Developing microbusinesses in public housing: Notes from the field

Harvard Civil Rights-Civil Liberties Law Review

Volumn 31, Issue 2, 1996, Pages 471-497

  Held, Margaret Beebe ^a,b  

^a UNIVERSITY OF TENNESSEE   (United States)

^b Knoxville Legal Aid Society (KLAS)

Author keywords

[No Author keywords available]

Indexed keywords

EID: 8344266000     PISSN: 00178039     EISSN: None     Source Type: Journal    
DOI: None     Document Type: Article

References (105)

1. Interview with Wendy, public housing resident and home child care provider, in Knoxville, Tenn. (Aug. 10, 1994). The names of the public housing residents have been changed to protect their privacy.
2. The Tennessee Department of Human Services (DHS) regulates home child care providers. In a letter, DHS informed Wendy that she could not operate a day care facility without the permission of KCDC. Letter from the Tennessee Department of Human Services to Wendy (June 20, 1994) (on file with author). Later, a DHS representative stated that, apart from being located in public housing, Wendy's apartment met all of the requirements for a state registered facility and, with the addition of a fenced-in backyard, could be state-licensed to care for up to seven children. Interview with Wendy. supra note 1.
3. In August 1994, as a law clerk for Knoxville Legal Aid Society, I was assigned to Wendy's case. At the time, few people in KCDC's administration believed that Wendy had the initiative to start her own business. Once convinced that she was serious, however, KCDC not only approved an addendum to Wendy's lease permitting her to start her child care business, but also agreed to move her to an apartment with a larger backyard and granted her permission to fence in that yard to enable her to obtain a DHS state license. Wendy's case prompted KCDC to begin planning ways for other residents to start home-based businesses, an effort that continues toda y.
4. Interview with Wendy. public housing resident, in Knoxville, Tenn. (Jan. 10, 1995).
5. Id.
6. MICHAEL E. PORTER, THE COMPETITIVE ADVANTAGE OF THE INNER CITY 3 (Harvard Business School 1994).
7. See id.
8. See id.
9. Id.
10. Id.
11. Id.
12. See AVIS C. VIDAL, REBUILDING COMMUNITIES: A NATIONAL STUDY OF URBAN CCOMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT CORPORATIONS 33-38 (1992).
13. See OFFICE OF RESOURCE DEV., MASS. EXECUTIVE OFFICE OF COMMUNITIES AND DEV., How TO ORGANIZE A COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT CORPORATION: A MANUAL FOR COMMUNITY ORGANIZATIONS 18 (1980); Robert E. Suggs, Bringing Small Business Development to Urban Neighborhoods, 30 HARV. C.R.-C.L. L. REV. 468, 489 (1995).
14. See OFFICE OF RESOURCE DEV., MASS. EXECUTIVE OFFICE OF COMMUNITIES AND DEV., How TO ORGANIZE A COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT CORPORATION: A MANUAL FOR COMMUNITY ORGANIZATIONS 18 (1980); Robert E. Suggs, Bringing Small Business Development to Urban Neighborhoods, 30 HARV. C.R.-C.L. L. REV. 468, 489 (1995).
15. 12 U.S.C. § 4701(a)(2) (1994).
16. Those state-initiated community development efforts that have been effective have usually been introduced by officials who have personally lived through the problems faced by their constituents. For example. State Representative Joe Armstrong of the 15th Legislative District of Tennessee was raised in the low-income community of East Knoxville. He provides consistent leadership in the state assembly on such issues as welfare and medicaid reform, thereby protecting the interests of East Knoxville residents. See Jacquelyn Brown. Retreat Lets Legislators Focus on the Agenda. KNOXVILLE NEWS-SENTINEL, Nov. 19. 1995. at B5 (describing Senator Armstrong's attempt to secure economic development center for Knoxville).
17. The Community Microloan Program provides technical assistance and small loans to new businesses located in metropolitan Knoxville.
18. Commissioner McGuire stated. "A woman on the side of the road selling neck scarves would not make a change in the economy. People who only need on the average of $5000 to start a business will not make an impact." Commissioner Mike McGuire, Address at University of Tennessee Issues Forum (Aug. 8, 1995).
19. Interview with Dr. William Fox, University of Tennessee Center for Business and Economic Research, in Knoxville, Tenn. (Feb. 8, 1994). Dr. Fox hastened to add several caveats to this estimate, stating that although individual industrial projects have been studied for cost-effectiveness, no statewide study of the amount of money spent per job created has been done to date. For more information on the impact of state-sponsored incentives on Tennessee's economy, see Margaret B. Held, Industrial Accountability for Economic Development Incentives: Considerations for Save Our Cumberland Mountains and Local Governments in Tennessee (May 1994) (unpublished manuscript, on file with author).
20. Telephone Interview with Chris Just, Director of the Mountain Microloan Fund (Mar. 5, 1996). These businesses, if not responsible for the transformation of downtown Asheville, have certainly contributed to Asheville's recently reacquired status as a bustling tourist attraction and cultural center.
21. Such revitalization is consistent with observable regional and national trends. See Carol Kleiman, Small Businesses Make a Big Dent in Unemployment, GREENSBORO NEWS & REC., Apr. 29, 1996, at D1 ("As job openings disappear at the nation's largest businesses, small businesses are doing more hiring, providing the energy and creativity to keep the economy going.").
22. Even small investments in these communities add up. The Community Microloan Program has loaned $54,400 in Knoxville's poorest neighborhoods in 1995. At its current rate of expansion, it will loan an additional $205,000 to entrepreneurs in 1996. COMMUNITY MICROLOAN PROGRAM, ANNUAL REPORT (1995).
23. Although local and state officials use money to attract major businesses and induce businesses to remain in the local market, most scholars and economists conclude that such strategies are largely ineffective. See, e.g., TIMOTHY J. BARTIK, WHO BENEFITS FROM STATE AND LOCAL ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT POLICIES? (1991); HENRY HERZOG, JR. & ALAN SCHLOTTMANN, INDUSTRY LOCATION AND PUBLIC POLICY (1991); John P. Balri & Robert Premus, Major Features in Industrial Location: A Review, 1 ECON. DEV. Q. 72 (1987); William Fox & Matthew Murray, Local Public Policies and Interregional Business Development, 57 S. ECON. J. 412 (1990); H. Brinton Milward & Heidi H. Newsome, State Incentive Packages and the Industrial Location Decision, 3 ECON. DEV. Q. 203 (1989).
24. Although local and state officials use money to attract major businesses and induce businesses to remain in the local market, most scholars and economists conclude that such strategies are largely ineffective. See, e.g., TIMOTHY J. BARTIK, WHO BENEFITS FROM STATE AND LOCAL ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT POLICIES? (1991); HENRY HERZOG, JR. & ALAN SCHLOTTMANN, INDUSTRY LOCATION AND PUBLIC POLICY (1991); John P. Balri & Robert Premus, Major Features in Industrial Location: A Review, 1 ECON. DEV. Q. 72 (1987); William Fox & Matthew Murray, Local Public Policies and Interregional Business Development, 57 S. ECON. J. 412 (1990); H. Brinton Milward & Heidi H. Newsome, State Incentive Packages and the Industrial Location Decision, 3 ECON. DEV. Q. 203 (1989).
25. Although local and state officials use money to attract major businesses and induce businesses to remain in the local market, most scholars and economists conclude that such strategies are largely ineffective. See, e.g., TIMOTHY J. BARTIK, WHO BENEFITS FROM STATE AND LOCAL ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT POLICIES? (1991); HENRY HERZOG, JR. & ALAN SCHLOTTMANN, INDUSTRY LOCATION AND PUBLIC POLICY (1991); John P. Balri & Robert Premus, Major Features in Industrial Location: A Review, 1 ECON. DEV. Q. 72 (1987); William Fox & Matthew Murray, Local Public Policies and Interregional Business Development, 57 S. ECON. J. 412 (1990); H. Brinton Milward & Heidi H. Newsome, State Incentive Packages and the Industrial Location Decision, 3 ECON. DEV. Q. 203 (1989).
26. Although local and state officials use money to attract major businesses and induce businesses to remain in the local market, most scholars and economists conclude that such strategies are largely ineffective. See, e.g., TIMOTHY J. BARTIK, WHO BENEFITS FROM STATE AND LOCAL ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT POLICIES? (1991); HENRY HERZOG, JR. & ALAN SCHLOTTMANN, INDUSTRY LOCATION AND PUBLIC POLICY (1991); John P. Balri & Robert Premus, Major Features in Industrial Location: A Review, 1 ECON. DEV. Q. 72 (1987); William Fox & Matthew Murray, Local Public Policies and Interregional Business Development, 57 S. ECON. J. 412 (1990); H. Brinton Milward & Heidi H. Newsome, State Incentive Packages and the Industrial Location Decision, 3 ECON. DEV. Q. 203 (1989).
27. Although local and state officials use money to attract major businesses and induce businesses to remain in the local market, most scholars and economists conclude that such strategies are largely ineffective. See, e.g., TIMOTHY J. BARTIK, WHO BENEFITS FROM STATE AND LOCAL ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT POLICIES? (1991); HENRY HERZOG, JR. & ALAN SCHLOTTMANN, INDUSTRY LOCATION AND PUBLIC POLICY (1991); John P. Balri & Robert Premus, Major Features in Industrial Location: A Review, 1 ECON. DEV. Q. 72 (1987); William Fox & Matthew Murray, Local Public Policies and Interregional Business Development, 57 S. ECON. J. 412 (1990); H. Brinton Milward & Heidi H. Newsome, State Incentive Packages and the Industrial Location Decision, 3 ECON. DEV. Q. 203 (1989).
28. From January 10 through August 1, 1995, I kept a journal detailing my activities and interactions with Montgomery Village's residents.
29. The scope of this Article is limited to my own perspectives of the experiences I have had as a young, inexperienced practitioner. Thus, the Article does not discuss the historical evolution of antipoverty programs or how governmental and societal perceptions of the problems of the poor have changed over the years.
30. 42 U.S.C. § 1473u (1994).
31. Id. § 1437u(d)(2).
32. Id. § 1437u(c)(2).
33. Id. § 1437u(d)(1).
34. 24 C.F.R. § § 963.1, 963.3 (1996).
35. 24 C.F.R. § 964.15 (1996); see also id. § 964.120 (describing requirements of resident management corporations for recognition by HUD and public housing authorities).
36. 24 C.F.R. § 964.135 (1996).
37. TENN. COMP. R. & REGS. ch. 1240-4-1-.01(3)(a) (1992). As another example, the Department of Human Services regulates the operation of day care centers. Tennessee law sets forth certain requirements concerning the posting of emergency phone numbers in the caregiver's home, TENN. COMP. R. & REGS. ch. 1240-4-1-.06(f) (1992), and the caregiver's obligation to familiarize herself with the local emergency management plan, TENN. COMP. R. & REGS. ch. 1240-4-1-.06(i) (1992). All applicable and governing statutes and regulations are business- and jurisdiction-specific and are beyond the scope of this Article.
38. See, e.g., KNOXVILLE, TENN., METROPOLITAN PLANNING COMM'N ZONING ORDINANCES art. V, § 3(4) (1993) (regulating private day nurseries and kindergartens); id. § 12 (regulating home occupations).
39. KLAS is in the process of documenting enforcement of Knoxville's building codes and zoning ordinances based on complaints of arbitrary enforcement.
40. KCDC Dwelling Lease, para. 10(C) (1990).
41. Id.
42. One might suspect that sewing is a perfectly acceptable home occupation. The activity causes little if any change in traffic patterns. Sewing is clean and quiet, and of course, could generate additional income for the resident and, accordingly, rent for KCDC. Indeed, KCDC's Public Housing Director confirmed this suspicion. Telephone Interview with Public Housing Director, KCDC, in Knoxville, Tenn. (Mar. 9, 1995).
43. Interview with Corrina. KCDC public housing resident, in Knoxville, Tenn. (Jan. 19, 1995).
44. Meeting with Montgomery Village residents, in Knoxville, Tenn. (Jan. 19, 1995). The responses ranged from "They just want to catch me and throw me out" to "Why would they want to do that for me?"
45. KCDC Dwelling Lease, para. 15 (1990).
46. See 24 C.F.R. § 960.380 (1994). KCDC's Director of Public Housing, however, stated that KCDC has little interest in pursuing a claim for back rent under these circumstances. "We don't want to interfere with a resident's efforts to get on her feet . . . . Besides, it would be nearly impossible to get the money out of her. Frankly, we have other things to worry about." Telephone Interview with Public Housing Director, KCDC (Mar. 9, 1995).
47. See Interview with Corrina, supra note 38.
48. Id.
49. Interview with Public Housing Director, KCDC, in Knoxville, Tenn. (May 31, 1995).
50. See, e.g., 42 U.S.C. § 1437u (1994) (Family Self-Sufficiency program); 24 C.F.R. § 963 (1996) (resident-owned businesses); id. § 964 (resident management companies). These regulations also provide funding for Family Investment Centers (FIC) which serve as child care facilities, job training programs, and business incubators. See id. § 964.3. The earnings of and benefits to any public housing resident resulting from participation in the FIC program is excluded from income in computing the resident's total annual income for purposes of determining residential rental payment. Id. § 964.345. Further, residents can receive on-site supportive services for their businesses. Any resident participating in a program providing employment training and supportive services in accordance with the Family Support Act of 1988, 42 U.S.C. § 1437 (1994), including a participant in a Job Opportunities and Basic Skills Training Program (JOBS), can have her rent frozen for up to 18 months. See 24 C.F.R. § 913.106 (1996).
51. Interview with Community Microloan Program Director, in Knoxville, Tenn. (Jan. 30, 1995).
52. Margaret Held, Knoxville's Microloan Program: A Small Step to Ending Poverty in Our Inner City (1994) (unpublished manuscript, on file with author).
53. Interview with TOPS Coordinator, KCDC, in Knoxville. Tenn. (Feb. 20, 1995). The TOPS program is designed, among other things, to prepare residents to "to own and operate resident businesses, to move toward financial independence, and to enable them to choose where they want to live and engage in meaningful participation in the manage-ment of housing developments in which they live." 24 C.F.R. § 964.7 (1996).
54. Interview with KCDC's Social Services Director, in Knoxville, Tenn. (Feb. 16, 1995).
55. KCDC Resident, Remarks at Tenant Council Meeting, in Knoxville, Tenn. (Feb. 5, 1995).
56. The amendment language that I have used on behalf of my clients provides that the resident may use the apartment to run a legal business, so long as the home-based business will not "[d]isturb the resident's neighbors," "[a]lter the structure of the resident's apartment without prior approval from KCDC," or "[c]reate undue noise, fumes, traffic or any other environmental hazard." KCDC Dwelling Lease, para. 10(C) (amendment). Field managers are located in each housing development and are responsible for day-to-day operations.
57. Interview with Public Housing Director, supra note 44.
58. Id.
59. Id.
60. One client submitted a draft amendment to her field manager, who subsequently claimed that he had amended the resident's lease. I later discovered that the field manager had not, in fact, filed an amended lease for this resident. In some cases, residents and advocates have been unsuccessful in obtaining copies of the amended leases from field managers, and as a result, must rely on good faith and the word of KCDC's administration that such amendments have actually been effected. It appears that under the current amendment regime, no resident entrepreneur can be sure that she is operating her business under a properly amended lease.
61. See supra note 51.
62. See KCDC Dwelling Lease, para. 15 (1990).
63. See 24 C.F.R. §§ 913, 962.304 (1996). In the context of interim examinations, "if the PHA receives information concerning a change in the Family's income or other circumstances between regularly scheduled reexaminations, the PHA must consult with the family and make any adjustments determined to be appropriate." Id. § 960.209 (emphasis added). KCDC has used that discretion to create a "special" reporting scheme, which requires those residents with fluctuating incomes to report changes in income every ten days. Knoxville Community Development Corporation, Admission and Continued Occupancy Policy for Conventional Public Housing, Leased Housing College Hills and Turnkey III Homeownership Program 15 (Feb. 1991) [hereinafter Occupancy Policy Manual].
64. These HUD regulations are promulgated pursuant to of 42 U.S.C. § 1437(d), which was amended in 1993 to empower the Secretary of HUD to require redetermination interviews at least annually instead of at least every two years, as the old version required.
65. 24 C.F.R. § 964.354 (1996).
66. Id. § 964.354(b)(2).
67. The HUD regulation governing the annual reexamination of family income states: "The PHA must reexamine the income and composition of all tenant families at least once every 12 months and determine whether the family's unit size is still appropriate . . . . [T]he PHA must make appropriate adjustments in the Total Tenant Payment and Tenant Rent." 24 C.F.R. § 960.209 (1996). My reading of the requirement conflicts with that of Total Rededication and Commitment (TRAC), a local organization that works with resident entrepreneurs in Nashville's public housing, and which claims to have negotiated a waiver of resident rent increases for three years. According to TRAC's interpretation, while HUD requires the reassessment of tenant income at least once a year, changes in income discerned from such examination will not necessarily result in the readjustment of rental rates. It is possible that HUD granted such rent freezes under its general authority to waive its regulations for "good cause." See 24 C.F.R. § 999.101 (1995).
68. See Occupancy Manual, supra note 58.
69. See Telephone Interview with Public Housing Director, supra note 41.
70. Id. KCDC's Housing Director described the pressure that he feels from HUD to raise rent: "Every year, we're actually scored on how much we charge. We always get really low scores, because we don't want to take the little extra money folks earn now and then by raising their rent." Interview with Public Housing Director, supra note 44.
71. See 24 C.F.R. § 960.209 (1996). This understanding of the regulations was confirmed by a representative of the local HUD office: "To my knowledge, nothing in the regulations requires [KCDC] to recalculate rent based on any increase in income, though I would think doing so would be a good idea." Telephone Interview with Bill Bailey, Spokesperson, Department of Housing and Urban Development, in Knoxville, Tenn. (Mar. 13, 1995).
72. KNOXVILLE, TENN., METROPOLITAN PLANNING COMM'N ZONING ORDINANCES art. V, § 3(4)(b) (1993).
73. TENN, COMP. R. & REGS. ch. 1240-4-1-.08(8) (1992).
74. For example, one inspector authorized the use of a traditional home fire alarm in a resident's home-based child care facility while a second inspector required a much more expensive wired-in smoke and fire detection system. In another instance, an inspector granted a home-based caregiver "conditional approval of site for intended use" and a subsequent inspector informed the resident that she had to have separate bathroom facilities for boys and girls. Individual building code inspectors have seemingly unlimited discretion in determining whether the home-based entrepreneur complies with the codes.
75. "Dolly" is a pseudonym. Her story is a composite account, based on the experiences of several home-based child care providers interviewed between May 1994 and April 1995.
76. Child care providers who watch five or fewer children can avoid regulation by most agencies.
77. Even at this income level, Dolly runs significant financial risks, since she will lose her eligibility for TennCare. Tennessee's Medicaid program, yet will still be unable to afford the approximate $400 per month health insurance bill that a family of three typically pays.
78. A planning commission staff supervisor estimates that the commission gets approximately 40 Use on Review requests from home-based businesses per year and that the agency grants approximately 10-12 applications. Interview with Buzz Johnson, Director of Development Services, Metropolitan Planning Commission, in Knoxville, Tenn. (Mar. 3, 1996).
79. I have yet to encounter any case in which such a planning commission decision was overturned.
80. This is the minimum fee; the cost of a building permit is based on the total cost of the job.
81. Dissuaded by the cost of upgrading her home, Dolly may consider reading the codes herself. However, not only are city codes difficult to locate, the language therein is often esoteric and confusing to a person unaccustomed to reading and interpreting detailed administrative regulations.
82. In December 1995, Knoxville's Council of Involved Neighborhoods (COIN) made four recommendations to the planning commission: (1) that the Use on Review zoning ordinances be redrafted to state explicitly functional, objective criteria for granting permits: (2) that the process be redesigned to encourage neighborhood discussion and cooperation rather than to provide only the opportunity for neighborhood complaints; (3) that Use on Review permits be limited not only to the land involved, but to the person applying: and (4) that the commission examine the feasibility of granting Use on Review permits for a trial period. Statement of Council of Involved Neighborhoods, Knoxville, Tenn. (Dec. 12, 1995).
83. Interview with David Cook, City of Knoxville Community Development Department, in Knoxville, Tenn. (Mar. 20, 1995). Courtney Artis, Resident Initiatives Coordinator for Nashville Public Housing Authority, concurs: "Our city has never seen fit to enforce so strictly its zoning and codes ordinances that we have had to deny a resident an opportunity to operate a safe business . . . . [T]hey basically rely on our call." Interview with Courtney Artis, Resident Initiative Coordinator. Nashville Public Housing Authority, in Nashville, Tenn. (Apr. 21, 1995).
84. For example, I was surprised to learn that my clients were much more concerned about preserving their food stamps and receiving quality child care than they were about losing their AFDC checks. Knowledge of this hierarchy of concerns helped me choose our battles more discriminately.
85. As the Housing Director stated, "I don't think there will be overwhelming demand for this, and we'd want to keep an eye on what's going on out there anyway." See Interview with Public Housing Director, supra note 44.
86. See text accompanying note 44.
87. The Metropolitan Planning Commission has adopted such standards for development generally. See, e.g., KNOXVILLE, TENN., METROPOLITAN PLANNING COMM'N ZONING ORDINANCES art. V, § 3(A)(3), (4) (1993) ("Development Standards for Uses Permitted on Review") (authorizing development that is "compatible with the character of the neighborhood where it is proposed," so long as it does not "significantly injure the value of adjacent property by noise, lights, fumes, odors, vibration . . ."). The zoning ordinance further lists generally permitted and prohibited businesses. KCDC could adopt similar criteria for home-based entrepreneurial activity.
88. See 24 C.F.R. § 960.209(b) (1996).
89. This plan would require KCDC to amend or eliminate its "special" reporting scheme, which requires residents who request a decrease in rent to report subsequent income increases every 10 days. See Occupancy Policy Manual, supra note 58. at 15.
90. Telephone Interview with Development Manager, KCDC (Feb. 8, 1995).
91. Interview with Director of Housing. KCDC. in Knoxville, Tenn. (Apr. 13, 1995).
92. JOBS is a federal program designed to increase the employability of AFDC recipients. See 42 U.S.C. §§ 681-687 (1994). The Nashville Public Housing Authority (NPHA), which operates an in-house microloan program for public housing and federally subsidized housing residents, obtained a waiver from HUD to freeze the rent of tenants who participate in their program for 18 months. Courtney Artis, NPHA Resident Initiatives Coordinator, noted that "it takes at least that long for a resident to start turning a profit in their business. That's true for any business . . . . With the waiver, we bought our residents a little extra time, and we saved ourselves a lot of trouble over dealing with special reporting or redetermination." Interview with Courtney Artis, supra note 78. On May 3, 1996. the Tennessee legislature passed a bill which would allow low-income entrepreneurs to escrow nonretained earnings from their business enterprise into an account with a microlending intermediary program. This income would not be counted against public assistance benefits until the recipient has accumulated $5,000. H.B. 2437, Tenn. 99th Gen. Ass., 2d Sess. (1996) (amending TENN. CODE ANN. § 71-3).
93. See 42 U.S.C. § 682(d)(1)(A) (1994).
94. See 24 C.F.R. § 913.106(c)(13) (1996).
95. Interview with Courtney Artis, supra note 78.
96. For further discussion of the traits of effective community organizations engaging in urban economic development activities in poor neighborhoods, including public housing developments, see Donald E. Williams, Jr., The Nonprofit Corporation and Community Development in Bedford-Stuyvesant, 42 WASH. & LEE L. REV. 1259 (1985); Community Groups as Developers and Providers, 13 CLEARINGHOUSE REV. 867 (1980).
97. For further discussion of the traits of effective community organizations engaging in urban economic development activities in poor neighborhoods, including public housing developments, see Donald E. Williams, Jr., The Nonprofit Corporation and Community Development in Bedford-Stuyvesant, 42 WASH. & LEE L. REV. 1259 (1985); Community Groups as Developers and Providers, 13 CLEARINGHOUSE REV. 867 (1980).
98. Contract between Knoxville Community Development Corporation and Community Microloan Program (Apr. 7, 1995).
99. 28 U.S.C. §§ 2901-2907 (1994).
100. The Program Director and the Chief Executive Officer of the Knoxville Community Investment Corporation actually retain veto authority over loan applications, but have never exercised that power.
101. Much of this assistance is offered on a pro bono basis to income-eligible clients of Knoxville Legal Aid Society.
102. Interview with Community Microloan Program Director, in Knoxville, Tenn. (Apr. 4, 1995).
103. Already, CMP boasts peer group members in more than four KCDC housing developments and requests for information meetings in three other developments. CMP is not alone in its success in working with public housing residents. Programs operated both in-house and through agencies similar to CMP have enjoyed much positive attention in the media. See, e.g., Drew Bailey, CHA Program Taps Entrepreneurial Spirit. CHI. TRIB., Feb. 1, 1993, at 3; Merle English, Program Invests in Housing, People; HA trains its residents to be contractors, NEWSDAY, Oct. 28. 1993. at 39; Judith Evans, Entrepreneurs Get a Jump Start, NEWSDAY, Sept. 4, 1994, at A88.
104. Already, CMP boasts peer group members in more than four KCDC housing developments and requests for information meetings in three other developments. CMP is not alone in its success in working with public housing residents. Programs operated both in-house and through agencies similar to CMP have enjoyed much positive attention in the media. See, e.g., Drew Bailey, CHA Program Taps Entrepreneurial Spirit. CHI. TRIB., Feb. 1, 1993, at 3; Merle English, Program Invests in Housing, People; HA trains its residents to be contractors, NEWSDAY, Oct. 28. 1993. at 39; Judith Evans, Entrepreneurs Get a Jump Start, NEWSDAY, Sept. 4, 1994, at A88.
105. Already, CMP boasts peer group members in more than four KCDC housing developments and requests for information meetings in three other developments. CMP is not alone in its success in working with public housing residents. Programs operated both in-house and through agencies similar to CMP have enjoyed much positive attention in the media. See, e.g., Drew Bailey, CHA Program Taps Entrepreneurial Spirit. CHI. TRIB., Feb. 1, 1993, at 3; Merle English, Program Invests in Housing, People; HA trains its residents to be contractors, NEWSDAY, Oct. 28. 1993. at 39; Judith Evans, Entrepreneurs Get a Jump Start, NEWSDAY, Sept. 4, 1994, at A88.