Community of Empowerment & Resident Services
Community of Empowerment & Resident Services
What does Self-Sufficiency mean to you? Owning your our own home? Owning a reliable form of transportation? Having an education? Having a career? Being able to afford enough food to feed your family? Having money to save for your or your child’s education?
When most people think of Affordable Housing, they think of it as a chance to get back on their feet or to provide a safe environment while trying to stabilize their future. For many, Affordable Housing is not the end goal, it is a stepping stone towards the goals they want to achieve.
The Step Up Program (previously ROSS program) at the Bloomington Housing Authority is designed to help residents obtain resources necessary to achieve self-sufficiency. Participation in the Step Up Program is entirely voluntary. Additionally, participants must reside in BHA owned affordable housing (Walnut Woods, Crestmont, and Reverend Butler). Barriers can prevent a person from becoming self-sufficient; Step Up is here to help you navigate through and around those barriers to reach your self-sufficiency goals. Every effort you make towards your goals brings you one step closer to being self-sufficient.
Now that you have safe and secure housing, let’s work together to secure your future! Look at all of the services Step Up can assist you with:
- Searching for employment
- Creating a resume
- Preparing for a job interview
- Resourcing interview appropriate clothing
- Nutrition information
- Finding affordable mental health services
- Financial education
- Parenting support
- Finding appropriate services for individuals with disabilities
- Finding appropriate services for seniors
- Services for aging in place
- Finding transportation
- Finding free legal services
- Enrolling in an adult education course
- Applying for a community college or a university
- Obtaining green cleaning supplies to keep your home clean
- Resourcing affordable health services
- Health insurance navigation referrals
- Learning about community resources
- And more!
What is It?
The Community of Empowerment ™ (CoE) is a dynamic social service platform that serves residents living in BHA’s Affordable Housing (RAD Housing) Communities: Crestmont, Reverend Butler, and Walnut Woods. The CoE cultivates resident-centered initiatives that build community pathways (and support networks) for personal capacity building. The CoE supports socially transformative programming that develops social capital and resilience within the community through: (a) cultivating youth and adult leadership, and (b) providing direct linkage to essential resources for households that enable them to empower themselves; (c) strengthening social ties and relationships through intentional neighborhood engagement (i.e., via community events); and, (d) facilitating learning cohorts that foster a culture of unity and personal accountability for improving one’s own life-world conditions (i.e.,both individually and on a collective level).
Philosophy
CoE events and services prioritize a central philosophy of: (i) personal connection & relationship building; (ii) collective action; and, (iii) the development of social and cultural tools of efficacy that enable individuals (and their families) to navigate (and overcome) the contextual realities of poverty. This includes (but is not limited to): knowledge and resources that enrich lives through furthering education, enhancing socio-emotional capacity to navigate social conflict, and harnessing the power of one’s own capacity for labor through career development and entrepreneurship.
Current Programs and Resident Services Offered
Grocery Shuttle
(Service & Opportunity In Motion)
On-Site Food Pantry
Hours: Fridays 2:00pm – 3:45pm, Lindsey A. Smith Community Center; Thursdays 3pm-4:30pm (biweekly), Walnut Woods Community Building
Computer Lab & Walk-In Case Management Services
Hours: Tuesdays & Thursdays 10 am – 12 pm
One-on-One Life Coaching & Household Support
(by appointment)
Critical-Time Intervention & Eviction Prevention Services
(by appointment)
Current Program Competencies
We can help with:
- Searching for employment
- Creating a resume
- Preparing for a job interview
- Resourcing interview appropriate clothing
- Nutrition information
- Finding affordable mental health services
- Financial education
- Parenting support
- Finding appropriate services for individuals with disabilities
- Finding appropriate services for seniors
- Services for aging in place
- Finding transportation
- Finding free legal services
- Enrolling in an adult education course
- Applying for a community college or a university
- Obtaining green cleaning supplies to keep your home clean
- Resourcing affordable health services
- Health insurance navigation referrals
- Learning about community resources
- and more.
Contact the BHA Resident Services Coordinator at 812-269-4017 or email rharris@blha.net to schedule an appointment today!