Barbara Lee Announces Grants for Employment Assistance
(Washington, DC) – Congresswoman Barbara Lee (D-Oakland) announced that the Department of Labor will provide $150,000 in grants to three Oakland organizations as part of a $3.8 million commitment to faith-based and community organizations that are helping hard-to-serve populations prepare for and succeed in employment opportunities nationwide.
“These programs are helping people who are most in need of employment to get the skills and assistance that they need to find and keep a job,” said Lee. “We all have a stake in making sure that everyone, and especially people in vulnerable communities, has access to employment opportunities. These grants for these programs are helping us to do that and should be seen as an important investment in the health of our community.”
Two new grantees, the Centro Legal de la Raza and Computer Applications Training Schools, will receive $60,000 apiece, while Pivotal Point Youth Services, Inc., a previous grantee, will receive an additional $30,000.
According to the Department of Labor, projects receiving awards will serve individuals including welfare recipients, high school dropouts, ex-offenders, and others who face significant challenges in gaining employment. Grantees will provide career counseling, life-coaching, mentoring, links to their local One-Stop Career Center, and other services designed to prepare individuals to enter the workforce.
Out of 348 applicants, 59 new awardees were chosen to receive funding of up to $60,000 each, and 14 previous recipients successfully competed to expand their work with grants of $30,000 each. Grassroots faith-based and community organizations with annual social services budgets under $500,000 were eligible to apply.
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