Housing and Urban Development Secretary Andrew Cuomo today awarded $1.4 million to groups in Rochester, NY for one program to train high school drop-outs to build and renovate low-income housing and for another program to create subsidized housing for people with disabilities.

Cuomo made the announcement with Congresswoman Louise Slaughter and Rochester Mayor William Johnson. Cuomo appeared at the Rochester news conference via TV satellite. Cuomo awarded:

• $350,000 to the Urban League of Rochester to train 20 high school drop-outs to build and renovate low-income housing and to support themselves as construction workers. The assistance under HUD's Youthbuild Program will give the young people on-the-job training by having them learn construction skills as they work to build two houses within the Rochester Enterprise Community. The units will be used to house low-income families. HUD's investment in the project in Rochester will attract other investment from outside the Department of $140,000 000 in cash and services. The Rochester City School District and Department of Social Services will participate.
• $640,500 to the Urban League of Rochester Economic Development Corporation to develop six independent living apartments units in three buildings for people with developmental disabilities and to subsidize the rents of the units for five years..
• $429,600 to the Ibero-American Action League in Rochester to create subsidized housing for six people with disabilities in Rochester and to subsidize the rents of the units for five years. Nationally, Cuomo said HUD is awarding $133 million to create 1,650 rental units for people with disabilities around the United States and to and will subsidize the units for five years.

"The Youthbuild program helps high school drop-outs build new housing for families in need, while building new careers and new lives for themselves," Cuomo said. "With the construction and academic skills they learn in Youthbuild, young people can work their way out of poverty and support themselves for a lifetime."

Youthbuild participants - ranging in age from 16 to 24 - would have a hard time finding good jobs without the program, because they lack high school diplomas and job skills. Youthbuild helps the young people get general equivalency high school diplomas and provides social services and training in leadership skills, in addition to training as construction workers.

Around the nation, HUD is awarding $33.1 million this month to local governments, housing authorities and non-profit groups to train nearly 2,300 high school drop-outs in the Youthbuild Program. Over 850 affordable houses and apartments will be built or renovated. A total of 217 applicants around the country competed for the 69 Youthbuild grants that HUD is awarding this month.

Over $170 million in grants have been made under Youthbuild since it began in 1993, enabling over 7,800 young people to take part in building or rehabilitating more than 3,650 affordable housing units in their communities.