(AUSTIN) — The Texas Department of Housing and Community Affairs (TDHCA) today announced a $125,000 award to a regional nonprofit organization working to reduce the number of Native American households living in poverty and help them transition toward greater self-sufficiency.

The Urban Inter-Tribal Center of Texas will use the funds to provide clients with apprenticeships and workforce development programs; retraining to update skills of existing workers; career counseling, resume writing, financial aid counseling, job search activities, and job readiness activities; and tuition, books, and supportive services.

The organization is a nonprofit American Indian corporation dedicated to improving the health and socioeconomic status of American Indians living in the Dallas/Ft. Worth area.

“Helping Texans transition out of poverty and toward self-sufficiency is a critical component of TDHCA’s mission,” noted TDHCA Executive Director Tim Irvine. “Native Americans often have unique needs that might otherwise go unmet, making it more difficult for these individuals to ever achieve self-reliance. Through partnerships with organizations like the Urban Inter-Tribal Center, we can soon measure success not by the number of people we help, but by the number who longer depend on our assistance.”  

The award was part of a $676,600 discretionary fund award under the Community Services Block Grant (CSBG) Program and represents a portion of the state’s $32.4 million annual allocation from the federal government.

In addition to the Urban Inter-Tribal Center of Texas, TDHCA also awarded discretionary funds to one county and two nonprofit organizations serving migrant farmworkers; and both the Texas Homeless Network and Texas Association of Community Action Agencies, two statewide organizations providing technical assistance and training to TDHCA funded homeless services providers and to CSBG eligible entities.

The CSBG Program assists households earning no more than 125 percent of the federal poverty guideline, which equals an annual income of $28,812.50 for a family of four. Funding for the program comes from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services and supports a variety of direct services in addition to helping maintain the core administrative elements of local partner organizations.