2 Agencies Get HUD Grants for Programs

Two Ventura County public housing agencies received more than $325,000 in grants for anti-drug programs, officials announced Tuesday.

The federal Department of Housing and Urban Development awarded $171,554 to the Housing Authority of the city of Oxnard, HUD officials said.

The Area Housing Authority of Ventura County received two grants, one for $76,528 and another of $77,220, said Joseph Rodriguez, resident services administrator for the county agency.

The Oxnard agency will use the funds for a variety of programs, including teen parenting, youth tutoring, job training and computer courses.

The idea is to provide young people with productive options instead of using drugs, said Sal Gonzalez, Oxnard housing director.

The countywide agency will use the smaller grant for new programs, including tutoring and parent-training courses for those living in Section 8 project-base units, Rodriguez said.

The second grant will be used for similar projects targeted at those who live in the county Housing Authority’s 354 public housing units in Camarillo, Ojai and Thousand Oaks, he said.

The federal funds come from more than $200 million in grants that HUD handed out nationwide to fight drug abuse and other crime in public housing.