Washington State Community Action Agencies Awarded $11.7 million in Recovery Funds

For Immediate Release: July 29, 2009

OLYMPIA � The Washington State Department of Commerce is distributing $11.7 million in American Recovery and Reinvestment Act grants across the state to support training, job placement and emergency services.

The recovery grants will go to non-profit community action agencies to provide emergency shelter, food and other community service programs to individuals and families in every county of Washington. Agencies receiving the grants serve a combined 100,000 clients. More than 100 new jobs with the community agencies and approximately 700 new jobs for their clients will be created in the next year.

�These recovery funds will help thousands of individuals and households meet basic needs, and train for and find new jobs in their communities,� said Gov. Chris Gregoire.

�We work with community organizations across the state to ensure that recovery funds are spent in ways that best meet local needs,� said Rogers Weed, director of the Washington State Department of Commerce.

For example, Spokane Neighborhood Action Partners, a Community Action Agency serving Spokane County, will hire an additional HUD-approved housing counselor to respond to home foreclosures, create and retain jobs for low-income households through small business development, and provide other services with the funds.

Solid Ground in King County will be increasing the capacity of their Broadview Transitional Housing Program, which provides housing and on-site support services to survivors of domestic violence. Solid Ground will also spend Recovery funds on infant formula for families who use food banks; food for a weekly homebound grocery delivery service; and a volunteer resource database that will expand and improve the efficiency of volunteer recruiting, training, and effectiveness.

The Washington State Department of Commerce is administering more than $200 million in federal recovery funds. For more information about the Department of Commerce, visit www.commerce.wa.gov.

Washington state is administering the federal Recovery Act investments with an unprecedented level of transparency and accountability. Gregoire created a website (www.recovery.wa.gov) enabling every Washingtonian to see where their tax dollars are going and hold government accountable for the results. On the federal level, President Barack Obama has appointed Vice President Joe Biden to oversee all states' recovery efforts and to root out waste and fraud. This combined oversight will ensure taxpayer dollars are put to good use and recharge the economy.