| HUD No. 00-267 | |
| Further Information: | For Release |
| In the Washington, DC area: 202/708-0685 | Monday |
| Or contact your local HUD office | September 25, 2000 |
CUOMO ANNOUNCES $5.5 MILLION IN GRANTS TO 15 HIGHER LEARNING INSTITUTIONS SERVING THE HISPANIC COMMUNITY
LOS ANGELES – U.S. Housing and Urban Development Secretary Andrew Cuomo today announced $5.5 million in HUD grants to assist students at 15 colleges and universities that serve a significant number of Hispanic students.
Four higher-learning institutions in California will each receive $400,000 – California State University at Northridge, Merced College, Modesto Junior College in the Yosemite Community College District and San Diego State University at the Imperial Valley Campus.
"These institutions are working to make the communities they serve better places. These grants will help the colleges address pressing revitalization and economic development needs in their communities." Cuomo said.
Cuomo announced the funding during the second day of a three-day swing through 20 California cities.
These grants were awarded under HUD’s Hispanic-Serving Institutions Assisting Communities Program (HSIAC). Grantees use the HUD funds for a wide range of housing and community development projects that will improve the quality of life in their communities. Such projects include: rehabilitating neighborhood housing for low- and moderate-income people; purchasing local property for community development purposes; helping neighborhood residents buy homes; developing public facilities, such as recreation, day care or senior centers; stimulating economic development by supporting private business initiatives, providing loans and assistance to small, start-up companies; and instituting neighborhood fair housing programs and services.
California State University, Northridge will use its grant to support community revitalization efforts by working with families in the neighborhoods served by two elementary schools in the Northeast San Fernando Valley—Hubbard Elementary and Dyer Elementary. Cal State Northridge will work directly with parents as they address housing, employment, education, health, and other critical issues. More than 60 percent of the people living in these neighborhoods are of Hispanic origin.
Activities to be undertaken include: Installing portable bungalows at the two schools to be used by the community after school hours and on the weekends; providing entry-level jobs and on-the-job training in the construction industry through the Construction Ready program; creating homeownership opportunities for 15 families; and starting a job club to assist residents to find employment or enhance their skills so they can find better jobs.
The Imperial Valley Campus of San Diego State University will use its grant to provide business development and related skills to residents of Calexico, California. Calexico, a community on the US/Mexican border, is ranked among the poorest, most rural areas in the country, with a per capita income of $8,600. More than 90 percent of the residents are Hispanic.
The project, called the Calexico Empowerment Project, will offer a community-based 10-week training program that will operate on a continuous basis from the Micro-Entrepreneurship Resource Center to be created under this grant. Services and training related to personal development, the acquisition of business skills and knowledge, and specially designed youth services. Because most of the people in the area communicate only in Spanish, or some in very limited English, the project will also help them acquire a comfortable level of English proficiency.
Merced College will use its grant to assist the City of Merced in constructing a youth center. The center will be built in central Merced, providing easy access for minority low- and moderate- income children. The Boys and Girls Club, a non-profit organization, will operate the youth center. The college will participate in the planning and design of the building. When the center opens, the Merced College will offer college awareness and exploration programs for the neighborhood youth. These programs will help them understand career paths, apply career decision-making skills, and experience opportunities to go to college.
Yosemite Community College District will use its grant to implement the Modesto Workforce Development for Poverty Reduction Project. This project has four components: Employment skill development for low-income people in the construction industry; assistance to unlicensed and unbonded contractors to secure appropriate licenses and bonds so they can bid on public projects; assistance to a local non-profit housing developer in rehabilitation existing units and constructing new affordable housing; and forming collaborative partnerships with the city and local advocacy groups to impact public policy on affordable housing and neighborhood revitalization.
Cuomo delivered the keynote address in Los Angeles at Creating Partnerships for Renewed Hope, a HUD-sponsored conference. The Conference brought together community and faith-based organizations, public officials, business leaders and HUD officials. Cuomo’s trip concludes Tuesday in Los Angeles at Closing the Gap: Investing in America’s Communities, an economic development conference that will focus on effective strategies, tools, and resources for creating partnerships that address the needs of America’s distressed communities.
Other higher-learning institutions receiving HSIAC grants are:
| Arizona Western College, Yuma AZ | $374,548 |
| University of Southern Colorado, Pueblo, CO | $400,000 |
| Hudson County Community College, Jersey City, NJ | $398,826 |
| Albuquerque Technical and Vocational Institute, Albuquerque, NM | $400,000 |
| Dona Ana Branch Community College Las Cruces, NM | $400,000 |
| University of New Mexico, Albuquerque | $399,388 |
| El Paso Community College, El Paso, TX | $399,000 |
| Houston Community College, Houston, TX | $395,000 |
| Midland College, Midland, TX | $400,000 |
| Palo Alto College, San Antonio, TX | $362,720 |
| University of Texas at El Paso, El Paso, TX | $399,964 |
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