ABSTRACT
This chapter focuses on an urban, public housing complex of about 2000 people. Residents must qualify as low-income to live in the complex where they pay 30 percent of their household income towards rent. The Department of Resident Services is made up of a small number of staff who work with residents in different areas, including workforce development and education, youth development, health and mental health, and community engagement. Participation is free and voluntary, and staff works from a strengths-based, empowerment approach. Urban public housing has been portrayed in the dominant media as dirty, depressed, and dangerous. Public housing developments are typically in neighborhoods with low median incomes, high rates of poverty, and disproportionate concentrations of minorities. The chapter defines neighborhood as the exclusive area of buildings and land that is managed by the company for whom Anne works. Community includes area beyond the perimeter of the public housing development, but does not go beyond the city limits.
