City of Charleston Housing Authority and HUD Family Self-Sufficiency (FSS) Program Graduate Purchases First Home

Ms. Mathis and family

The HUD Family Self-Sufficiency (FSS) program continues to prove a vital resource to the City of Charleston Housing Authority as it brings new hope for graduates such as Ms. Jaclene Mathis who completed the FSS program in November 2013 and was able to purchase her very first home.

"I am the proud owner of a newly built home! I was granted the opportunity to become a first time homeowner with the help of HUD's Family Self Sufficiency program," said Ms Mathis.

Ms. Mathis also related that the Family Self Sufficiency program "was able to answer all of my questions and I also was able to maintain an escrow account to assist with expenses once I closed on my home. I am so happy to have been afforded the opportunity to participate in this great program because their help made my first time home buying experience wonderful."

"The Family Self-Sufficiency program has been with this agency since 1993. We have 51 graduates thus far and work hard to aid others in the successful completion of the program," said Ms. Latrina L. Holmes-Lucas, Family Self-Sufficiency Specialist with the Housing Authority of the City of Charleston (www.chacity.org). "We maintain relationships with community resources to provide services such as GED, post-secondary education, computer literacy, credit counseling, homeownership classes and job training/availability." Since 2000, the program has received $247,791 in grants through the Resident Opportunity & Self Sufficiency Program (ROSS).

The Family Self-Sufficiency (FSS) program enables families assisted through the Housing Choice Voucher (HCV) program, Public Housing (PH) residents, and residents of Native American Housing Assistance and Self-Determination Act-assisted housing to increase their earned income and reduce their dependency on welfare assistance and rental subsidies. Under the FSS program, low-income families are provided opportunities for education, job training, counseling and other forms of social service assistance, while living in assisted housing, so they can obtain skills necessary to achieve self-sufficiency.

The FSS program is administered by Public Housing Agencies (PHAs) with the help of Program Coordinating Committees (PCCs). The PCC usually consists of representatives of local government, employment and job training agencies, welfare agencies, nonprofit providers, local businesses, and assisted families.

Services for FSS program participants are provided through local partnerships with employers and service providers in the community. Services are not funded by HUD. HUD funding is provided for the salary of FSS coordinators, and is awarded through annual Notices of Funding Availability (NOFAs).

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