News Release

RICHMOND - Housing and Urban Development Secretary Alphonso Jackson announced $45,543,764 in funding today to public housing agencies in 48 states across the country, the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico. The funding is used to help low-income people get job training, employment and homeownership counseling.

Virginia housing authorities will receive a total of $1,286,535 in HUD Housing Choice Voucher/Family Self-Sufficiency Funds that were awarded competitively through HUD’s 2005 Notice of Funding Availability. Virginia authorities included those in Alexandria, Chesapeake, Danville, Hampton, Harrisonburg, Newport News, Norfolk, Petersburg, Portsmouth, Richmond, Roanoke, Virginia Beach, Waynesboro and Albemarle, Fairfax, James City, Loudoun and Prince William counties as well as the Virginia Housing Development Authority which serves smaller communities and rural areas in the rest of the Commonwealth.

"Because of this funding, individuals who receive HUD voucher assistance will also get job training or educational development to find employment or get a better job," said Jackson. "Gaining employment or increasing one's potential to obtain a higher paying job is the first step in economic independence that leads to a world full of opportunities, including homeownership.

HUD's Housing Choice Voucher Family Self-Sufficiency (HCV/FSS) program provides funds to public housing agencies to hire FSS program coordinators. FSS coordinators link adults who receive rental assistance through the HCV program to local organizations that provide job training, childcare, counseling, transportation and job placement. Some of the awardees received funding to hire a homeownership coordinator who assist families with getting the information and resources they need to find a lender and homeownership counseling.

Participants in the HCV/FSS program sign a contract that stipulates the head of the household will get a job and the family will no longer receive welfare assistance at the end of the five-year term. As the family's income rises during the term of the FSS contract, a portion of that increased income is deposited in an interest-bearing escrow account. If the family completes its FSS contract, the family receives the escrow funds that they can use for any purpose, including down payment on a home purchase, paying educational expenses, starting a business or paying back debts.

HUD is the nation's housing agency committed to increasing homeownership, particularly among minorities; creating affordable housing opportunities for low-income Americans; and supporting the homeless, elderly, people with disabilities and people living with AIDS. The Department also promotes economic and community development as well as enforces the nation's fair housing laws. More information about HUD and its programs is available on the Internet at www.hud.gov and espanol.hud.gov.