Living in the midst of poverty doesn't guarantee a life of poverty, but it certainly doesn't help.
That's why the Chattanooga Housing Authority is excited about being one of only a few housing agencies across the country to participate in a U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development pilot program that expands areas where the housing authority's Housing Choice Vouchers are accepted.
Essentially, the program allows qualified residents who receive vouchers to be able to seek housing in more upscale neighborhoods if property owners are willing to be a part of the program.
Already, the program has leased two properties on Signal Mountain and 186 in Hixson and has voucher properties in Ooltewah and Harrison.
The catch, though, is that the renter must pay the difference between the amount subsidized by the federal government and the market-rate rent charged by the landlord. In fact, renters must pay at least 30 percent of their monthly adjusted gross income for rent and utilities.
If the renter is able to afford it, a move out of an area where crime is prevalent, poverty is generational and futures are bleak makes sense. For individual families, it could be the beginning of a whole new chapter.
However, as East Lake Courts resident Jesse Lawrence told Times Free Press reporter Yolanda Putman, about her desire to stay put, "I don't care where you're at, if you really want something and you want it bad enough, you can make it happen wherever you are."
She's right, but too many subsidized housing residents don't believe it. So maybe an address in a more upscale area, closer to higher-performing schools and better job prospects, would be more convincing.