Partnership | Yonkers | $236,161 |
TOTAL: |
$2,055,766 |
"Providing housing assistance alone is often not enough to help individuals increase their independence," said HUD Regional Administrator Adolfo Carrión. "The service coordinators funded through these programs open doors that help HUD-assisted families find jobs, access services and assist the elderly and disabled to continue living as independently as possible in their homes."
The ROSS-SC and PH-FSS programs allow grantees across the U.S. hire or retain service coordinators to work 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. Only public housing authorities are eligible for PH-FSS grants. ROSS-SC grants can be awarded to public housing authorities, resident associations and non-profit organizations. Grantees that receive ROSS-SC grants can also use the funding for this purpose, which allows the elderly or persons with disabilities who live in public housing to maintain their independent lifestyle.
In a similar fashion, the Multifamily Service Coordinator (MFSC) program provides funding to owners of private housing developments under contract from HUD to house low-income individuals. These owners, or their management companies, hire or contract service coordinators with backgrounds in providing social services, especially to the elderly and people with disabilities, to assist their residents with special needs.
Combined, HUD estimates this funding will allow the grantees to hire new employees or retain approximately 650 service coordinators that are currently working with HUD-assisted individuals.
The purpose of the ROSS-SC and PH-FSS programs 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.
Public housing residents who participate in the PH-FSS program sign a contract with the housing authority, which outlines their responsibilities towards completion of training and employment objectives over a five-year period. For those families receiving welfare assistance, the housing authority must establish an interim goal that the participating family be independent from welfare assistance prior to the expiration of the contract. During their participation, residents may create an escrow account funded with their increasing income, which they may use in a variety of ways, including continuing their education or making major purchase.
HUD's Family Self-Sufficiency (FSS) Program is a long-standing resource for increasing economic security and self-sufficiency among participants. HUD issued a new report earlier this year that evaluated the effectiveness of the FSS Program. Conducted from 2005 to 2009, the study shows the financial benefits are substantial for participants who remain and complete the program. This study is the second of a three-part series by HUD that evaluate the effects of the FSS program. The first study found individuals who participated in the FSS program fared better financially than those who did not enroll in the program. HUD's Office of Policy Development and Research (PD&R) will launch the third and final installment to complete the series this year.
The MFSC program allows multifamily housing owners to assist elderly individuals and nonelderly people with disabilities living in HUD-assisted housing and in the surrounding area to obtain needed supportive services from the community, to enable them to continue living independently. The grants are awarded for an initial three-year period to eligible owners of multifamily housing for the elderly or disabled, to enable them to hire and support a service coordinator. The funds cover such costs as salary, fringe benefits, quality assurance, training, office space, equipment, and other related administrative expenses. A report HUD released in 2009 noted that aging in place reduces rates of premature institutionalization for low-income elderly residents, thus reducing the costs borne by taxpayers.
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