HUD AWARDS FAMILY SELF-SUFFICIENCY GRANT TO THE LUBBOCK
HOUSING AUTHORITY

LUBBOCK - U.S. Housing and Urban Development (HUD) has awarded $39,390 to the Lubbock Housing Authority (LHA) to link low-income families with education and job training resources to put them on a path to self-sufficiency. A check for the grant was presented to Mike Chapman, Executive Director of the LHA by Acting Lubbock HUD Field Office Director Wanda Merritt on October 18, 2011.

Funded through HUD's Housing Choice Voucher Self-Sufficiency Program (HCV/FSS), the grant program allows public housing agencies (PHAs) to work with welfare agencies, schools, businesses, and other local partners to develop a comprehensive program to help individuals already receiving Housing Choice Vouchers for rental assistance gain marketable skills, enabling them to obtain jobs that pay a living wage.

Ms. Merritt said, "Providing the tools for self sufficiency is the main goal of this program. Those tools help participants progress off of welfare through preparation and training to enter the community's workforce. The Lubbock Housing Authority and its community partners have developed a positive program that provides support, assists the participants, and benefits the entire community."

Participants in the HCV/FSS program will be required to sign a contract that requires the head of household to get a job and the family will no longer receive welfare assistance at the end of the five-year term. As the family's income rises, a portion of that increased income is deposited in an interest-bearing escrow account. If the family completes its FSS contract, the family receives the escrow funds that it can use for any purpose, including paying educational expenses, starting a business or paying back debts.

"The Lubbock Housing Authority currently has fifty-four participants enrolled in our Family Self Sufficiency Program," said Mr. Chapman. "Of the fifty-four, seventeen are working on educational goals. Forty-two have started contributing towards their escrow accounts for a combined total of $125,000. The program is available for all of the Lubbock Housing Authority Housing Choice Voucher Holders. For more information, please call us at (806) 776-2313."

###

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 http://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.