Housing and Community Development First (5th) Year Action Plan (2019)

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women contractor training program. The grant funds will be used to create and operate a year-long program of training and certification for minority and women contractors. Michiana SCORE is a nonprofit that helps small businesses get off the ground,grow, and achieve their ' goals through education and mentorship. Experienced business owners and managers volunteer their experience and knowledge to assist small and potential business owners. Michiana SCORE provides confidential free counseling to small business entrepreneurs, as well as no- or low-cost training and workshops. Michiana SCORE, Project Impact South Bend, South Bend Heritage Foundation, and the City of South Bend partnered to open the West Side Small Business Resource Center in 2018.The Center serves to stimulate small business development in the area, and is the first of the neighborhood-based business development centers Michiana SCORE plans to help launch. Available services will include basic SCORE mentoring, access to Small Business Development Center services, Small Business Administration, Small Business Innovation Research, and Small Business Technology Transfer program training and support. Bridges Out of Poverty is a local program based on a nationally recognized model that educates both the low-income individual and the business community on working together to address issues that prevent ' people in poverty from becoming and remaining employed. In 2014, the City of South Bend, in conjunction with the City of Mishawaka,the St.Joseph County Chamber of Commerce, IVY Tech ' Community College,WorkOne Development, and a number of local businesses launched a new workforce training initiative, "Supporting Manufacturers and Regional Talent" (SMART). SMART assists residents in obtaining the necessary skills to participate in a wider range of employment ' opportunities. Participants are trained through IVY Tech as skilled workers in manufacturing. The program helps develop a skilled workforce to meet the needs of local manufacturers. ' Actions planned to develop institutional structure South Bend continues to utilize a team approach to working with its partners in implementing the programs/projects funded through the various federal sources.The Community Investment staff regularly communicates with all sub-grantees, and meets with those entities involved in the targeted areas. Regularly scheduled meetings with the CDCs occur due to the nature of the work and the amount of funds allocated. The targeted geography approach meshes the efforts of the South Bend City departments, the CDCs, and other nonprofits such as Habitat for Humanity, to broadly plan and advance the City's efforts.The ' HOME and CDBG funds targeted to the Near Westside, Near Northwest, and Southeast neighborhoods offer opportunities for these entities to work together using their various areas of expertise to support the successful conclusion of the plan. ' Staff meets with an entity upon approval of a project and prior to contracting. In addition, desktop ' Annual Action Plan 59 2019 OMB Control No:2506-0117(exp.06/30/2018)