Housing Authority of Bowling Green
Education, Job Training and Placement
and Supportive Services for Adults
REACH HIGHER / REACH / Family Self-Sufficiency / Financial Literacy / Homeownership /
Family Literacy / City of Bowling Green CDBG Small Business Training / JARC No Excuses Transportation / EC Transportation Solutions / HUD Gordon Ave./Summit View Neighborhood Networks Center / Education and Supportive Services Programs for Elderly/Disabled / Project Pride
Education and Employment Training Programs for Adults
Reach Higher
Welfare to Work is a six months program providing 32 hours of paid work experience per week with wages of $5.15 per hour in lieu of TANF benefits. Participants are required to attend four hours of unpaid job and lifeskills training per week. The REACH HIGHER grant has been renewed annually by the Kentucky Cabinet for Families and Children since February 1997. REACH HIGHER has graduated 368 participants with a 98% job placement rate and an 88% job retention rate. Twenty-four participants are currently enrolled in the program. There have been no findings as a result of program and financial audits by the Kentucky Cabinet for Families and Children. REACH HIGHER has over 30 nonprofit, business and industry partners in Bowling Green and Warren County that provide paid work experience and employment sites. REACH HIGHER is the recipient of three national, two regional, and four state awards for program excellence. REACH HIGHER serves a ten-county area. T.J. Shockley, Community Initiatives Director and REACH HIGHER Coordinator, received the 2003 Woman of Achievement Award for Women Reaching Higher from the Bowling Green Human Rights Commission.
Contact:
T.J. Shockley
270-
393-2203, ext. 144
tshockley@habg.org
Reach
The REACH Resident Income and Employment Program provides public housing residents with 40 hours of on the job training and employment at $7.00 per hour for 6-18 months. Participants are required to enroll in English as a Second Language, GED preparation training, or post-secondary training. Seven of the nineteen residents who have participated in the program were hired as full-time HABG employees after program graduation. Nine residents currently participate in the program. REACH is an internal program of the Housing Authority using HUD Capital funds. REACH is the recipient of the 2002 SERC Regional Award.
Contact:
T.J. Shockley,
270-
393-2203, ext. 144
tshockley@habg.org
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Helping Hands Family Self-Sufficiency Program
The Housing Authority received a HUD grant in 2006 for $45,000 for the wages and fringe benefits of the FSS Coordinator to establish the Housing Authority Helping Hands Family Self-Sufficiency Program. The program targets 50 families in public housing for education, supportive services, homeownership preparation training, and establishment of escrow accounts. The HABG will set up an escrow account for each participating family as the family becomes employed or as the family has an increase in employment income. The Housing Authority will credit to the escrow account a portion of the increase in rent as a result of an increase in earned income during the term of the FSS contract. A family participating in the program may use its FSS account funds for the purchase of a home, for education or to establish a small business.
Contact:
Shannon Sales,
270-393-2203, ext. 156
ssales@habgflc.org
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Financial Literacy
The Housing Authority received an Enterprise Community grant of $9,000, a $4,000 grant from National City Bank in 2003/03 and an additional $4,000 grant in May 2003 to provide financial literacy training for REACH HIGHER and other Housing Authority program participants. The program uses the Credit When Credit Is Due curriculum from the America Center for Credit Education. Three hundred and two participants have graduated from the program since its inception having learned the basic principles of budgeting, money management, predatory lending, establishing or clearing credit, and homeownership preparation. Each Financial Literacy participant received one on one credit counseling. Each graduate received a copy of his or her tri-merge credit report from all three national credit-reporting agencies.
Contact:
T.J. Shockley,
270-393-2203, ext. 144
tshockley@habg.org
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Live the Dream Homeownership Supportive Services Program
The Housing Authority’s Live the Dream Program provides pre-purchase homeownership preparation training and one on one counseling using the assistance of bilingual aides, an African-American liaison, and ten community and five faith-based partners. Ninety public housing residents have attended the Kentucky Housing Corporation’s “Yes You Can” homeownership preparation training; 44 of these have received one on one credit and homeownership counseling and predatory lending training; 30 have been pre-approved for a loan; 27 have become new homeowners; 3 are still involved in the home search process; and 25 are in the homeownership counseling pipeline. Eight African-American, 6 Bosnian, 1 Cambodian, 3 American-born Caucasians, and 9 Vietnamese families have become new homeowners. The Kentucky Housing Corporation provided down-payment assistance for six residents. An Enterprise Community (EC) grant provided down-payment assistance for one resident. Two residents obtained down-payment assistance from both KHC and the EC. DAP ranged from a low of $2,000 to $14,900.00.
Contact:
Danny Watts,
270-843-6071, ext. 124
dwatts@habg.org
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Family Literacy
Bowling Green Technical College offers GED preparation training, English as a Second Language, parent education and parent-child activities through Family Literacy twice weekly at the Housing Authority’s main learning center. The Housing Authority received a grant for $50,000 from the Kentucky Department of Adult Education and Literacy that began the program. Bowling Green Technical College took over the program in the second year.
Contact:
Mary Ford,
Bowling Green Technical College, 746-7461
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City of Bowling Green CDBG Small Business Training
Western Kentucky University’s Small Business Development Center holds training classes and provides small business counseling for minorities and other low income individuals on-site at the Housing Authority’s main Learning Center. The Southern Kentucky Minority Economic Development Council has set aside funds for small-business start-up to qualified participants who have completed training.
Contact:
Chris Bixler,
270-843-6071, ext. 154
chris.bixler@wku.edu
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JARC No Excuses Transportation
The two-year $297,000 grant was received through efforts of Congressman Lewis working with the Transportation Cabinet, the U.S. Department of Transportation, and the Federal Transit Administration. The Housing Authority of Bowling Green is working with three local transportation providers to provide the transportation. Adaptive Enterprise will provide transportation to employees who need it to and from work in outlying counties as well as Warren County. Community Action of Southern Kentucky will provide a new early morning bus service for employees who need to be at work by 6:00 – 7:00 a.m. Royal Coach/Yellow Cab will provide emergency rides for participants whose cars break down in the Bowling Green and Warren County area.
Contact:
Katie Miller,
270-843-6071, ext. 133
kmiller@habg.org
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EC Transportation Solutions
This project will provide 2 primary services: (1) free to transportation to a minimum of 20 low income EC residents who lack transportation to and from second, third shift and week-end jobs for a maximum of 2-3 months; and (2) drivers education translation and advocacy for a minimum of 60 low income EC residents who do not have a driver’s license.
Contact:
Katie Miller,
270-843-6071, ext. 133
kmiller@habg.org
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HUD Gordon Ave./Summit View Neighborhood Networks Center
The GA/SV Neighborhood Networks Center provides services for children and adults of all ages living in the GA/SV public housing development. The Center offers five categories of program services: (1) Basic and Advanced Computer training, (2) Job, Lifeskills, Small Business and Entrepreneurship, Employment, and Financial Management Training; (3) Education and Lifelong Learning, (4) Health and Nutrition Education and Screenings, and (5) Real Life Issues training. Real Life issues consists of Fair Housing training, homeownership preparation, successful parenting, personal safety, domestic violence prevention, drug and alcohol abuse prevention and voter registration on-site.
Contact:
Oshkea Offutt,
270-843-6071, ext. 153
ooffutt@habgflc.org
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Education and Supportive Services Programs for Elderly/Disabled
The Housing Authority receives a grant from the US Department of Housing and Urban Development to fund an elderly and disabled service coordinator. The service coordinator provides case management and program coordination.
Contact:
Lori Powers Richey
270-843-6607
lpowers@habg.org
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Gordon Avenue/Summit View Resident Council HUD ROSS Elderly/Disabled Project PRIDE
Project PRIDE is designed to increase the knowledge and awareness of the potential for fraud, neglect, physical, sexual and emotional abuse, self neglect and financial exploitation among 210 elderly/disabled residents through education and training. It also provides preventive health and wellness activities, educational and recreational field trips.
Contact
Erica Sept
270-843-6607
esept@habg.org
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