HUD AWARDS $47 MILLION IN GRANTS TO HELP FAMILIES ACROSS THE U.S. GET JOB-TRAINING AND EMPLOYMENT
$1.3 million awarded to Virginia housing organizations to promote homeownership, job training and self-sufficiency of public housing residents

RICHMOND, VA - U.S. Housing and Urban Development Deputy Secretary Roy A. Bernardi announced today that
public housing agencies in 48 states, the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico will receive $47,494,003 in funding to help low-income people get job training, employment and homeownership counseling.

A total of $1,305,717 in Housing Choice Voucher Family Self Sufficiency grants were awarded to Virginia
organizations, including housing authorities in Alexandria, Chesapeake, Danville, Hampton, Harrisonburg, Newport News, Norfolk, Petersburg, Portsmouth, Richmond, Roanoke, Suffolk and Waynesboro, the City of Virginia Beach, Waynesboro and Fairfax, James City, Loudoun and Prince William counties and the Virginia Housing Development Authority.

"This funding will give more low-income adults the opportunity to get job-training that will lead to meaningful employment," said Deputy Secretary Bernardi at a West Virginia press conference announcing the grants. "Studies have shown that this funding has been effective and successful at moving low-income families up the economic ladder."

HUD's Housing Choice Voucher Family Self-Sufficiency (HCV/FSS) program that provides grants to public housing agencies (PHAs) to hire FSS program coordinators. FSS coordinators link adults in the HCV program (Section 8) to local organizations that provide job training, childcare, counseling, transportation and job placement. PHAs can also hire homeownership coordinators to help families get homeownership counseling.

Participants in the HCV/FSS program sign a contract that stipulates the head of the household will 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 a down payment on
a home, paying educational expenses, starting a business or paying back debts.

Virginia Organizations Awarded
2006 HUD Housing Choice Voucher Family Self Sufficiency Grants

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.

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