(WBBM NEWSRADIO) — It was a big day for Aeisha Moore and her family.
"I can't believe this day is finally here. I started this program, it seems, so long ago," she said.
Moore and dozens of others were presented certificates at the Charles Hayes Center, 4859 S. Wabash, after they finished a five-year course known as Family Self Sufficiency, or FSS. The program is offered by the Chicago Housing Authority.
Moore said she started the effort before the pandemic, and then she got laid off.
"They teach you how to be stable, how to save, how to establish a credit,” she said. “It teaches you about home ownership, it teaches you how a loan works, how to be sufficient, how to save money, how to be on your own.”
Moore is a beautician who decided to start her own business. The skills she learned will be helpful, she said.
The FSS program is “provided to HUD assisted families — that's anyone with a voucher who is in public housing who have goals,” said Nakia Dale, who manages it for the CHA.
“It could be financial goals, employment goals, educational goals.”
More than 143 residents have finished the program during the pandemic. Fifty-five of them received their diplomas Friday, she said.
"This is a great day for CHA. We are so happy for our graduates,” Dale said.
Students receive monetary incentives for successfully completing their goals.
"At the end of their graduation, we give them escrow payouts,” Dale said. “The savings are set aside in an escrow account and can be used for anything they wish — down payments on homes or paying off debt.”
For Moore, there is a new chapter for her and her 15-year-old son.
"I was able to even get my driver's license after 12 years,” she said. “Now, I can get to my client's house, I can pick up my son at school, I can take my mom to her doctor's appointments."
"I'm so proud of her,” said Joline Harris, Moore's Mother, who battled cancer during the pandemic.
"She's more mature, grown up, more responsible because of this class,” she said. "She's the bomb diggity.”
Recognized as one of CHA’s most successful programs, the FSS course enables CHA families to build financial assets while working toward educational, personal and financial goals.
For more information, log onto thecha.org/residents/services/family-self-sufficiency-programs-fss or call the FSS hotline at (773) 672-6644.
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