The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development this week awarded more than $447,000 to help public housing and Housing Choice Voucher residents throughout Hawaii connect with local services to improve their education and employment and to put them on a path to self-sufficiency.
The grant included about $66,000 to the Hawaii County Housing Agency.
Funded through HUD’s Family Self-Sufficiency Program, these grants allow public housing agencies to work with social service agencies, community colleges, businesses, and other local partners to help public housing residents and individuals participating in HUD’s Housing Choice Voucher Program to increase their education or gain marketable skills that will enable them to obtain employment and advance in their current work.
As HUD approaches its 50th anniversary next year, HUD Secretary Julian Castro is focused on advancing policies that create opportunities for all Americans, including helping families and individuals secure quality housing by connecting housing efforts to education and job opportunities.
“HUD connects folks to opportunity,” Castro said. “These grants will link people to the computer access, financial literacy, job training, childcare and other tools they need to compete and succeed in the workplace. Every American deserves access to the skills and resources necessary to become self-sufficient.”
“Family Self Sufficiency is a HUD priority because it not only lifts families up, but it is a tremendous boost to communities,” HUD Regional Administrator Ophelia Basgal said. “The community benefits when its citizens have the tools to succeed and become self-sufficient.”
HUD’s FSS Program helps local public housing authorities to hire service coordinators who work directly with residents to connect them with programs and services that already exist in the local community. These Service Coordinators also build relationships with the network of local service providers so as to more effectively serve the residents. The program encourages innovative strategies that link public housing and Housing Choice Voucher assistance with other resources to enable participating families to find jobs, increase earned income, reduce or eliminate the need for rental and/or welfare assistance, and make progress toward achieving economic independence and housing self-sufficiency.
Participants in the program sign a five-year contract that requires the head of the household to obtain employment and no longer receive cash 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 successfully completes its FSS contract, the family receives the escrow funds that it can use for any purpose, including improving credit scores, paying educational expenses, or a down-payment on a home.