WASHINGTON - The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development awarded $9,675,050 in grants today to public housing authorities across the U.S. The housing agencies use this funding to hire service coordinators who connect public housing residents with resources in the community to lead them to economic independence.

"An old Chinese proverb tells us it is better to teach one how to fish than to give one a fish, for the one who is taught will eat for a lifetime, not only a day," said HUD Secretary Alphonso Jackson, who announced the funding today. "These grants are true to the proverb because they allow local housing agencies help low-income families thrive for a lifetime by leading them to employment that moves them to self-sufficiency, even homeownership."

The monies awarded are from HUD's Public Housing Family Self-Sufficiency (PH FSS) program, which awards grants to public housing authorities (PHAs) to hire service coordinators to link residents with supportive services that help them find education and job training.

PH FSS funding allows PHAs to hire program coordinators who work directly with residents to guide them to education and training opportunities, job placement organizations and local employers. Residents sign a contract to participate, which outlines their responsibilities towards completion of training and employment objectives up to a five-year period. For each participating family that is a recipient of welfare assistance, the PHA must establish an interim goal that the participating family be independent from welfare assistance prior to the expiration of the contract. During the period of participation, residents may earn an escrow credit based on increased earned income, which they may use in a variety of ways, including continuing their education or making a down payment toward home purchase.

A 2005 HUD study showed low-income families who participated in a similar HUD family self-sufficiency program saw their incomes increase at a higher rate than non-participants.