TCC Wins Excellence in Affordable Housing Award for Innovation
The Tacoma/Pierce County Affordable Housing Consortium has named TCC an Excellence in Affordable Housing Award winner in the “innovation” category for 2019. The college will be recognized along with community partners, the University of Washington Tacoma (UWT), Koz Development and 慢性消耗病 Investments, at the Excellence in Affordable Housing Event on Oct. 17在安妮 塔科马的莱特学校.
The award recognizes the success of TCC’s College Housing Assistance Program (CHAP), a partnership with the Tacoma Housing Authority (THA) and other community organizations that allows homeless and near-homeless students to access housing vouchers and low-cost 港府补贴公寓.
“This is a tremendous honor to be recognized for our work to support homeless or near-homeless students with our community partners,” said TCC President Ivan L. 哈勒尔，二，博士.D. “But the true winners here are the students who continue to persevere when life becomes 具有挑战性的. With our combined efforts, we are working hard to build a brighter future 为学生.”
CHAP的历史
TCC launched CHAP in 2014 as a pilot program with THA. 最初CHAP提供住房 vouchers to 45 homeless TCC students; 70 percent of them were parents of young children. The students’ progress was tracked as part of a study by the University of Wisconsin’s HOPE Lab, and the results were so impressive that in 2016 CHAP was expanded to serve 150 students, including 25 student who face the extra challenge of starting college 从监狱释放后.
“These students are already striving and intend to better their lives and prospects and the lives and prospects of their children. All they need is an affordable, safe and secure place to live during their schooling,” reads the nomination.
2016年，CHAP模式发生了变化. Tacoma’s rental market had become so expensive that it was difficult 为学生 to find housing even with the vouchers. 那开始 buying apartment complexes near the college and making arrangements with nearby landlords to subsidize housing prioritized for TCC students experiencing housing challenges.
慢性消耗病 Investments was the first developer to join the partnership, dedicating the recently renovated Highland Flats (formerly the Tiki Apartments) to house both TCC students and former Tiki Apartment residents who had been displaced by the renovation. 慢性消耗病 then added Crosspointe Apartments, another complex within walking distance of TCC.
In 2016 UWT joined the program, working with Koz Development and THA to dedicate 104 micro-units in a nearby apartment complex to homeless UWT students. 因为大多数TCC transfer students transfer to UWT, the program allows TCC CHAP students to retain their housing assistance if they transfer to UWT to pursue a 4-year degree.
TCC supports this work through by marketing CHAP to students, referring students, tracking tenancies and keeping track of other operational details. 学院也 manages a fund to help students pay security and utility deposits, purchase furniture 并支付其他的入住费用. Because THA does not have the resources to perform these functions, this support was critical for program expansion.
项目成功与认可
The evaluators of CHAP’s initial 45-student cohort found that the program was extremely successful at helping students finish their degrees. 根据TCC的分析， 两年后
- 60 percent of CHAP students graduated or remained enrolled, compared to 14 percent 无人帮助的无家可归的学生.
- CHAP学生获得了3分.05 average GPA, higher than the schoolwide average.
In addition to spurring expansion of the program, the outstanding results of the initial study won national recognition for CHAP. In 2018, Harvard University’s Kennedy School of Government named the CHAP program one of the 25 most innovative public initiatives 年度报告.
The nomination notes that CHAP allows THA to match its housing dollars with partners in a way that not only houses people, but help families succeed, and helps TCC and UWT fulfill their educational missions.
“We have housed students who are working parents, first generation or students who 都被关了起来。. 哈勒尔说. “They express to us they could not have stayed in their college programs without the help of CHAP. 有保障的住房 students the opportunity to focus on their future. 澳门威尼斯人在线赌场承诺继续 success of this program for our students.”