From Lucas Metropolitan Housing's press release:
The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) has awarded Lucas Metropolitan Housing $423,352 under the Resident Opportunity and Self-Sufficiency (ROSS) grant program. ROSS grant funds will help the agency hire and/or retain Service Coordinators to assist public housing families with their professional, financial, health and educational goals. Service Coordinators provide case management, assess residents' needs and work in partnership with local service providers to remove barriers so that residents can become self-sufficient.
"Self-sufficiency" is defined as a household's ability to maintain financial, housing and personal/family stability. LMH assists families with employment, training, post-secondary education, financial literacy and much more.
"We are excited to work with our local housing partners to help public housing residents find jobs and opportunities that will propel them forward," said HUD Secretary Marcia L. Fudge.
The Program allows for two (2) Service Coordinators to work directly with families by providing daily assessments, case management, information, referrals for workforce development, resume building, training opportunities and job seeking/retention skills. Residents are also referred to educational opportunities, GED preparation and access to colleges in various locations of their choice. Furthermore, to help strengthen their financial stability, participating residents are referred to the Financial Opportunity Centers for assistance with budgeting, credit repair and homeownership education.
"Lucas Metropolitan Housing keeps building momentum as we continue to receive the support of the Department of Housing and Urban Development said, Joaquin Cintron Vega, LMH President and CEO. Our Agency is a trusted partner in managing the funds that are made available through grants such as these," he said. This time, the awarded grant funds will help us keep working with our residents to assist them in achieving self-sufficiency. Our goal is to maximize the available resources to provide more families with a viable opportunity toward independence."
The total number of families that will be serviced under the grant is 1,303 for a 3-year period.