Canzada Rogers, the single mother of four, joined the Family Self-Sufficiency (FSS) Program in December 2010. In addition to working to meet the program requirements, Canzada began looking towards the future by setting goals. On the top of her bucket list were two somewhat elusive goals – obtaining credit/budget counseling and homeownership. Utilizing every tool available to her through THA’s FSS Program, within a brief time Canzada began meeting with an FSS Coordinator and was soon referred to Housing Partners of Tulsa to learn more about becoming a homeowner. Joining the organization’s Homeownership Counseling Program, Canzada garnered all of the tools needed to become a viable homeowner, and in August 2016, she completed homeownership counseling. As if parenthood and learning about homeownership was not hectic enough, Canzada added a few more items to her plate when she began attending classes at Cameron University to complete her undergraduate degree. So, against all the odds, Canzada tapped into a deeper level of self-imposed discipline and focus, and in the spring of 2016, she found herself walking across the stage at CU receiving her Bachelor of Science degree in Elementary Education. Moreover, within a few months of graduating, Canzada received the news she had been waiting for when she was hired by the Catoosa Public Schools as an elementary school teacher. Honored at the 2016 THA FSS Program holiday party for earning her degree and landing her first job in her field, Canzada was ready to take on the world. Graduating from THA’s FSS program a short time later, Canzada checked off one of the top items on her bucket list when she purchased her first home in February 2017. Today, Canzada is winding down her second year as a fourth-grade teacher with Catoosa Public Schools. As Canzada thrives, so does her family, and she is happy to report her family is now settled into their new home with her children having checked off their own bucket list item – picking out the wall colors for their bedrooms. Grateful for every milestone she reaches on her journey, Canzada credits THA’s FSS Program with giving her the support she needed to change her life and reminds everyone – including the students in her class – that success is always a “TEAM” effort! Family Self-Sufficiency The Family Self-Sufficiency (FSS) Program is a program that enables HUD-assisted families to increase their earned income and reduce their dependency on welfare assistance and rental subsidies. Once an eligible family is selected to participate in the program, the Public Housing Agency (PHA) and the head of each participating family execute an FSS Contract of Participation that specifies the rights and responsibilities of both parties. The term of the FSS contract is generally five years, but it may be extended for another two years by the PHA for good cause. The FSS contract also incorporates the family’s individual training and services plan (ITSP). The ITSP is the document that records the plan for the family. That is, the series of intermediate and long-term goals and the steps the family needs to take – and the services and resources they may need to access – to achieve those goals. Some of the services coordinated through the program include child care, transportation, education, job training, employment, financial literacy and homeownership counseling, among others. Services are generally not provided by the PHA, but rather outsourced to service providers within the community. An interest-bearing escrow account is established by the PHA for each participating family. Any increase in the family’s rent as a result of increased earned income during the family’s participation in the program result in a credit to the family’s escrow account. Once a family graduates from the program, they may access the escrow and use it for any purpose. The Tulsa Housing Authority currently services 250 Housing Choice Voucher participants and 40 Public Housing participants. In 2017, the Tulsa Housing Authority graduated nine FSS participants and disbursed $115,124.72 in escrow checks. Participant Profile Canzada Rogers FSS graduate Lecretia Bledsoe (right) proudly poses with her certificate with Danielle Mays. 13 12