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OPA News Release: [06/10/2004]
Contact Name: Michael Volpe
Phone Number: (202) 693-7909

Labor Secretary Chao Announces $1.5 Million Grant Aimed at Ending Chronic Homelessness Among People with Disabilities

WASHINGTON—U.S. Labor Secretary Elaine L. Chao today announced the availability of a $1.5 million technical assistance grant designed to help fulfill the Bush Administration’s ten-year goal of ending chronic homelessness among persons with disabilities.

“In keeping with the promise of President Bush’s New Freedom Initiative and his goal of ending chronic homelessness, this $1.5 million grant from the Department of Labor will strengthen customized employment and permanent housing services so that chronically homeless people with disabilities may live, work and fully participate in their communities,” said Secretary Chao, who is also Vice Chair of the government’s Interagency Council on Homelessness.

The grant, known as the Chronic Homelessness Employment Technical Assistance (CHETA) Initiative, is a $1.5 million award over a 36-month period of performance with additional option years and funds available depending on performance and future funding availability.

Office of Disability Employment Policy (ODEP) Assistant Secretary Roy Grizzard noted that the grant is a cooperative effort between ODEP, the department’s Employment and Training Administration and its Veterans Employment and Training Service. “This grant will help bring together the workforce development system with organizations serving the homeless to provide customized employment and permanent housing for people with disabilities who are chronically homeless,” said Dr. Grizzard.

The CHETA is designed to 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.

Questions about the CHETA grant solicitation (SGA 04-07), which appeared in the June 10, 2004 Federal Register, should be directed to the U.S. Labor Department Procurement Services Center, Room N-5416, 200 Constitution Avenue, NW, Washington, DC 20210, Telephone (202) 693-4570. Grant applications may be downloaded from the Federal Register at www.gpoaccess.gov/fr/index.html.

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