EPA Awards $192K Grant for Workforce Development

By Tom Lehman
WDEL

The Environmental Protection Agency has awarded a $192,000 grant to West End Neighborhood House and other organizations for a program that will offer free training for up to 70 local residents in careers that reduce environmental contamination and other related fields.

The program will primarily recruit unemployed or low-income residents, many of whom are likely to be veterans or people with criminal backgrounds, for tuition-free courses at Delaware Technical Community College that involves training or certification for jobs in environmental work like brownfield cleanup.

Paul Calistro, the executive director of West End Neighborhood House, said during a news conference on Wednesday that the grant will pay for participants to take the classes this fall. Along with Delaware Tech, the group is part of a coalition that is also comprised of the Delaware Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control and Brightfields Environmental Services, Inc.

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