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Thank you all for being here today. And thank you to Doug Guthrie, the President & CEO of the Housing Authority of the City of Los Angeles, for hosting us and for participating in the Jobs Plus Initiative.

Our mission at the Department of Housing and Urban Development is to ensure access to fair, safe, and affordable housing for all Americans, but we also believe that we advance our mission when we help those who depend on HUD achieve greater economic opportunity and become self-sufficient.

Today, we are announcing an investment in the future of HUD-supported households by awarding $10.6 million in Jobs Plus grant funding to four public housing authorities across the country, including $3.7 million here in Los Angeles, to help those who HUD assists increase their income and reduce their dependency on public assistance and rental subsidies.

Many of the families we serve may not believe the American Dream is for them, but it is. And, by working with our local partners, this funding will help HUD-assisted families realize their potential as they have for many other families since this program began.

HUD's Jobs Plus Initiative connects public housing residents with employment, education and financial empowerment services-a proven model to help public housing residents find and keep better paying jobs.

The idea is simple-connect families with educational opportunities, job training and other services so they can find better paying jobs and achieve self-sufficiency.

Nationally, HUD's Jobs Plus Initiative combines traditional employment training and job placement services with a rent incentive and a place-based investment in building "community support for work."

Here in Nickerson Gardens, the Employment Technology Center will help Jobs Plus participants receive employment and training services, in the high-demand sectors of healthcare and construction. This training will allow HUD-assisted households to benefit from the multi-phase redevelopment of Jordan Downs.

So, thank you again for being here. This is the start of a great, new chapter for the residents of Nickerson Gardens.

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