In October 2018, Hurricane Michael roared across Southwest Georgia with wind gusts over 100 mph. Homes, crops and about a fifth of the state’s pecan trees were devastated. As the 20-county region continues to bounce back from the once-in-a-century storm, the Georgia Department of Community Affairs (DCA) and the Technical College System of Georgia (TCSG) have teamed up to further support economic development.
DCA recently chose TCSG to administer an $8.36 million grant from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) aimed at helping residents of the affected communities acquire skills and job readiness to increase their household income. The Community Development Block Grant Disaster Recovery Workforce Development Program will support on-the-job and customized training, job-readiness services and social services that impact job readiness.
Included in the Workforce Development program are the areas hardest hit by the hurricane: Dougherty, Decatur and Seminole counties. TCSG will work with its colleges in these areas – Albany Tech, Oconee Fall Line Tech, South Georgia Tech and Southern Regional Tech – to implement the program.
The grant is part of a $41.8 million allocation from HUD that has been essential in helping to rebuild areas in the southwest corner of the state during the past couple of years. Extending beyond infrastructure, the workforce development efforts will support the job market, education, childcare and equal access to opportunities that will continue the revitalization of Southwest Georgia.
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