The Health Foundation of Central Mass

32 R aymond Mariano, former mayor of Worcester and executive director of the Worcester Housing Authority (WHA), knows firsthand the experience of living in public housing and the challenge of moving out of it. Generations of families remain stuck in a cycle of poverty, unemployment, lack of education, and limited access to health care and disproportionately end up involved with the criminal justice system. Determination and hard work helped Mr. Mariano escape this situation and create a better life for himself. In 2011, he used his personal experiences to develop A Better Life (ABL), a Synergy Initiative program, to help others transition out of public housing and break the cycle of poverty. For those living in public housing, the leap to economic self-sufficiency and unassisted housing can be difficult and overwhelming. But e Health Foundation of Central Massachusetts, together with the WHA, demonstrated that this goal is achievable through a Round 3 Synergy Initiative grant. At the time, the WHA had state and federally supported public housing but no mechanism in place to help families transition from public housing. ABL focused on helping residents overcome numerous roadblocks and increasing access to employment, educational opportunities, transportation, and physical and mental health care. As clients entered the program, they were assigned a "Family Life Coach" (i.e., case manager) who helped the family develop and carry out a multi-year action plan with an end goal of economic self-sufficien - cy. When ABL families' earned income increased, the WHA placed their incre- mental rental increase into escrow accounts to which the families had access to reduce debt or to move to private sector housing. e WHA hired family life coaches to de- liver support and walk individuals through every step of the process. "e point was to provide encouragement to find a better life," Mr. Mariano said. "People wanted to work but had no idea how to dress, talk to supervisors, or be on time. ey made mistakes they didn't un - derstand," said Mr. Mariano. e program created apprenticeships so individuals could gain some experience and learn how to act in a business setting. "We doubled the number of employed and quadrupled the number taking educa - tion classes," he explained. Dr. Jan Yost, e Health Foundation's founding president and CEO, emphasized the importance of results, so every aspect of the program had to be documented and presented to the public. e Worces - ter Telegram & Gazette conducted a poll in 2014 regarding the ABL program and published the results. Mr. Mariano said, "Ninety percent of respondents liked the program." e Health Foundation encouraged the project to focus on the systems level, which played a key role in its success. "Most agencies are focused on the day-to-day. We need to step back and look at the impact and figure out how to make change," said A Better Life: Promoting Self-Esteem and Independence Timeframe: 2011 – 2017 Lead Organization: Worcester Housing Authority Evaluator: Boston University School of Public Health Total Amount Funded: $3.1 million Raymond Mariano with a Worcester Housing Authority resident SYNERGY INITIATIVE - ROUND 3

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