News Release

ODEP News Release: [10/04/2004]
Contact Name: Jane Norris or Michael Volpe
Phone Number: (202) 693-4676 or x7909

Labor Secretary Chao Awards $1.5 Million Grant to Address Chronic Homelessness among People with Disabilities

WASHINGTON— U.S. Labor Secretary Elaine L. Chao today awarded a $1.5 million technical assistance grant to the Corporation for Supportive Housing as part of a Bush Administration initiative to end chronic homelessness among persons with disabilities.

“This grant will help chronically homeless people with disabilities get the comprehensive support they need to find meaningful employment and turn their lives around,” said Secretary Chao, who is also Vice Chair of the government's Interagency Council on Homelessness. “Employment is the crucial step in connecting with the community and breaking the cycle of dependency and despair.”

The department has been addressing the needs of homeless Americans through a number of model targeted intervention and prevention programs including the Homeless Veterans Reintegration Program, the Incarcerated Veterans Transition Program and the Job Corp Foster Care Recruitment Initiative. Information for service providers on the department's homeless programs can be accessed at: www.dol.gov/dol/audience/aud-homeless.htm.

Today's grant award, known as the Chronic Homelessness Employment Technical Assistance (CHETA) Initiative, is a cooperative effort between the department's Office of Disability Employment Policy, the Employment and Training Administration and the Veterans Employment and Training Service. The Corporation for Supportive Housing, with offices in ten states, is a national non-profit organization dedicated to helping local communities develop services that support the homeless.

The grant will provide intensive employment-related technical assistance to the five September 2003 awardees of the department's “Ending Chronic Homelessness Through Employment and Housing” grants. Those 2003 awardees were Worksystems, Inc., Portland, Oregon; the Boston Private Industry Council, Boston, Massachusetts; the Private Industry Council, San Francisco, California; the Indianapolis Private Industry Council, Indianapolis, Indiana; and the Workforce Development Division of the Community Development Department, City of Los Angeles, California.

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