Washington, DC – In an effort to help public housing residents become self-sufficient, the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) has awarded $28 million in grants to public housing authorities and nonprofit organizations across the nation to hire or retain service coordinators to help residents find jobs and educational opportunities.
HUD’s Resident Opportunities and Self Sufficiency-Service Coordinators (ROSS-SC) program helps public housing authorities, resident associations, nonprofit organizations, Indian tribes or entities representing Indian tribes hire or retain “service coordinators” who work directly with residents to assess their needs and connect them with education, job training and placement programs, and/or computer and financial literacy services available in their community to promote self-sufficiency.
The purpose of HUD’s ROSS-SC program is to encourage local, innovative strategies that link public housing assistance with public and private resources to enable participating families to increase earned income; reduce or eliminate the need for welfare assistance; and make progress toward achieving economic independence and housing self-sufficiency.
2018 ROSS Service Coordinators Grant Awards went to Medford Housing Authority, $239,250; Taunton Housing Authority, $239,250; and Worcester Housing Authority, $478,500, for a Massachusetts total of $957,000.
