Tenants of the Chattanooga Housing Authority may have a better chance of learning new job skills and gaining employment after the authority received a $69,000 piece of a federal job training program.
The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development Friday released $641,578 to nine Tennessee housing authorities in Chattanooga, Memphis, Shelbyville and other cities as part of its national Family Self-Sufficiency Program.
The program aims at helping housing authorities to hire or retrain coordinators who connect residents to local agencies that can educate and retrain them in new skill sets. The coordinators also seek to help residents find child care, counseling services and training in finances and technology.
"This is a modest investment that can make a world of difference for families looking to find their path to self-sufficiency," HUD Secretary Shaun Donovan said in a news release.
This is not a new grant. The funds are part of an annual grant the Chattanooga Housing Authority uses to pay its local self-sufficiency program coordinators.
Contact staff writer Louie Brogdon at lbrogdon@timesfreepress.com or at 423-757-6481.