DANVILLE, Virginia- The Danville Redevelopment & Housing Authority and the Center for Housing Education is pleased to announce that funding for the Family Self Sufficiency (FSS) Program has been substantially increased. The original funding of $24,000 has been increased to $111,104 which is the maximum funding allowed.

When Kim Walker, Director of Community Engagement, who oversees the FSS program, learned about the increased round of funding; she remarked, “I am excited about the awesome job that was accomplished to garner this increase, which will help more individuals/families in our community to be successful.”

The FSS program uses a wrap-around approach that includes collaborations with various community and social service agencies to provide services. FSS encourages participation from families who are a part of the Housing Choice Voucher (HCV) and public housing programs, to work on becoming self-sufficient over the course of five years. It involves helping those families get job training and counseling or to obtain additional education. Participants who take advantage of the program are provided additional supportive services, such as, childcare, transportation, financial literacy, help acquiring homeownership, and other services.

The new allocation of funding will expand the capacity to serve more families, as well as potentially extend the funds for supportive services to current households. However, it is the goal of the DRHA to ensure that all the residents are aware of the FSS program and will have the opportunity to participate.

Larissa Deedrich, Executive Director of Danville Redevelopment & Housing Authority, states “On behalf of DRHA and the residents I am very grateful for this contribution, which allows us to increase Resident Services. It is my wish that this grant will assist in improving the long-term wealth and job sustainability for the clients that we serve, and that it will help residents with meeting their goals for a prosperous future.”

Families and individuals who are residents of DRHA programs can contact the FSS Coordinator, Rita Claiborne at sclaiborne@drhava.com.