Public housing was never meant to be a way of life, but unfortunately that is what it has become. People are becoming more and more dependent on government assistance for their living needs.
According to HUD, there are currently about 1.2 million households in public housing units, while almost 50% of those households have children in them. These children tend to accept that as their life and never make an effort to move on from public housing, which leads to generational poverty. Generational poverty causes generations of families stay in public housing and ultimately remain dependent on the government for years. One article shared the story of a family who has lived in public housing for four decades.
This is a crisis, and SMT believes that anyone involved in affordable housing has a responsibility to help. SMT’s efforts to help involve partnering with Love In A Big World, offering classes to public housing tenants, and creating an outlet for public housing tenants to find jobs and other helpful resources.
Love In A Big World is a non-profit organization that provides a children’s character education curriculum. They are dedicated to equipping youth with the social and rhetoric skills to be successful. By equipping this younger generation, the hope is that they use these skills to move up and eventually out of public housing.
While partnering with Love In A Big World, SMT targets the older tenants through life-skill classes. These classes include basic car management, sewing, cooking, cleaning and more. SMT will also offer professional courses such as resume building workshops and mock interviews.
Public housing is a great resource for those who are struggling, but it should not be a destination, it is merely part of the journey. True success comes when it is offered to everyone and true freedom comes when you are self-dependent. SMT strives to develop and implement resources that equip these tenants with the tools needed to be successful and independent.
SMT strives to enhance affordable housing through strategic consulting while also assisting with community development through non-profit partnership. We believe that for something to work well, it must work well for all.
References:
https://www.loveinabigworld.org