The Charlottesville Redevelopment and Housing Authority, which provides housing for low-income families in the area, opened its Family Resource Center at 803 Hardy Dr., off 10th Street yesterday.
The Center aims to assist low-income families in setting and keeping their career goals and to help them gain independence from federal assistance programs. People can use the facility to search for jobs on the center's computers, schedule classes and ask on-hand staff for help with housing eligibility and other financial plans.
"A lot of families don't already have basic skills," CRHA Executive Director Del Harvey said. "We want to help people brush up on skills such as time-management and budgeting to improve their chances of getting jobs."
One service the center will offer individuals is an escrow account -- when families receive an increase in earned income, that amount will go into the account, Harvey said.
"When you achieve the goals you set, like getting a GED, the money in the escrow is then paid out to you," she said. "It helps families focus on their goal and stay on track."
Potential future projects include classes in time-management, nutrition, budget planning, credit counseling, business planning and pest control.
Hundreds of families already use several Housing Authority sites in Charlottesville. A site on South 1st Street houses a computer lab and offers adult education, for instance, and a site on 6th Street is home to after-school programming and adult education.
Two thousand Charlottesville residents live in subsidized housing provided by the Housing Authority. There are almost 400 public housing units in the City of Charlottesville.
Formerly a maintenance garage, the Family Resource Center space is "right there in the community," Harvey said. "It's right there so folks can take advantage of the programs."
Harvey said she anticipates that many families will feel compelled to visit the center, because of the number of low-income homes in the area.
Charlottesville City Council Kevin Lynch member applauded the opening of the new center.
"I think it's a great program," Lynch said. "I'm supportive of it."
Seventy percent of families in Charlottesville public housing earn less than $10,000 per year, and 13 percent make less than $3,000 per year.
The number of households with children headed by a single mother in Albemarle County is 1,803, 5.7 percent of the total number of households, according to the Census Bureau.
The Authority was established in 1954, and set up its first public housing site in 1965. It operates under the Department of Housing and Urban Development, and is governed by the Board of Commissioners, appointed by the City Council.
Construction on the space began in June and was finished in early November. The $133,000 center was primarily funded by HUD, as well as through a $10,000 grant from the city.
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