GREENVILLE, SC – The Greenville Housing Authority is launching a program that will write the next chapter in their affordable housing programs in our community.
The Greenville Housing Authority (TGHA) announced it had received final approval from the Department of Housing and Urban Development to create a Moving to Work (MTW) program. This is a federal demonstration program that gives the TGHA more flexibility to design and test innovative strategies for providing housing assistance.
“The goal is to promote self-sufficiency among low-income families, reduce administrative costs, and increase housing choices,” said Denise Cleveland-Leggett, a Regional HUD Director.
The TGHA used private funds to test an MTW program for the past nine months. HUD does not provide additional funding for the program, rather it permits flexibilities in the funding allocated to the housing choice voucher program. HUD also provides an opportunity for the housing authority to submit regulatory waivers.
Under the new TGHA MTW program, the focus will be on preparing participants for opportunities through education and employment opportunities for those receiving assistance from the housing agency, said Terril Bates, the TGHA’s Chief Executive Officer. The goal is to help people to increase their household earnings so that they are ultimately comfortably able to compete in the rental market.
This creates a two-outcome effect of helping to reduce the massive backlog of people seeking housing assistance by empowering eligible participants to graduate from the housing choice voucher rental assistance program. There are currently 1,700 households in TGHA’s housing choice voucher program that will be required to participate in the mandatory MTW program. Participant names will be placed in a randomizer to determine who is contacted in what order. The elderly and disabled are exempt from participation.