San Antonio College has received a $594,763 grant from the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) to partner with Avance and UU Housing Assistance Corp. to provide adult re-entry education, training, and homebuyer assistance. The grant also will fund the renovation and expansion of an abandoned college building on the south side of the campus (at the corner of Evergreen and Howard streets) to provide a community facility for these services, the Seguir Adelante Center for Adult Re-Entry Education and Training.

The SAC Women's Center will partner with Avance (a parenting education program) and UU Housing Assistance Corp. (a community-based development organization) to serve residents of Alazan-Apache, Mirasol and Lincoln Heights housing projects, welfare-to-work referrals of the Texas Workforce Commission, and low-to-moderate-income individuals served by the UU Housing Assistance Corp.

The Seguir Adelante Center will include a training area, counseling offices, and a computer/tutoring lab for at least 250 clients each year. The services will be provided in other SAC facilities until the Center is completed.

Training will include college and workforce preparation for adults to move from basic literacy to GED/basic skills so they can pursue college-level work toward certification or AAS degrees. UU Housing staff will provide weekly "Revolving Homebuyers Training" throughout the year for "near ready" potential homebuyers from the college and the community. Welfare-to-work clients will participate in a variety of education and training opportunities, such as computer and Internet skills, job search techniques, personal development, and software training.

Service Learning student volunteers will provide tutoring, computer assistance, and mentorship. The "Magic Closet," operated by the Women's Center, will provide donated clothing to assist with job interviews.

For more information about the grant, awarded under HUD's Hispanic-Serving Institutions Assisting Communities program, contact Dr. Helen Vera, Coordinator of the SAC Women's Center, at 733-2299.