Community Renewal Good Stories - Gary/Hammond/East Chicago

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EZ Transportation Grant Gives Residents Lift to Work

Gary/ Hammond /East Chicago, Indiana, EZ

If you cannot get to work, you cannot work. With this fact and some hard data in hand, the East Chicago Housing Authority Community Services director approached United Parcel Service (UPS) with a plan to provide transportation for East Chicago residents to jobs at the UPS facility in Hodgkins, Illinois. The project was made possible in part by a 2002–03 grant of $116,200 by the Gary/East Chicago/ Hammond EZ.

The transportation program is a collaboration between the city of East Chicago, East Chicago Community Foundation, and the Urban Enterprise Association. The partnership and grant reinforce the EZ’s mission to create jobs for the EZ residents. Approximately 75 EZ residents used PACE Transportation to help them get to the UPS facility.

“This is a win-win situation because we are providing employment opportunities to topnotch individuals,” said Dan Bujos, UPS program director.

For more information on the programs of the Gary/Hammond/East Chicago, Indiana, EZ, please contact Executive Director Scott Upshaw at (219) 886–9047.