The Worcester Housing Authority received a grant to help residents become self-sufficient and move out of public housing. The family self-sufficiency program grant assists people in increasing their income. It provides them with education, employment and financial services.

Director of Administration Michael Murphy says learning how to manage their money opens many doors for people in the program, "Employment is a big piece of it. A lot of our families come into the program who have some financial needs that need to be addressed whether it's debt reduction, savings, or things like that. We're there to work with them in order to make sure that they have a sound financial plan in place and they have established their goals in order to reach them."

The WHA says employment rates among adult clients has increased, rising from 40% in 2014 to almost 60% last year.