Bowling Green Housing Authority Programs Help Family Obtain Homeownership and Self-Sufficiency

So Pham has overcome. Not just overcome a little. He has overcome more than any one man should bear. And through it all, he remains focused, living his transformed life without pretext or selfishness. Showing others what it truly means to be free.

So Pham grew up in Vietnam. He served as a Lieutenant for the South Vietnamese government. After losing the fight for freedom in 1975, So Pham was detained by the Communist government for 6 years. During that time, he suffered extreme hunger, exposure, and other extreme punishment as the communist government tried to convert him to their teachings. After his release, he worked many hard jobs in Vietnam just to care for his family. These jobs included 16 hour work days, lifting 200+ pound loads and traveling hundreds of miles a day to deliver the parcels. So Pham did all this without care or concern for himself; his goal was to come to America.

In 1995, thanks to the Immigration Act, So Pham, his wife, and two daughters were able to immigrate to the United States. His dream of freedom had come true, but that dream came with the realities of a language barrier, cultural differences, and challenges of job stability. Just to make this more difficult, Pham's wife suffered with and eventually succumbed to cancer in 2001. Then So Pham lost his job and had two daughters to raise and educate.

Instead of allowing his circumstances to get in the way of his motivation, he overcame. He found the Housing Authority of Bowling Green (HABG) and with residency, also found a job through the HABG's REACH program (http://habg.org/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=77:reach&catid=41:programs&Itemid=105). The REACH program allows residents to work full-time for up to a year to learn a skill. Upon completion of the REACH program, So Pham had so proved his skills that the HABG hired him as a full-time modernization assistant. Thereafter, through the HABG Live The Dream program (http://habg.org/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=79&Itemid=1038), So Pham and his family have now become proud homeowners.

The Bowling Green Housing Authority's (BGHA) Live The Dream Program made So Pham and his family homeowners. They are pictured at the mortgage closing. Also pictured above are BGHA staff.	So Pham and Richard Reker Bowling Green Housing Authority Assistant Modernization Coordinator, rehab So Pham's soon-to-be home.
So Pham's home "before" rehab (through the Bowling Green Housing Authority's Live the Dream Program).	So Pham's home "after" rehab (through the Bowling Green Housing Authority's Live the Dream Program).

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