HUD Awards $6.5M To Hispanic-Serving Colleges

WASHINGTON - U.S. Housing and Urban Development Secretary Shaun Donovan today awarded nearly $6.5 million to 11 Hispanic-Serving Institutions to help revitalize local neighborhoods, promote affordable housing and stimulate economic development in their communities. The funding announced is provided through HUD's Hispanic-Serving Institutions Assisting Communities (HSIAC) Program.

“These grants help to address the revitalization and economic development needs in the communities that surround our Hispanic-Serving Institutions,” said Donovan. “Not only are we investing in communities but, we are helping to facilitate long term partnerships that will assist in addressing some of the most critical social and economic issues that this country is facing .”

The following Hispanic-Serving Institutions were awarded funding (see attached for a description of these projects):

To be eligible to apply for funding, at least 25 percent of the institution's full-time undergraduate student population must be Hispanic. In addition, all applicants must offer two- or four-year degrees and be fully accredited by an accrediting agency recognized by the U.S. Department of Education.  HUD's grants will help these institutions undertake a wide variety of activities, principally for persons of low- and moderate-income.  These activities include:

• Acquiring property;
• Demolishing blighted structures;
• Rehabilitating homes, including cleaning up lead-based paint hazards and making modifications that improve accessibility;
• Improving public facilities;
• Offering assistance to small businesses, including minority-owned enterprises; and
• Supporting public services such as job training, child care, fair housing, and housing counseling.

Last year HUD provided $6 million to 10 Hispanic-Serving Institutions. The (HSIAC) Program is one of several initiatives administered by HUD's Office of University Partnerships (OUP). Established in 1994, OUP is a catalyst for partnering colleges and universities with their communities in an effort to address local problems. For more information about HUD's partnership with institutions of higher education, visit HUD’s website and OUP’s website www.oup.org. .

Hispanic-Serving Institutions Assisting Communities (HSIAC) Program Summaries

Fresno City College

Grant Amount:      $600,000  

Fresno City College intends to use its Hispanic-Serving Institutions Assisting Communities (HSIAC) grant to provide introductory training on construction techniques and job-readiness skills for Section 3 residents in Fresno, California, at local vacant, blighted houses, which the city will then sell to a qualified low-income family. This will connect low-income, educationally underrepresented individuals to postsecondary education via training and community service.

New Jersey City University

Grant Amount:      $599,916  

New Jersey City University intends to use its Hispanic-Serving Institutions Assisting Communities (HSIAC) grant to implement its E² (Enterprise and Economic) Development Initiative to significantly enhance economic development activities in the Jersey City urban community, particularly among low- and moderate-income (LMI) entrepreneurs.  The initiative will employ a combination of proven strategies and best practices—customized assessment, intensive training and education, incubation, mentoring/coaching, and low-interest loans—to achieve its aim of establishing, sustaining, and expanding 120 LMI-run microenterprises, creating higher than minimum wage jobs, and revitalizing depressed neighborhoods in Jersey City, New Jersey. Each participant will receive a one-on-one assessment of their business needs.  Based on the analysis, each LMI entrepreneur will develop action plans in concert with program staff that will establish, sustain, or expand his/her microenterprise.

South Texas College

Grant Amount:      $599,495  

South Texas College intends to use its Hispanic-Serving Institutions Assisting  Communities (HSIAC) grant to establish its Career Pathways and Housing Opportunities program, which will be responsible for the following activities: demolishing 34 condemned homes posing threats to the health and welfare of the tenants; and training 84 participants in the areas of certified nursing assistant, general office clerk, English as a Second Language (ESL), employability skills, computer applications and financial literacy (occupational ESL), green construction, and welding. The program will take participants through a progression of knowledge and skills up to the point where they can continue their education in a postsecondary environment. South Texas College will also expand Starr County community’s access to technology through the implementation of a comprehensive Rural Technology Center strategy that couples the college’s high-quality academic programs and facilities with the Starr County community infrastructure. 

San Antonio College

Grant Amount:      $600,000  

San Antonio College (SAC) intends to use its Hispanic-Serving Institutions Assisting Communities (HSIAC) grant to build neighborhood capacity and economic development/revitalization efforts in three communities surrounding SAC’s campus through construction/establishment of a multipurpose community facility.  The “EcoCentro” will provide free meeting/office space for neighborhood associations and a variety of free/low-cost workshops to equip residents with knowledge to improve their homes/community.  Training in green sector skills/historic renovation will prepare residents for jobs in emerging markets.  The EcoCentro will provide:  up to 19 free or low-cost workshops that focus on a variety of home safety, historic renovation, and sustainable home improvement topics, including weatherization, lead paint hazards, xeriscaping, and historic window repair; employment training for high-demand jobs in emerging industries, including “green” building and historic renovation; and student volunteer recruitment to benefit the surrounding target area.  In addition, EcoCenter personnel will refer participants to SAC’s HSIAC-funded Seguir Adelante and Mi CASA Centers for pre-college and housing or jobs preparation assistance.

Otero Junior College

Grant Amount:      $599,987 

Otero Junior College (OJC) intends to use its Hispanic-Serving Institutions Assisting Communities (HSIAC) grant to create the Microenterprise Development Center, a one-stop facility that will serve Crowley County, a rural, economically depressed region in OJC’s service area.  The center will help residents of this underserved area of southeastern Colorado achieve success in business start-up, continuation, and expansion through a series of services, including one-on-one counseling, group workshops, and shared work space. There will also be a housing component to educate residents about fair housing and opportunities to build new housing or rehabilitate existing homes. This activity will include renovating a building in Crowley County, Colorado, to house the facility and the implementation of services designed to increase business and housing opportunities in the county.

University of Texas at San Antonio

Grant Amount:      $600,000  

The University of Texas at San Antonio (UTSA) intends to use its Hispanic-Serving Institutions Assisting Communities (HSIAC) grant to implement a 3-year program, through its Child & Adolescent Policy Research Institute (CAPRI), to assist foster care youth with supportive services, training, and financial resources for the purpose of attending college or other job training opportunities.  The outlook for foster care youth is especially bleak, with many experiencing homelessness or incarceration. Lack of educational attainment leaves them locked into low-wage jobs and financial insecurity throughout adulthood.  CAPRI has partnered with UTSA faculty in multiple disciplines and five community-based organizations in the design of this program.  The program consists of four activities:  foster care youth college readiness, leadership, and job training; providing social services for foster care youth, focusing on crisis management for housing and young adult life issues; developing database and workshop resources for housing foster care youth attending college or job training; and developing the Assistance in College Completion, Employment, and Socioeconomic Success (ACCESS) Center located at the CAPRI.  This activity includes equipping and supporting a community resource center and job bank designed to serve foster care youth.

Passaic County Community College

Grant Amount:      $599,952  

Passaic County Community College intends to use its Hispanic-Serving Institutions Assisting Communities (HSIAC) grant to engage 216 middle school children in their hands-on Neighborhood University for Children project-based learning activities that will teach them important educational and workplace readiness skills such as problem solving, decision making, technology, communication, and teamwork.  The program will further teach children important environmental concepts.  The college also plans to implement its Neighborhood University for Adults, which will provide 300 Limited English Proficient Adults with pre-occupational skills and English as a Second Language/career training in high demand areas such as childcare, healthcare, and business administration.  The residents will further receive essential workplace readiness skills training, technology training, and supportive services such as childcare and transportation.  As a result of these activities, local residents will improve their language proficiency and their employability skills. 

Donnelly College

Grant Amount:      $598,608

Donnelly College intends to use its Hispanic-Serving Institutions Assisting Communities (HSIAC) grant for its HELP-KC project, which is designed to directly support community residents through two distinct programming options that will: promote knowledge of and access to homeownership through educational programming; and spur and support small business development in urban core communities by offering three targeted programs to provide technical support to participants as they develop business concepts.  Additionally, the project seeks to renovate a stand-alone space on-campus to be used by community organizations and agencies, including partners for outreach, programming, and services to the community.  HELP-KC outreach will impact the community by providing bilingual support and counseling to reach even more people who are individuals for whom homeownership would serve as a major transformational force to their families and would further stabilize the surrounding community by assisting individuals as they save for and navigate purchase programs.

Midland College

Grant Amount:      $600,000  

Midland College intends to use its Hispanic-Serving Institutions Assisting Communities (HSIAC) grant to address community development needs through its outreach center, Cogdell Learning Center.  The proposed project, El Sueño (The Dream), will address the high need for access to affordable housing and fair housing education; the need for credit repair services; and the need for water/energy conservation and sustainability practices. The project’s measurable impacts on the community will include:

·         Sixty five individuals improve credit scores through one on one credit counseling;

·         One hundred five persons will complete a Housing Counseling Work Plan;

·         Five hundred forty units of affordable housing will be maintained in accordance with energy efficient/green practices via sustainability training;

·         Two hundred twenty five persons of low to moderate income will gain an understanding of fair housing rights through education and promotion of those rights.

Yosemite Community College District/Modesto Junior College

Grant Amount:      $600,000  

Yosemite Community College District/Modesto Junior College intends to use its Hispanic-Serving Institutions Assisting Communities (HSIAC) grant to stimulate economic development in the community of Patterson, California, through an innovative project that establishes a Career and Education Resource Center (CERC) to assess, educate, train, and refer local residents to local jobs; and a Sustainability Awareness Campaign that informs community residents of home energy performance measures and publicizes the resources of the Center. Three specific activities have been developed to accomplish the goal of this project:

• Patterson community residents will access local employment and education resources and services.  A Career and Education Resource Center will be established at the MJC Patterson Campus site to provide Patterson community residents with comprehensive employment and education referral services. Information will be available in English and Spanish.
• One hundred eighty individuals will complete training in one or more of the following areas:  General Equivalency Diploma, English as a Second Language, 21st century employment skills, computer literacy skills, principles of sustainability, photovoltaic system installation, and/or home energy performance.  Three hundred fifty Patterson residents will increase knowledge of energy saving principles and actions they can apply in their homes.

University Corporation/California State University, Northridge

Grant Amount:      $502,042  

The University Corporation/California State University (CSU), Northridge intends to use its Hispanic-Serving Institutions Assisting Communities (HSIAC) grant to address the childhood obesity problem confronting the largely Latino, low-income community of Van Nuys, which is located in Los Angeles, California.  The project will implement a multi-component, comprehensive intervention at three elementary schools in the Van Nuys community.  The three components will improve children’s physical fitness, promote children’s physical activity during recess and lunch, and improve children’s healthy eating behavior.  To improve children’s physical fitness, the university intends to:  develop and implement physical education training for teachers; develop and facilitate weekly physical education lesson plans; conduct daily, physical activity breaks to get students physically active during class time; and develop and implement twice per month walking program for children and their parents.  To promote children’s physical activity during recess and lunch, CSU intends to:  develop and facilitate a workshop to train teachers and staff on ways to encourage and motivate children to become physically active during recess and lunch; design the schools’ playground layout with permanent painted game markings to help facilitate physical activity during recess and lunch; furnish schools with playground equipment necessary to implement games during recess and lunch; and teach and encourage children to play games and remain active during recess and lunch.  Finally, to improve children’s healthy eating behavior, CSU intends to:  promote the value of healthy eating for children and their parents; and implement a school gardening program.