By THOMAS JENKINS
Staff Writer
West Texas will be getting a shot in the arm in 2010, as the Texas Department of Housing and Community Affairs (TDHCA) announced this week more than a half-million dollars in funding designed to transition low income Texans out of poverty and toward self-sufficiency.
The funding, which totals $30.1 million for 48 eligible nonprofit and local government agencies across the state, will help low income residents by helping to reduce future dependency on government programs, according to TDHCA officials. West Texas Opportunities Inc. — which serves Howard, Andrews, Borden, Dawson, Ector, Fisher, Gaines, Glasscock, Martin, Midland, Nolan, Scurry and Upton counties — will receive $608,438 in funding, according to TDHCA Executive Director Michael Gerber. “Helping Texans achieve self-sufficiency is the first priority of the CSBG Program and a critical component of the Department’s charge,” said Gerber. “Transitioning individuals from poverty toward self-sufficiency brings greater stability to low income Texans and the neighborhoods in which they live. “Some agencies measure success by the number of individuals it assists. Through the CSBG (Community Services Block Grant) Program, TDHCA is able to measure success by the number of individuals who no longer need that assistance.” TDHCA made the awards through its CSBG Program, which funds local agencies providing direct essential services to very low income individuals as well as helping meet the administrative expenses of these local organizations. According to TDHCA officials, the CSBG Program assists households earning no more than 125 percent of the federal poverty guideline, which equals an annual income of $26,500 for a family of four. Funding for the program comes from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.
Contact Staff Writer Thomas Jenkins at 263-7331 ext. 232 or by e-mail at
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