Home-ownership dreams fulfilled

YMHA is giving participants the tools to become more self-sufficient.
By SARAH POULTON
VINDICATOR STAFF WRITER
YOUNGSTOWN -- After years of hard work and determination, Antoinette Childers, with the help of the Youngstown Metropolitan Housing Authority, is building her first home.
Childers, 36, of Youngstown, enrolled in YMHA's Family Self-Sufficiency program March 1, 2000. She set her sights on three goals: to be free from debt, to maintain employment and to own her own home. She is completing her third and final goal.
Bernice Floyd, family self-sufficiency coordinator, said the program started in 1993 and since then, 29 people have successfully completed it. Participants set individual goals for themselves, whether it be to graduate from college, get a general educational development diploma, or obtain a driver's license, Floyd said.
Eligibility
In the program, the participant receives an escrow account, which will build money for them to use after they have completed the program, she said. All they need to do to raise their escrow is to earn more money, she said.
To receive escrow money, the participant must be free from welfare assistance, Floyd said. They don't need a job to enter the program, but they need to comply with the requirements for Section 8, a housing assistance program determined by income.
"We are giving them the tools to become more self-sufficient," Floyd said. "You can't be self-sufficient and depend on someone to carry you around."
Many of the goals set by family self-sufficiency participants is to one day become a homeowner, Floyd said. With that being the case, Marnette Nelson, YMHA home-ownership coordinator, began working closely with Floyd to help the participants achieve their goals.
The home-ownership program offers counseling and support for those families who desire to become homeowners, Nelson said. The tie-in with the self-sufficiency program makes for a great tracking system because it's not an outside agency training the participants, she added.
"We train people to take advantage of the opportunities out there that will work best for them," Nelson said. "It just so happened that Antionette was sitting in perfect position to buy this house."
Youth development
Testa Builders was hired to construct Childers' house and will be assisted by YouthBuild, a program sponsored by YMHA that will train, educate and help young adults find work in construction.
Herman L. Hill, YouthBuild program director, said the program is open to young people ages 18 to 24 who have low incomes and are interested in learning construction skills.
This nine-month program offers education, construction training, leadership development and counseling for students, Hill said. They are taught the skills in the classroom, then sent to the site where they can apply them. Once they complete the program, they are eligible for higher education, skilled training or a job in construction, Hill said.
He added that not only is the program great for the students, but it also ties in perfectly with the self-sufficiency and home-ownership programs.
"It's a perfect marriage of programs that the housing authority offers," Hill said. "We want to reward Antionette for doing what's right and for working hard ... It's a perfect fit for all of us, and I'm certainly excited for her as well as for the success of the programs."
Childers celebrated the ground-breaking of her new house on Mumford Drive with a ceremony Wednesday morning, she said. She hopes to be in the house on the city's East Side by early November and will be living there with her two children, Vanessa White, 14, and Ernest White, 12, and her fianc & eacute;, Larry Benton.
Benton wanted to build his own home as well, so Childers said she feels exceptionally blessed to be able to give this to her family. Everyone is excited for her, and she is excited to give her children their own backyard, she said.
"I thought it was possible; I just never thought it would happen to me as soon as it did," Childers said. "I wanted something better for my children and for myself. I didn't know how I was going to do it, but it was going to happen. It is important to stay focused and stay committed to working toward your goals because miracles do happen, and anything is possible as long as you're focused and committed."
spoulton@vindy.com