HUD MIDWEST REGIONAL ADMINISTRATOR AND LOCAL OFFICIALS KICK OFF COLUMBUS ENVISION CENTER DEMONSTRATION
Columbus Metropolitan Housing Authority and City of Columbus selected to serve as a hub to help HUD-assisted households become self-sufficient

COLUMBUS, Ohio - U.S. Housing and Urban Development (HUD) Midwest Regional Administrator Joseph P. Galvan designated the RISE (Resident Initiatives for Success and Empowerment) Center, 1407 Cleveland Ave., as an EnVision Center as part of Secretary Ben Carson's signature EnVision Center initiative today. Following a highly competitive selection process, the Columbus Metropolitan Housing Authority and City of Columbus are the newest of only 34 communities across the country with an 'EnVision Center' designation and the second demonstration in the State of Ohio.

EnVision Centers offer HUD-assisted families access to support services that can help them achieve self-sufficiency, thereby making scarce federal resources more readily available to a greater number of households currently waiting to receive HUD assistance. Read more about HUD's EnVision Center Demonstration.

"Housing assistance should be more than just putting a roof over someone's head," said Secretary Carson. "These EnVision Centers offer a more holistic housing approach by connecting HUD-assisted families with the tools they need to become self-sufficient and to flourish."

"If we succeed in helping more families become self-sufficient, more families will be able to access the housing assistance they so desperately need," said HUD Regional Administrator Joseph P. Galvan. "EnVision Centers are our way of bringing hope and opportunity; they serve as a springboard to success for thousands of families across the nation."

"CMHA is honored to receive the EnVision Center designation for RISE. Our RISE Center is a one-stop shop that links our residents with child care, transportation, health and employment services to remove barriers that stand in the way of self-sufficiency. Coupled with the foundation of an affordable home, these resources lead to residents' long-term economic security," said Columbus Metropolitan Housing Authority President and CEO Charles Hillman.

Located on or near public housing developments, EnVision Centers are centralized hubs that serve as an incubator to support four key pillars of opportunity— (1) economic empowerment, (2) educational advancement, (3) health and wellness, and (4) character and leadership.

Through results-driven partnerships with organizations such as federal agencies, state and local governments, non-profits, faith-based organizations, corporations, public housing authorities, and housing finance agencies, EnVision Centers will leverage public-private partnerships to connect HUD-assisted households with services that offer pathways to self-sufficiency.

Each demonstration community receiving the EnVision Center designation will convene with their local stakeholders and resident councils to assist in the selection of services to be offered at the Center, as a means of ensuring that many voices are heard and the needs identified are addressed. HUD will develop tools to track and measure resident outcomes of EnVision Center participants and services – the goal of which is to ensure the EnVision Centers are able to achieve and monitor progress against the goals of the program.

To learn more about Secretary Carson's EnVision Center demonstration, please visit HUD.gov/EnVisionCenters.

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