Arizona Women’s Education & Employment (AWEE) has been awarded a $255,000 grant from the U.S. Department of Labor to continue funding job training and support services for homeless and formerly incarcerated veterans in Arizona.
The grant is one of 90 totaling more than $20 million awarded through the Department of Labor’s Homeless Veterans Reintegration Program (HVRP). AWEE is one of three Arizona nonprofit organizations receiving grants along with U.S. Vets Initiative of Phoenix ($250,000) and The Primavera Foundation, Inc. of Tucson ($200,000).
“Americans who have served their country should not find themselves without a home,” said Secretary of Labor Hilda L. Solis. “The grants will help these heroes find good jobs and take us one step closer to the goal of ending veteran homelessness altogether.”
HVRP grants provide occupational, classroom and on-the-job training, as well as job search and placement assistance, including follow-up services. Grantees are expected to maximize available assistance and find good jobs for veterans by coordinating efforts and resources with the U.S. departments of Veterans Affairs, Housing and Urban Development, and Health and Human Services, as well as other national, state and local agencies in accordance with the VA’s five-year plan to end homelessness for veterans and their families.
“Assisting veterans to find and keep jobs, particularly those who may face significant barriers for employment, is among our most-important services,” said AWEE President and CEO Marie Sullivan. “This grant will enable AWEE to expand our reach and our program outcomes for this historically underserved but vital population of women and men.”
