Syracuse Housing Authority will receive almost $2 million from the federal government for the Work to Independence program.

SHA, which tends to public housing in the city of Syracuse, was given the $1,977,607 grant in order to increase job opportunities for a resident community, according to an April 2 press release from New York senators Charles Schumer and Kirsten Gillibrand.

Syracuse is one of only nine cities in the nation to receive this grant, named the Jobs-Plus Pilot Award. Other participating cities include urban hubs such as Boston, Chicago, Houston, Memphis and St. Louis, according to documents from the United States Department of Housing and Urban Development, or HUD.

“It’s a very competitive grant, many organizations applied for this,” said Olga Alvarez, a public affairs specialist in the HUD New York regional office.

In order to qualify for the grant, SHA had to put together a comprehensive plan aimed at boosting employment for members of a specific community within their jurisdiction.

For this program, SHA chose the James Geddes Housing Developments as its target community. The James Geddes Housing Developments are a collection of high-rise and townhouse projects in the Near Westside, said David Paccone, assistant executive director for Development for SHA.

The grant is among the first of its kind from HUD, which normally gives agency-wide grants, Paccone said. Paccone added that this is a demonstration program for HUD and they are trying to see if this type of program will increase household incomes.

“Over a four-year period, we’re going to be looking at specific households, looking at what the needs are, whether it’s education or finding a job and so on,” Paccone said.

SHA is always trying to continue participating in HUD grant-programs, as it has done so in the past, Paccone said. He added that participating helps give insight into what they can be doing better for their residents.

Paccone said most of the grant money will go to partner organizations, not SHA.

The grant money will be used to cover the salaries and administrative fees of the case managers that will be handling and seeing to the needs of each household. These case managers work for established partner organizations such as Greater Syracuse Works and the Center for Community Alternatives, Paccone said.

Syracuse University is also one of the partner organizations involved with Work to Independence, through the Talent and Education Development Center at University College.

The TEDCenter offers online courses that residents can take in order to gain a certificate of “workplace competency” from SU, said Karen DeJarnette, director of the TEDCenter.

DeJarnette said these courses are intended to help the James Geddes residents who take the courses improve their math and reading skills, find jobs and prepare for higher education.

These TEDCenter educational services are another part of the larger Work to Independence program aimed at getting residents ready for jobs in construction and office jobs, DeJarnette said.

The cost of providing these services will be covered in part by the $1,977,607 grant to SHA, and partly by SU, DeJarnette added.

Published on April 8, 2015 at 10:20 pm

Contact Thomas: tjbeckle@syr.edu