UPD/HUPO Lecture: “More Than a Home: Public Housing as a Continuum of Services”

The Cambridge Housing Authority (CHA) is one of the nation’s leaders in the field of affordable housing, providing both a local model of success and leadership in the development of national housing policy. Steven Swanger will discuss his 33-year career as Director of Resident Services at the CHA, where he successfully constructed an interactive web of agencies and services to form a continuum of programming to address the needs of low-income residents of all ages, from pre-natal to elderly. Among the most successful elements in that continuum is The Work Force, a youth development program founded by Mr. Swanger and operated as an in-house component of the CHA since its inception in 1984. Throughout decades of collaboration between a local housing authority and a local school district, The Work Force has documented a startlingly high level of success in breaking the cycle of generational poverty among public housing teens. Jim Stockard, Lecturer in Housing Studies at the GSD and a Commissioner of the CHA, will join Mr. Swanger in a discussion on the development of resident services in public housing.

Harvard University welcomes individuals with disabilities to participate in its programs and activities. If you would like to request accommodations or have questions about the physical access provided, please contact the Public Programs Office at (617) 496-2414 or [email protected] in advance of your participation or visit. Requests for American Sign Language interpreters and/or CART providers should be made at least two weeks in advance. Please note that the University will make every effort to secure services, but that services are subject to availability.

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