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June 26, 2012
Spotlight: Job training in Detroit is focus of Mott grant
About the Grantee
Focus: HOPE was founded in Detroit in 1968 to help battle such social ills as racism, poverty and injustice. Since then it has taken its place among the country’s most dynamic and effective anti-poverty and civil rights organizations.
Today, Focus: HOPE provides the Motor City’s low-income residents with job training in machining and information technology, and programs that help adult learners succeed in the classroom. The organization also operates one of the country’s largest food distribution centers, as well as a state-of-the-art child-care facility for working parents.
Since its founding, Focus: HOPE has received more than $17 million in grants from the Mott Foundation through its Pathways Out of Poverty program, which seeks to help people obtain the tools, including job training, to lift themselves out of poverty.
Purpose of the Grant
Focus: HOPE will continue to deliver an array of programs and services related to job training, education, social supports, child care and food distribution. Among its newest initiatives:
- Administering Detroit-area activities of Earn & Learn, a national initiative receiving Mott support in Michigan that is designed to help low-income workers prepare for living wage jobs in a variety of industries.
- Partnering with Henry Ford Community College and the nonprofit WARM Training Center — both located in the Detroit area — to develop a program that will train area workers for careers in the growing field of home weatherization.
- Collaborating with nearby Oakland University to develop a job training program targeting such medical-related careers as patient care technician and certified nursing assistant.
- Working with the St. Vincent and Sarah Fisher Center in Detroit to bring a high school completion/GED program to the Focus: HOPE campus.
“Our mission is to overcome racism and poverty through intelligent and practical action, and we work toward that goal by providing education and job training opportunities to underserved men and women,” said William F. Jones Jr., CEO of Focus: HOPE. “With the Mott Foundation’s support, we have trained and placed nearly 12,000 talented individuals into good jobs and will continue to seek innovative workforce solutions for 21st century careers.”
Learn more
Read about Focus: HOPE’s efforts to prepare workers for jobs in the country’s changing economy.