Jackson Free Press

Sept. 26, 2011

A national program is helping Jackson-area families in need get on the path to self-sufficiency and financial stability.

Agencies around Mississippi are getting a total of $749,000 this year through a grant from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development to fund service coordinators for the Housing Choice Voucher Family Self-Sufficiency Program.

Program coordinators work through public-housing agencies, like the Jackson Housing Authority, to help voucher recipients find jobs and job training. The ultimate goal of the program is for families to "graduate" from the program as self-sufficient, with the head of the household employed and the family no longer needing public assistance.

Allison Cox, deputy director of the Jackson Housing Authority, said 52 people participate in the program though her agency. JHA has taken part in the program for quite a while, but they must reapply for the grant each year.

The agency's coordinator works with participants in Jackson to help them become financially stable. "Usually (they set) goals like finish a degree, start a savings account and improve savings," Cox said.

The coordinator links participants with agencies, schools, businesses and other entities that can help them get a job or develop the skills they need for employment.
The program also sets up an escrow account for each family to save a portion of their income. At the end of the program, the family receives that money. Cox said the agency currently has a waiting list of people who want to participate.

In the United States as a whole, HUD will grant more than $58 million to fund service coordinators for the program.

The Mississippi Regional Housing Authority VI, based in Jackson, received more than $121,000 through the grant. Agency representatives could not immediately comment.

The Jackson Housing Authority also received a new, three-year HUD grant to hire a service coordinator, or social worker, to work at the Golden Key Apartments. Cox said some elderly and disabled residents at the Golden Key need referrals to resources, which the service coordinator can provide.