U.S. Senators Charles E. Schumer and Kirsten Gillibrand today announced $149,500 in federal funds for three municipalities and housing authorities in the Central New York Region. These funds were allocated through the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development’s (HUD) Family Self Sufficiency (FSS) program. The FSS program assists local social services agencies, community colleges, businesses and other local organizations in providing education and job training in order to help those participating in HUD’s housing voucher program and living in public housing gain marketable job skills.
“These federal funds from the Family Self-Sufficiency program will help three municipalities and housing agencies in Central New York provide the education and job training programs needed to help our most vulnerable gain the job skills needed to get back on their feet,” said Senator Schumer. “When we help job seekers gain education and marketable job skills we open up pathways to economic opportunity and help those in need to better provide for their families.”
“This federal investment through HUD is a lifeline for hundreds of families in Central New York,” said Senator Gillibrand. “Access to stable housing is essential for the health of our families and the economic strength of our communities. These federal dollars will help families get the resources they need so they can have a safe place to call home while gaining assistance in acquiring the necessary skills for securing a good-paying job.”
The following groups in Central NY received this HUD funding:
- Municipal Housing Authority of the City of Utica in Oneida County will receive $69,000
- The City of Utica Section 8 Program in Oneida County will receive $46,000
- The City of Oswego Community Development Office in Oswego County will receive $34,500
“We are very pleased to receive this award. It will allow us to continue to help out families in need. The City of Utica is diversified with a large immigrant and refugee population and this program works,” said Robert Calli, Executive Director of the Utica Municipal Housing Authority. “We would like to thank Senators Schumer and Gillibrand for their help in securing this grant and the City of Utica for their support.”
“The City of Oswego Community Development Office is pleased to have been a successful grantee for the Family Self-Sufficiency Program administered by the United States Department of Housing and Urban Development. This funding will allow for the City of Oswego to continue to provide case management to help low income families receive the resources and tools to receive an education and/or career skills needed to move towards achieving and maintaining self-sufficiency. The Family Self-Sufficiency Program is aimed at empowering families in the Rental Assistance Program to be in a position to achieve independence from all types of government assistance so that they may create lives of greater dignity and independence. This is done by providing opportunities for employment, education, home ownership, counseling, and other forms life-guidance skills,” said Justin Rudgick, Community Development Director of the City of Oswego Community Development Office.
“We are very excited to continue the family self-sufficiency program to help families get back in the workforce and some of them to become homeowners,” said Christine Pastorelli, Director of the City of Utica Sec. 8 program.