| The City of New Orleans, Louisiana, is approximately 62 percent minority and mostly poor. The city's major industry is tourism, which means that the majority of low-income residents have access only to low-paying, service-sector jobs. A significant number of these low-income residents are young people, many of whom are high school dropouts and poorly educated.
Xavier University of Louisiana is working with the Xavier Triangle Neighborhood Development Corporation (XTNDC) to increase the number of skilled jobs in the city's Xavier Triangle (XT) neighborhood while, at the same time, increasing the community's supply of affordable housing. The Historically Black Colleges and Universities funded Community Worker Training program trains XT residents to build and repair homes, and then puts them to work on community-based projects being managed by XTNDC. Workers on these projects must have skills in basic construction, lead abatement, and environmental remediation, all of which are being provided through the training program.
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