Federal Funds to Create Jobs

City officials hope to use a federal grant to help establish dozens of new businesses and train 200 residents to work in the new enterprises.

The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development awarded Huntington Park the two-year, $280,702 grant after the April-May riots. The unrest resulted in about $7 million in damage to Huntington Park, with 94 businesses affected and four buildings destroyed.

By the end of the month, the city will submit a proposal to HUD for a program that would train entrepreneurs. Management skills, customer relations, financing and bookkeeping would be among the topics discussed at monthly workshops.

If the proposal is approved by HUD, officials expect about 240 potential entrepreneurs to take part in the workshops over the two years and as many as 40 businesses, including retail sales establishments, to be created.

“We will help them until they are comfortable enough to do it on their own,” said Tim Anusiem, the city’s business development specialist.

Under the proposal, as many as 200 residents will receive job training at a local center. Anusiem, who drafted the plan, has recommended the Maxine Waters Employment Preparation Center in South-Central, where residents could attend six-month training courses to learn auto mechanics, bank telling, electronics assembly, nursing, welding and other skills.

Although the city hopes to pay registration and class fees for students who are unable to afford them, it needs to get permission from HUD to do so, Anusiem said. The federal funds cannot be used for loans or grants, he said. The city, however, will pay for bus passes or other transportation costs for the students.

Anusiem said he hopes the program can be started early next year.