Hope VI Transforms Lives While Building Community

FY 2000 Income Limits Now Available View online at www.huduser.gov or contact HUD USER at (800) 245-2691 to obtain a copy Representing the most dramatic change in public housing in the last 60 years, the Hope VI program is transforming the Nation's most distressed public housing projects. A new report released by HUD, Hope VI: Community Building Makes a Difference, examines the best practices that have emerged from the community-building and supportive services side of Hope VI. The book is filled with many useful—and sometimes sobering—lessons learned, detailed examples, and practical tips on making such programs work. Established in 1992, the Hope VI Urban Demonstration Program has worked to reduce isolation, through community building, in the largest and most distressed public housing projects. The program set out to rebuild the physical structure of public housing developments and to expand the opportunities of its residents. Designed to open new paths for public housing residents, HOPE VI links them to jobs and a better future. Hope VI: Community Building Makes a Difference primarily addresses the people side of the program—the supportive services and community-building efforts taking place in cities across the country. The report describes how housing authorities, residents, and community partners are working together to build community and highlights seven Hope VI sites where the community-building approach—fighting poverty by building social and human capital—is succeeding. Profiles of the seven sites incorporate material from onsite interviews with housing authority executives, staff, residents, and community partners. The profiles demonstrate varied and individualized approaches.

The report is not simply a brief analysis of the seven profiles but cuts across all of the experiences and examples to understand their broader implications for policy development. The report summarizes the lessons learned and discusses important lessons that emerge in four areas of activity:

• Providing opportunity for employment.

• Providing opportunity for education.

• Meeting the needs of families.

• Engaging residents in the life and prospects of the community.

The most valuable lesson found in the report is that there is no cookie-cutter, one-size-fits-all approach to achieving success. As made clear by the profiles, many different approaches are possible and desirable.

Hope VI: Community Building Makes a Difference is available for $5 from HUD USER. Use the order form.