gesticulating teacher assists two students seated at table covered with papers — GED test preparation class provided at Creston Plaza by GRPS

Grand Rapids Housing Commission Family Self-Sufficiency Program

Learn About the Section 8 Homeownership Program

Eligible Grand Rapids Housing Commission (GRHC) Section 8 program participants can apply their rental subsidy toward home mortgage payments!

Click Section 8 Homeownership Program Information to learn more!

Family Self-Sufficiency (FSS) Coordinating Committee

Bobbie Butler, President, Grand Rapids Housing Commission
Deborah Conley, Michigan Family Resources
Maureen Downer, Area Community Service Employment and Training Counsel (ACSET)
Yolanda Duncan, Grand Rapids Community College
Jorge Gonzalez, LINC
Angie Hamlett, Inner City Christian Federation
Pamela Houtteman, Goodwill Industries
Sireece Martin, Inner City Christian Federation
Megan Seely, Goodwill Industries
Kathleen Russo, Chemical Bank
Hattie Tinney, GRHC Deputy Executive Director
Rebeca Venema, Exec. Director, Wyoming Housing Commission

GRHC Staff Representatives:
Felicia Clay, Resident Services Manager
Kathy Monroe, Resident Services Specialist
Eulondon Reeves, Resident Services Specialist
Erin Shibley, Resident Services Specialist

Wyoming Housing Commission Staff Representatives:
Myra Iacovoni, FSS/Section 8 Coordinator
Amandalynn VanderMolen, FSS/Section 8 Coordinator
Christine Roelofs, Administrative Aide

woman at computer is assisted by a man and another woman — A client gets computer help at an Education Fair sponsored by the FSS Program.

Families that participate in Grand Rapids Housing Commission affordable-housing programs generally pay 30 percent of their income toward rent; so an increase in earned income typically results in a rent increase.

When a client enrolls in the GRHC’s Family Self-Sufficiency (FSS) Program, we establish an escrow account for the family in which we deposit roughly the amount of the rent increase each month. Escrow can accrue for up to five years, and clients who successfully complete the FSS Program receive these funds. Many families use their FSS funds toward the purchase of a home.

More than 400 West Michigan families currently participate in the Grand Rapids Housing Commission’s FSS Program. During 2016, the GRHC disbursed a total of $346,904 to 51 program graduates.

FSS Newsletter Available!

Click the links below to view recent issues of the Family Self-Sufficiency Program newsletter.

happy people waiting in line at expo — Families attend the FSS Program’s 2012 “Fresh Start Expo” back-to-school event.

How the FSS Program Works

The program is available to residents of GRHC housing developments and participants in our Section 8 Housing Choice Voucher Program.
Eligible families sign an FSS contract that outlines the responsibilities of both the family and the GRHC.
Each family that enrolls in the program is assigned a “case manager,” an experienced GRHC staff member who helps the family set goals and also links family members with such community resources as child care, transportation, job training and employment counseling services. The family is required to meet with the case manager three times each year, but may request additional support as needed.
To successfully complete the program, a family must:
- Be free of Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) cash assistance for at least the last 12 months of its FSS contract. A family can continue to receive food stamps, medical assistance, child care assistance, work supports (transportation assistance, short-term benefits under TANF), or SSI, SSDI or Social Security yet still obtain the funds in the escrow account.
- Have income from gainful employment for the last 12 months of the FSS contract.