Preparing for work
$3 million federal grant to help low-income Foote Homes residents land jobs, develop skills
Memphis Housing Authority will receive a $3 million federal grant to land jobs over the next four years for at least 60 low-income residents in the Foote Homes community, and prepare about 230 others there for employment, the Department of Housing and Urban Development announced Thursday.
Memphis is one of nine cities sharing in the $24 million fund over the next four years. Fifty-seven cities applied for the money, Jemine Brown said during an announcement program at Foote Homes. She is HUD’s deputy assistant secretary for public and Indian housing.
“I challenge you to do even better than those state goals,” Brown said of employing 60 and preparing another 230 residents for the workplace.
HUD’s Jobs-Plus Pilot Program is designed to fund work readiness and link public housing residents with employment, education and “financial empowerment services,” the federal agency said in a release.
Foote Homes, at Danny Thomas and Mississippi, has more than 1,000 residents in 414 households.
Half of the residents are adults 18 to 64, and 316 of the residents are employed, Mayor A C Wharton said, adding, “So you see, we have a lot of room for growth there.”
“This is a big deal,” U.S. Rep. Steve Cohen said.
Vatricia McKinney, who has lived in Foote Homes 11 years, expressed confidence the program will work. “Not many of them have jobs,” the 63-year-old said of her neighbors. “Lots of them are not qualified, and then there’s not many jobs for them.”
The Memphis Housing Authority will provide the Jobs-Plus program to Foote Homes residents through a partnership with the Workforce Investment Network .
Urban Strategies Memphis HOPE, which now handles all human services activities for the housing authority, will subcontract to provide the services of Jobs-Plus.
The program aims to prepare 230 participants for employment by helping them get their GEDs, improve their literacy and numerical skills, complete job training and finish a financial literacy program.
Other agencies involved are Women’s Foundation for a Greater Memphis, RISE Foundation and Memphis Bioworks Foundation.
“Jobs-Plus is not just an initiative, it’s a pathway to greater prosperity for folks across the nation,” HUD Secretary Julian Castro said earlier Thursday in Charlotte, North Carolina. “Empowering public housing residents with new economic and educational tools is good for their families and for our nation. HUD is always looking for innovative ways to help others secure new opportunities and to reach their full potential. With this funding, local public housing authorities will be able to help more Americans find employment in today’s job market so they can build a better tomorrow.”
The intent of the new program is to connect the local housing authority system with employment and training services.
The program is designed to use “new rent rules that make work pay and neighbor-to-neighbor outreaching,” the HUD release states.
Grants made to public housing authorities in other cities were $3 million, Chicago; $2 million, Boston; $3 million, St. Louis; $2 million, Syracuse; $3 million, Cleveland; $3 million, Houston, Texas; and $3 million, Roanoke.