[Congressional Record Volume 141, Number 58 (Wednesday, March 29, 1995)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E715]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]


                                STEP-UP

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                         HON. ALCEE L. HASTINGS

                               of florida

                    in the house of representatives

                        Tuesday, March 28, 1995
  Mr. HASTINGS of Florida. Mr. Speaker, I would like to bring to the 
attention of this body a program in my district of Florida which has 
shown great promise in moving people from welfare to work.
  The program, created by the Fort Lauderdale Housing Authority, is 
called Step-Up. It is designed to provide people living in poverty with 
the skills they need to remove themselves from public assistance by 
allowing the housing authority to hire people who live in its units to 
do renovation work on its property.
  Program participants are paid $4.30-4.50 an hour, work an average of 
32 hours per week, and must join a high school equivalency program. 
Those who finish will have two options: A scholarship at the local 
Broward Community College, or continuing with work and training. 
Participants, young adults between the ages of 18 to 25, learn trades 
from outside contractors who are asked to donate training and materials 
to the project.
  Mr. Speaker, everybody will benefit from this program. Unskilled 
young adults will be trained and educated, and sorely needed 
renovations will be made to public housing stock. The Step-Up Program 
provides meaningful options through opportunities for employment, job 
training, and educational achievement. It will enable people who have 
traditionally been socially and economically disenfranchised to move 
from government dependency to self-sufficiency and employability.
  I salute the Fort Lauderdale Housing Authority and all of the people 
who have made this program possible. And I encourage housing 
authorities all over America to look to this program as a model for 
teaching our children viable and valuable skills, giving them hope, and 
helping them secure an education and a future.


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