Columbus announced the winners of the Learning Skills to Lift Neighborhoods grant on Friday. The program aims to increase affordable housing and provide work experience.
At an East Side home, with rain drizzling down and chickens clucking one yard over, city officials and representatives from affordable housing non-profits gathered to announce the winners. Columbus Council member Jaiza Page says they’re handing out a total of $120,000 this year.
“Five organization have been awarded funds to help revitalize homes throughout the city of Columbus,” Page says. “And they are working either with youth or ex-offenders to do a majority of the work on the home to give them the life skills they need to continue to have fruitful careers.”
Robert Chilton heads up Impact Community Action, one of the winning applicants, and he emphasizes the job training the awards will support.
"We're teaching people the skills that they need in the trades so that they can earn a living wage and get on the job training experience by rehabbing and remodeling these properties," he says.
Columbus is awarding:
- $40,000 to Franklinton Rising
- $20,000 to Driven Foundation
- $20,000 to Impact Community Action
- $20,000 to Youthbuild
- $20,000 to Refugee, Inc.
The city awarded $100,000 in the grant program for the first time last year.
