New Smyrna Beach, FL - The New Smyrna Beach Housing Authority is asking for public input on a program that will change the way that public housing and Section 8 are run in the country. NSBHA Executive Director Teresa Pope says that New Smyrna Beach was chosen by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development to be a trendsetter for the Moving to Work program to other small agencies.
Pope says that Moving to Work is a Demonstration Program that allows Housing Authorities to design and test innovative, locally-designed strategies for providing low-income families with affordable housing and new paths to economic independence.
The Moving to Work program will be a requirement for new families coming into public housing or Section 8. It will not apply to seniors or the disabled. Families already in Public Housing will be grandfathered in.
The important thing and the goal of Moving to Work, according to Pope, is to get families in Public Housing into their own homes. "The families will create a plan with our coordinators, stating whether they need to go to college, get their GED, we work with them to find employment and then move their way into their own housing after eight years."
The Moving to Work plan and application are available on the newsmyrnahousing.com website and also at the central office of the Authority Monday through Thursday, from 7:30 to 4:30. Once you've read over the plan, Pope says you can email comments to tlpope@newsmyrnahousing.com. "Bring any comments or questions to the public hearing which will be October 28 at 1 p.m. at the Community Resource Center, at 600 Greenlawn Street in New Smyrna Beach."
Written comments will be accepted through November 12, 2020.
