LHAND lands $112G grant to fund program

LYNN – The road to self-sufficiency for families in need has been repaved for another year.Lynn Housing Authority and Neighborhood Development has picked up $112,765 from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, which will keep its Family Self-Sufficiency Program going.”It’s about moving forward and in ways tailored to each family,” said Program Compliance Manager Olive Lyons.Lyons said the grant is one she must reapply for each year and what it supplies is immeasurable. The Family Self-Sufficiency Program is about setting goals and working hard to reach them, she said. It could include job training, college or working with other local service agencies to help people gain marketable skills that, in turn, allows them to advance a career or better their job situation.”And that helps them in other aspects of their life,” she added.The program serves two populations: families in public housing and those in the Housing Choice Voucher program, more commonly referred to as Section 8 housing. Lyon said the FSS program fits LHAND’s holistic approach to helping families by allowing them to provide more than just a roof over their heads.”This (program) has been going on for about 20 years,” she said. “It’s absolutely successful.”Participants in the program sign a five-year contract that requires the head of the household to find employment and give up welfare assistance by the end of the term. As the family’s income rises, a portion of that increased income is deposited in an interest-bearing escrow account. If the family successfully completes its FSS contract, the family receives the escrow funds that it can use for any purpose, including improving credit scores, paying educational expenses or a down payment on a home.Lyon said there have been families that have walked out of the program and into their own home.The grant money will actually go to fund two program coordinators who not only work with the families but build relationships with local agencies and services to better assist the families.”HUD connects folks to opportunity,” said HUD Secretary Julián Castro. “These grants will link people to the computer access, financial literacy, job training, childcare and other tools they need to compete and succeed in the workplace. Every American deserves access to the skills and resources necessary to become self-sufficient.”Lyon said she likes the FSS program because “it’s programs like this that help us expand as an agency.”