MACSC & Housing

. Its three major programs are the: KINA (Keeping it Nice and) Affordable Housing Program, the Work-Experience Program, and the Youth Education Awareness Program.

History

MACSC & Housing was founded by CEO Jacqueline Stewart in 1998 as a supportive service agency to assist unemployed and underemployed individuals with child support related issues as they transitioned from welfare to the work force. After becoming pregnant during her freshman year at college, Ms. Stewart was discouraged, but not deterred, and she managed to get through school while supporting her daughter. Once she realized that it was possible to make a good life for her child and for herself amidst her circumstances, Jacqueline was inspired to create the organization. MACSC received non-profit status in 2000 and expanded its vision to better serve the many individuals faced with barriers of unsafe and indecent living conditions and homelessness. In 2003, MACSC was certified by the City of Houston Community Housing Development Department as a Community Housing Development Organization (CHDO) to provide rental housing and affordable housing to low to moderate income families. Since then, MACSC has focused its efforts primarily on constructing affordable housing, providing work experience opportunities for community residents, and creating youth prevention programs. MACSC has focused its efforts on the Sunnyside community over the years, but seeks to expand programs to reach other Houston neighborhoods in the future.

Programs

KINA (Keeping it Nice and) Affordable Housing ProgramThe goal of MACSC & Housing's Affordable Housing Program is to acquire, develop, rehabilitate, manage, and sell housing to individuals in lower income areas in efforts to revitalize impoverished areas and increase family stability. The organization targets the sale of these houses to families earning at or below 80% of the area's median income and who live in a distressed or unstable community.The organization's goal is to create 10 new affordable houses in the Sunnyside area in 2008, and expects to increase production by 70% in 2009. All new homes built by MACSC have been constructed on Coffee and Paula streets in the Sunnyside community. The picture to the right compares two houses on Paula Street, one a MACSC-built house (left) and the other a perfect example of the poverty MACSC is striving to fight in the Sunnyside community. The affordable housing program works in conjunction with the Houston Hope program, led by Mayor Bill White. MACSC administration oversees all aspects of development, including land acquisition, construction, and sale of the houses. The organization also requires individuals to complete a home buyer education program designed to help community members make wise decisions. The topics of this program include community development education, budgeting, and financial planning. Houses are built by employed participants in the MACSC Work Experience Program.

Work-Experience Program

The Work-Experience Program is an internship program designed to give youth parents and GED students real-world work experience, equipping them to be better job seekers with marketable employment skills. Interns in the program go through 9 weeks of training where they get hands-on experience building affordable housing in their own neighborhoods. The program begins with a five week observational period where interns follow construction and administration officials who are working on MACSC & Housing homes so they can learn the skills necessary for the job. Then, they are given a test to assess their knowledge and proficiency, and upon passing are placed in construction teams to build real work experience for four weeks. Workers spend half of their time working on actual construction, and the rest of the time working with the administration. These interns help build all the homes that MACSC constructs under its affordable housing program, thereby building up the community's neighborhoods as well as the skills of the residents. Workers are commonly referred through the Texas Work Source, a partnered organization, and are typically 17-24 years old. MACSC believes that many young people who are on welfare or who lack sufficient job skills have a great amount of difficulty attaining necessary education. The organization works with the philosophy that if these struggling people are given a chance to improve their job skills, they can work hard to attain a higher level of education and better their lives.

Youth Education Awareness Program

MACSC & Housing's Youth Education Awareness Program is a prevention program that intends to keep youth away from negative activities that are often common in poorer neighborhoods. It is split into an internship program and a volleyball program. The program has 3 volleyball teams for different age groups, each called the Inner City Eagles, that are taught by CEO Jacqueline Stewart and play competition from around the city. The program seeks to provide fun activities and a mentor to instill positive values and give guidance to the girls in the program. The second part of the Youth Education Program is a summer internship that helps middle school and high school aged kids build positive job-skills for the future. This program is designed to increase administrative capabilities and give students entering the work force the ability to find careers. MACSC believes that work experience is paramount for someone to become self-sufficient, so it prepares these students for their future careers.

Partnerships

MACSC & Housing is partnered with many other organizations, businesses, and universities that share a similar vision of community improvement and work with MACSC to accomplish its goals. For example, the American Humanics program at the University of Houston refers students to MACSC, and the Work Source frequently sends workers to the work-experience program for training and education. Other partnerships are listed below:

* Colleges: Houston Community College, Texas Southern University, Houston Baptist University, and University of Houston
* Social Service Agencies: Covenant House of Texas, Texas Work Source, Baylor College of Medicine Teen Program, and Neighborhood Centers, Inc
* Local Government Partners: City of Houston Community Housing Development Department, Harris County Housing Authority, and City of Houston Housing Authority
* Non-Financial Partners: CDC Association of Greater Houston, Lazer Homes, JEMCO & Associates, JW Brother’s Remodeling & Construction, and New Vision
* Financial Partners: Whitney Community Corporation, Wells Fargo, Washington Mutual, Local Initiatives Support Corporation (LISC)

External links

*cite web|title=MACSC & Housing Website|url=http://www.macschouse.org//
*cite web|title=Houston Hope Website|url=http://www.houstonhope.org//
*cite web|title=American Humanics Program|url=http://www.uh.edu/humanics/donors/partners.html//