Rancho Cucamonga, CA – The Hope through Housing Foundation is launching an ambitious, two-year workforce development initiative designed to train and place 200 individuals in high-demand fields ranging from property management to digital media production.
The landmark effort is funded by a $1.69 million grant from California’s Employment Development Department’s Opportunity Young Adult Career Pathway Program and focuses on serving individuals ages 18-28.
“I’m thrilled at the opportunity to expand our workforce development programs thanks to this amazing grant,” Hope through Housing Executive Director Alyssa Cotter said. “This new program will significantly enhance our ability to support young adults on their career paths and create new opportunities for the residents of the affordable housing communities we serve.”
Hope through Housing, founded in 1998, is a national nonprofit that provides resident services to more than 10,800 households at over 110 affordable housing communities in California, Texas and Florida.
The organization’s mission is to break the generational cycle of poverty. To do so, it provides a holistic suite of resident services to drive children’s academic success, assist families and individuals with financial literacy and employment, support senior health and wellness, and ensure low-income and formerly homeless residents have the tools to remain housed.
The funding supports expansion of Hope through Housing’s Pathways to Economic Empowerment initiative, including CORE Academy – a workforce development program launched in 2022 in partnership with National CORE, one of the nation’s leading nonprofit developers of affordable housing.
CORE Academy teaches entry-level skills to four cohorts each year in two tracks: property management and property maintenance. With the new state funding, CORE Academy and associated programs will expand training into hospitality, social media management, sound and video production and production studio management.
Recent CORE Academy graduate Maurice Davis said his Resident Services Technician training has opened a new avenue of career opportunities.
“I spent years being a truck driver, but CORE Academy gave me a new set of skills in maintenance that will make me a great candidate for many great opportunities,” Davis said. “Their training was more than just hands-on work; they taught me about the importance of professional mannerisms when talking with and helping residents. The program and its trainers were excellent.”
Goals for Hope through Housing’s expanded workforce development program include:
- Placing participants in jobs that exceed living wage standards in Southern California
- Delivering career-focused training in high-demand fields
- Supporting participants to ensure job placement.
- Offering job readiness, financial literacy and income management training
- Addressing barriers to employment
- Promoting skills development
The programs are a blend of internships, apprenticeship training and classroom instruction. They are expected to launch by summer 2025 and run through spring 2027. Students can apply multiple times, taking more advanced courses after mastering basic instruction.
“This is an exciting new phase of our support for residents of our communities,” Cotter said. “This training has the potential to radically accelerate our efforts to help residents build the skills to create fulfilling and sustainable careers, propelling their families out of poverty.”
Federal Funding Disclosure
This Opportunity Young Adult Career Pathway Program Fund is funded by a grant award of $25 million (100%) from the U.S. Department of Labor, with $0 (0%) financed from non-federal sources.
About Hope through Housing
Hope through Housing believes that affordable housing can be a platform for transformational change at the individual and neighborhood level. For more than 25 years, the Hope through Housing Foundation has provided millions of hours of transformational social services, helping children and teens achieve success, improving families’ financial well-being and promoting seniors’ health and wellness. For more information, please visit www.hthf.org.