THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Monday, September 16, 1996 TAG: 9609160036
SECTION: LOCAL PAGE: B1 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY KATRICE FRANKLIN, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: SUFFOLK LENGTH: 87 lines
Erica Morgan is no longer just hoping to one day get off of government assistance.
The single mother of three now is working toward that goal - holding a full-time job and heading back to school to become a cosmetologist.
A few months ago, the welfare recipient believed she had too many strikes against her to gain employment: No transportation, little work experience, no money for child care for her daughters, 5, 8 and 10 years old.
But her view changed after she joined a ``sisters support group,'' with other residents of the Parker-Riddick Village public housing community, people experiencing the same things.
That is where she learned about a volunteer program with the Suffolk Redevelopment and Housing Authority, a job that many public housing residents labeled ``nowhere'' work because it didn't pay and wouldn't lead to a better position. Housing officials helped her with rides to work and with child-care expenses, and the post provided experience.
``I was tired of sitting in the house,'' said Morgan, 26. ``I wanted to get out and put my mind at work.''
The community service paid off. Hired by QVC Network Inc., she will start school next month. She's no longer disgruntled with her life, and she has dreams of owning her own home.
At the heart of her change is the housing authority's family investment center program, which turns public housing community centers into training sites. Participants devise goals that they pledge to meet to become self-supportive.
Program coordinators make career and personality assessments of their needs. Some may need work experience, for instance; others, education.
The Suffolk authority, which two years ago got about $420,000 from the federal Department of Housing and Urban Development to build or renovate public housing, used the money to double the size of community centers in Parker-Riddick, Colander-Bishop Meadows and Hoffler Apartments so diverse services such as job training, tutoring and health classes could be offered simultaneously.
The program comes at a time when welfare is under attack. Nationally, the emphasis is on moving people out of public housing and off of welfare rolls.
``Family self-sufficiency has been a long time coming,'' said Clarissa E. McAdoo, the authority's executive director. ``People need the opportunity to grow and to realize their future dreams. That's what this program does.''
Activities include a toddler group, for children between the ages of 2 and 4, and a Boy Scout Troop.
Housing officials help residents prepare resumes, but the ``sisters support group'' no longer meets because seven of the nine participants have found jobs. Program coordinator Orgia H. Jackson said she hopes to revive it this fall.
``There is a lot of talent here,'' she said. ``There are also a lot of real issues like transportation and child care. . . . But the one thing I learned is our public housing does not consist of neighborhoods with people who don't want anything. . . . Our residents want to improve; they just need a little assistance.''
Terry Sawyer, a 22-year-old program participant, volunteered at the housing authority as a receptionist and signed up to earn her GED. She is now taking classes in business administration at Paul D. Camp Community College and will receive her associate degree next year. She was recently hired full time in the agency's finance department.
``I wanted to improve my life, and the people at the housing authority pushed me and really got my mind going,'' Sawyer said. ``They kept telling me that I needed to get my GED because I had three kids depending on me.'' Her sons are 4, 5 and 7 years old.
If participants obtain full-time jobs and continue to meet their goals, the authority freezes their rent for 18 months at the rate they paid before being employed. That, Jackson said, gives residents a chance to save money to own homes since, once they start working, food stamps and other government assistance may stop.
Jackson said the authority wants to expand the program and is looking for volunteers to offer services such as financial instruction, home ownership workshops, health seminars and computer classes. The authority recently purchased computers for all three public housing community centers.
After-school tutoring sessions will be offered to children.
``I really thank the housing authority for all they've done for me,'' Sawyer said. ``I plan to move out of Parker-Riddick in two to three years because, after I get my associate, I'm going to get my bachelor's.
``My life has turned around. A lot of people didn't think that volunteering would get me a job. But I proved them wrong. You just gotta keep at it.'' ILLUSTRATION: Color photo
Erica Morgan
KEYWORDS: WELFARE REFORM SUFFOLK REDEVELOPMENT AND HOUSING
AUTHORITY by CNB