HUD AWARDS $2.7 MILLION TO GROUPS IN BIG STONE GAP, BRISTOL, PETERSBURG, ROANOKE & WAYNESBORO TO HELP YOUNG PEOPLE FINISH HIGH SCHOOL, LEARN CONSTRUCTION TRADES & EXPAND SUPPLY OF AFFORDABLE HOUSING

WASHINGTON - Groups in Big Stone Gap, Bristol, Petersburg, Roanoke and Waynesboro have won a total of $2,692,669 in Youthbuild grants awarded today by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development.

The Youthbuild grants help at-risk 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.

In today's Youthbuild announcement, the Lonesome Pine Office of Youth in Big Stone Gap was awarded a $400,000 grant, the Bristol Redevelopment and Housing Authority was awarded a $400,000 grant, Petersburg Urban Ministries was awarded a $700,000 grant, Total Action Against Poverty, Inc., in Roanoke was awarded a $700,000 grant and the Waynesboro Redevelopment and Housing Authority was awarded a $492,669 grant.

This is the first time that the Lonesome Pine Office of Youth has won a Youthbuild grant. The Bristol, Petersburg, Roanoke and Waynesboro have won Youthbuild grants in prior competitions.

"HUD is thrilled that it can play such an important role in helping these young people to earn their high school
diplomas while while helping Virginia communities preserve and expand their stock of affordable housing," said HUD Richmond Director William P. Miles. "Youthbuild is a win-win program benefiting both young people and the
communities in which they live."

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.

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