Mayor Jeff Williams and officials of the Arlington Housing Authority recently joined local partners and a representative of the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development to officially designate Arlington’s new EnVision Center.
This designation serves as a critical component of HUD Secretary Ben Carson’s EnVision Center initiative to offer a more holistic housing approach by connecting HUD-assisted families with the tools that can lead to self-sufficiency.
“EnVision Centers are a way to connect local resources with the people who need them the most,” says Benjamin DeMarzo, HUD assistant deputy secretary for Field Policy and Management, who traveled from Washington, D.C., to speak at the event. “From job training to financial counseling, vital services will be provided that will have an unimaginable impact on the lives of the people being helped. I look forward to seeing the brighter futures the EC will bring to the Arlington community.”
EnVision Centers are centralized hubs that serve as one-stop shops to help people access the four key pillars of self-sufficiency: (1) Economic Empowerment; (2) Educational Advancement; (3) Health and Wellness; and (4) Character and Leadership.
The Arlington EnVision Center is one of only 39 in the country and the fourth in Texas, following the opening of the Fort Worth, San Antonio and Brownsville locations.
“We’re excited for the EnVision Center designation,” Mayor Jeff Williams says. “The Center will assist Arlington Housing Authority clients and city residents, and we look forward to providing more resources for our low-income families to help break the chain of poverty in our city, and I want to thank HUD and Secretary Ben Carson for supporting Arlington and empowering our families with opportunities to improve their economic outlook.”
The Arlington EnVision Center will be located at the Arlington Human Service Center, 501 W. Sanford Street. Services provided within the Arlington EnVision Center will include:
- Referrals to youth leadership programs like Girls Inc. and Life Skills classes from the housing authority (Character and Leadership Pillar)
- Financial literacy classes /workshops made possible by the Center for Transforming Lives, Pathfinders and Happy State Bank (Educational Advancement)
- Health classes made possible through numerous partnerships which focus on access to healthy food and connecting to health and mental health services through My Health My Resources and the JPS Health Network (Health and Wellness)
- Family Self-Sufficiency programs, capacity building for small businesses and the future Economic Mobility Center by the Center for Transforming Lives, and workforce training hosted by different organizations (Economic Empowerment)
“United Way of Tarrant County is committed to partnering with the City of Arlington’s Housing Authority to enhance service delivery for Arlington residents,” says Regina R. Williams, United Way of Tarrant County’s vice president of community investment and regional director for Arlington. “Through our regional office, United Way-Arlington, we are excited to support the pillars of the EnVision Center through programs such as VITA and our veteran services initiative, Mission United.”
