This is Jennifer

Jennifer's story Single mom Living in York County Receiving TANF Poor credit No health insurance High school diploma

Her dreams/goals Support her son independent of public programs Reliable transportation Earn a degree in Healthcare Administration Own a house

In 2012 Jennifer enrolled in RESTART A HUD Family Self-Sufficiency Program from MaineHousing

ReStart Program Support: Connections to : Financial Education/Asset Building Transportation – Assistance with car repair to allow her to continue working Escrow savings – access to achieve goals and to allow independence when graduating the program Credit repair – to allow her to qualify for a First Time Homebuyers loan Competitive Skills Scholarship Up to $6,000 per year for post-secondary education – including certificate programs and two- and four-year degrees

24 hour support www.mainehousing.org/restart

Jennifer’s Eligibility for ReStart? Housing Choice Voucher Agreed to a 5 year contract commitment Ability and desire to work full-time (32+ hours per week). Desire to actively participate and work a plan to independence which included: Goal attainment Comprehensive financial education participation A minimum of quarterly check in’s

Teamwork A Program Coordinator served as Jennifer’s Coach to help her find the resources she needed to meet her career and financial goals. The coach found the resources. Jennifer followed up on them and did what was necessary to receive the resources.

Progress Full time employment College enrollment Automobile loan Matched savings

How does the savings work? Household TANF income: $500 per month Tenant rental portion: $150 Monthly Escrow: $ 0 Employment income: $1386 per month (32 hrs. x $10.00 p/hr.) Tenant rental portion: $416 Monthly Escrow: $266 (amount of rental portion increase due to employment income)

Four years later…where is Jennifer now? No longer receiving TANF Working full-time earning $37,000 per year Good credit New car Enrolled as full-time student nearing the end of her Healthcare Administration degree September 1 successfully graduated from ReStart Expects to leave HCV program by end of year

Savings amount $15,149.68

Other FSS Programs Augusta Housing Authority 207-626-2357 Bangor Housing Authority 207-942-6365 Brewer Housing Authority 207-922-2737 Caribou Housing Authority 207-493-4234 Lewiston Housing Authority 207-783-8539 Old Town Housing Authority 207-827-6151 Portland Housing Authority 207-773-4753 Westbrook Housing Authority 207-854-6822

Additional questions? Laurie Glidden 207-626-4660 lglidden@mainehousing.org Melissa Lizotte 207-624-5778 mlizotte@mainehousing.org