HUD RA Lynne Patton Holds Informational and Listening Session with Tenants and Stakeholders

Stephanie Holderfield, HUD EnVision Center Task Force Team Member addresses area stakeholders

Area residents discuss their needs with HUD and Phillipsburg Housing Authority leadership

Peggy Verenna-Doebling speaks

HUD Region II Regional Administrator, Lynne Patton; Phillipsburg Housing Authority Executive Director, Paul Rummerfield; Community Prevention Resources of Warren County Executive Director, Yvette Day; and Phillipsburg Mayor Stephen Ellis; took the initial step towards the opening of the first EnVision Center in New Jersey. Residents, area non-profits, and service organizations gathered at the EnVision Center site located at 535 Fisher Ave. for an informational and listening session to discuss resident needs and potential services.

Stephanie Holderfield, HUD Senior Advisor EnVision Center Task Force Team Member addressed residents and stakeholders, explaining in detail the goal of the EnVision Center and facilitating the conversation. Twenty-eight service organizations attended and described their services; all willing to provide assistance to residents in Warren County, New Jersey; and Lehigh Valley, Pennsylvania, and guide them towards self-sufficiency.

"I am thrilled that Lehigh Valley and Warren County residents will be able to access services that can put them on a path to self-sufficiency and financial independence," said Lynne Patton, Regional Administrator for HUD Region II, New York and New Jersey. "The partnership with the Phillipsburg Housing Authority and area stakeholders is vital to providing area resources under one roof."

A member of the HUD New Jersey family, who grew up in Phillipsburg Public Housing, told her story to attendees and the media. Peggy Verenna-Doebling, CPD Representative in the HUD Newark Office expressed that access to services like the ones that will be offered at the EnVision Center would have improved her quality of her life and the lives of close friends that didn't have opportunities to get out of poverty.

City of Easton Mayor Salvatore J. Panto participated in the announcement. HUD Region II staff including Deputy Regional Administrator Stephen Murphy, HUD NJ Field Office Director Maria Maio-Messano, HUD New Jersey Public Housing Director Theresa Arce, attended as well. The Phillipsburg EnVision Center is slated to open late Fall 2018.

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