SEATTLE—April 5, 2005—Jobs-Plus programs increased the earnings of public housing residents by 14 percent over four years, a study by a nonpartisan social policy research organization showed recently.
Jobs-Plus was a six-year employment program run in the Seattle Housing Authority’s Rainier Vista and six other public housing developments across the nation. It came to a close last year.
The demonstration initiative was sponsored by a consortium of public and private funders led by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development and The Rockefeller Foundation.
At Rainier Vista, 358 households participated in the Jobs-Plus program and 175 of these took advantage of the rent and escrow incentives offered through the program. The home-ownership training courses were attended by 25 households and 18 households used their escrow incentives to help buy homes. Three sales are currently pending.
At the close of its six years, the program increased residents’ earnings overall at the combined locations, the MDRC study said. The average four-year total earnings of participants overall boosted by 14 percent, or $4,563 over what they would have been without the program. The program’s effects grew larger over time, increasing to a 20 percent gain in the final year.
“Several of the people who enrolled in Jobs-Plus at Rainier Vista and took full advantage of rent incentives and employment services are now enjoying a lifestyle which was inconceivably far away when they were dependent upon public assistance,” said Larry Hill, SHA’s Jobs-Plus Coordinator. “Several residents have also purchased beautiful homes, started their own successful businesses and/or are working in competitive jobs that have a real future and room in which to make a career happen.”
The program’s positive effects were large and sustained and grew throughout the initiative’s life, the study said. They were particularly striking for men, a group for whom past employment programs had mixed success.
The gains occurred in good times and bad, at the tail-end of a booming economy and in the midst of a national recession.
“Residents realized that homeownership or business ownership could be a reality,” said Laura Lakings-Becvar, SHA Employment Services Coordinator. “Although the program has come to an end, the Jobs-Plus program left a legacy that with hard work and determination anyone can achieve their dreams.”
SHA is still committed to providing first-rate employment services by the same staff members at Rainier Vista. At the end of last year, these services merged with other SHA employment programs, to create The Job Connection. For more information about The Job Connection's services call or visit one of its five locations.
The Job Connection at High Point
3136 SW Holly St
(206) 937-3292
The Job Connection at Yesler Terrace
825 Yesler Way, Lower Level
(206) 344-5837
The Job Connection at Lake City
12546-1/2 33rd Ave NE
(206) 363-1471
The Job Connection at Rainier Vista
4500 MLK Jr Way S
(206) 722-4010
The Job Connection at NewHolly
7050 32nd Ave S
(206) 760-3284