The Trumbull Metropolitan Housing Authority got $60,060 while the Youngstown Metropolitan Housing Authority received $302,064 in federal funds to help pay the salaries of employers who assist participating families with training and services to improve their economic self-sufficiency and not be dependent on welfare assistance.

Overall, 36 housing authorities in Ohio were awarded $5.1 million from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development’s Family Self Sufficiency Program.

Youngstown received the fifth-largest allocation in the state.

The FSS program is offered to families in HUD-assisted housing with program coordinators providing coaching and developing strategies to participating families with public and private resources to reduce or eliminate the need for welfare assistance and help them move toward economic independence and self-sufficiency.

A coordinator works with families over a five-year period to achieve those objectives, according to the YMHA.

Through the program, families “are gaining access to the tools and support they need to break barriers and create new opportunities for economic independence,” said Jim Cunningham, HUD’s deputy regional administrator for the Great Lakes Region. “The investment will not only strengthen individuals but also contribute to the vitality and resilience of our communities.”