Jackson Housing Authority Hosts Family Empowerment Event
JACKSON. Tn.-Today the Jackson Housing Authority hosted its second annual Family Empowerment Expo!
All over the U.S, people are struggling to find affordable housing, transportation, and employment. Today JHA hosted a Family Empowerment event at Forrest Hill Park to educate and provide opportunities for families in Jackson.
“What we do here, we bring the services to our clients, to our families. We have employers of educational institutions, all kinds of services, nonprofit agencies here that offer services that will assist our clients in upward mobility, which is part of our mission.” said Mark Reed Executive Director, Jackson Housing Authority.
Reed emphasizes that the need for housing is an issue that many still face in the Jackson community.
“All across the nation, all across the nation, there's an affordable housing issue. And so here HUD does not supply all the money. Meet it. We have over 2000 families on our waiting list here in Jackson, Tennessee. We don't have enough money to build that number of units. Okay. So but what we can do, number one, we leverage the dollars that we do have, trying to take all the opportunities to increase the number of affordable housing units here in Jackson.”
The Salvation Army, a partner of Jackson Authority was also one of today's vendors.
“So today is all about empowering individuals that live here in this community. So, the salvation Army is a resource that individuals and families can reach out to and use to improve their lives. And so, we have our staff, we have information as well as other goodies that are on the tables that will help people improve their lives.” says Lt. Mark Cancia, Salvation Army.
The Family Empowerment Expo included: Vendors with employment opportunities, healthcare & nutrition information, financial literacy, mental health, family support services, food, activities, prizes and more. JHA expressed that they were very proud of how today's event turned out and they look forward to the next one.
