Michelle Johnson and her three children have called a modest three bedroom apartment in North Philadelphia home for almost 20 years. Stepping into their apartment, it's easy to tell that it's a place where children have grown up. Small scuff marks in the hallway and old video game controllers stashed on the bottom shelf of a bookcase attest to the past presence of kids. In the family room, there is a collection of framed portraits and school photographs. Pointing to a picture in the center, Johnson proudly says, "She'll be 19 years old next week and is in college now." Never missing an opportunity to catalogue the accomplishments of her children, Johnson gestures at pictures of her teenaged boys, "They'll be going soon too."
Before the Johnsons moved into their apartment, they lived with a series of family and friends. "We were in a lot of temporary living situations because there wasn't a lot of space," she explained in an interview during a site visit. When she initially applied for public assistance that would make up the difference between what they could afford and the prevailing market rent, she had low expectations. The wait time to receive a Section 8 voucher was estimated in decades, not days. Fortunately, Johnson found Project HOME, a non-profit that provides homeless individuals and families with permanent, affordable housing. And for the Johnsons, that stability didn't just help them survive—it enabled the family to thrive.
[For more of this story, written by Patricia Hart & Reid Cramer, go to http://www.psmag.com/business-...n-affordable-housing]
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