ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Monday, October 7, 1996 TAG: 9610070123
SECTION: EDITORIAL PAGE: A-4 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: DANIEL E. BALDWIN
I READ with interest Charles D. Waring's comments (Sept. 18 letter to the editor, "Only tenants can fix housing woes") concerning the Roanoke Redevelopment and Housing Authority's proposed revitalization project for the Lincoln Terrace public-housing community. It would seem that we have been successful in publicizing the physical changes proposed for the buildings and grounds, but we haven't adequately promoted the accompanying changes to services, programs and management operations that are integral to this revitalization effort.
As Waring points out, simply changing the environment will not solve the socioeconomic problems of low-income families. To change lives, because that's what we are really talking about, residents must be motivated to change, and opportunities for improvement must be readily available. We are attempting to address both of these areas in our Lincoln 2000 Community Revitalization Project.
Through the project, Lincoln Terrace will become the focal point of a new family self-sufficiency program, called Upward Mobility through Public Housing. This will provide an array of programs and services designed to end economic and other forms of dependency among the low- to moderate-income residents. As part of this effort, a new education and training center will be constructed on the Lincoln Terrace site during the first phase of Lincoln 2000. This center will contain classrooms, computer labs, offices and child-care facilities for use in a comprehensive education program.
Through partnerships established with numerous local organizations such as Roanoke city schools, Total Action Against Poverty, Blue Ridge Community Services and Consumer Credit Counseling, adults will be offered courses in basic education, GED training, and training in personal finances and parenting. We are currently working with Virginia Western Community College to bring post-secondary technical education in areas such as electronics, automotive, building trades and computers to the site.
Personal and substance-abuse counseling will also be available, and linkages to health-care services have been established with the Roanoke Health Department, Bradley Free Clinic and the Teen Health Center. Job development and job placement will be offered by the Fifth District Employment and Training Consortium and the Roanoke Department of Social Services. We are also establishing partnerships with local employers, including Carilion Health Services, to focus on job-specific training and to provide pathways from training to jobs.
The Upward Mobility program will also provide services for Lincoln Terrace youths. After-school tutoring, in cooperation with the Lincoln Terrace Saturn Magnet School, the Girl Scouts and Junior Achievement, and substance-abuse prevention workshops will be available.
We cannot make residents take advantage of these opportunities. However, we can provide incentives to encourage participation, and we can structure policies that require personal responsibility and accountability. We anticipate contracting with each resident participant to spell out specific responsibilities and to identify incentives that will provide motivation to complete the contract. The Roanoke Redevelopment and Housing Authority will provide opportunities and support for improvement, while insisting that residents be accountable for their behavior, their decisions, and their own success.
Training opportunities, support services and incentives must go hand-in-hand with improvements to the dwellings and neighborhood. We must create a physical and educational framework for upward mobility. The rehabilitation of existing 40-year-old public-housing units will bring them up to current building-code requirements and improve energy efficiency, while introducing some modest amenities that most of us take for granted. The new single-family and duplex units to be constructed are being designed with standards that are typical of private developments. These units will provide a physical progression of housing opportunities to aid in the transition from assisted to nonassisted housing, and will be suitable for potential home-ownership opportunities over the long term. The new units will be for working families and will have nonsubsidized, below-market-rate rents.
The nation's relationship with families in need is going through rapid and radical change. Federal support and funding for assistance programs is diminishing. Responsibility for determining need and providing resources to meet those needs is shifting back to localities. The Roanoke Redevelopment and Housing Authority believes that it's vital to our community to recognize these changes and to develop programs that can remain viable over the long term. We are one partner in a community-support system that can help move the low- to moderate-income families from dependency to self-sufficiency.
The authority's intent is erase the boundaries of stereotyped public-housing projects and leave neighborhoods in their place. As a first step, Lincoln 2000 promises to improve the lives of Lincoln Terrace's low- to moderate-income citizens and build a new neighborhood that will be an asset to the broader Roanoke community.
David E. Baldwin is director of housing for the Roanoke Redevelopment and Housing Authority.
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