STAR/ IDA (Individual Development Account) is an incentive program in which the Tuscaloosa Housing Authority matches a resident’s savings, up to a certain dollar amount, in order to place a down payment on a new home. The program also provides participants with the adequate training necessary to maintain a household budget. This training is provided through our partnerships with Compass Bank and the Tuscaloosa Community Federal Credit Union.

Simply put, for every dollar a program participant saves in their account, THA will match it with an additional dollar. This allows the participant to reach their savings goal in half the time at no additional cost to them.

Like any federally funded program, a STAR/ IDA participant must meet certain requirements to qualify for this program. Below is a list of some of these requirements.

• You must be a resident of the Tuscaloosa Housing Authority.
• Your earned household income without a child must not exceed $10,380/ Year.
• Your earned household income with one child $27,413/ Year.
• Your earned household income with more than one child $31,152/ Year.
• You must use the STAR/ IDA funds towards the purchase of a home for yourself.
• You cannot exceed the STAR/ IDA Program asset limitation cap.

You must also commit to attend the training workshops designed to assist in setting up a savings plan, maintaining a family budget, and assist in buying a home. Please call Marilynn White at 758-6619 Ext. 121 if you are interested.

The Family Self Sufficiency Program is a federally funded program available to Section 8 residents who set long term goals to increase their employment opportunities. Once enrolled in the program, the family continues to pay rent based on their incomes, both earned and unearned. All increases in monthly rent based on earned income are deposited into an escrow account. Once the family achieves their goals, the escrow account balance is turned over to them.

The FSS Program is designed to help families help themselves. The goal of the program is to assist motivated individuals in becoming economically self sufficient enabling them to become independent of all forms of welfare assistance such as TANF, SSI, Medicaid, Section 8/ Public Housing, and food stamps. The FSS program provides participants with personal and career counseling, adult education, transportation, childcare, and job training and placement.

For more information, please call Jackie Chaisson at (205) 758-6619 Ext. 117.

Art-4-all

Art-4-All is an innovative after school program created by the Tuscaloosa Housing Authority in an effort to bring the fine arts to children living in public housing and the surrounding neighborhoods. Created in 1998, the program has afforded these children the opportunity to experience the arts first hand in their own environment. This concept has received National-recognition. In 1999, the Tuscaloosa Housing Authority was awarded the National Award of Merit in the Program Innovation- Resident & Client Services category by NAHRO (The National Association of Housing and Redevelopment Officials). This was truly a prestigious honor.

Despite the program’s overwhelming success, Art-4-All lost it’s funding after only four years of operation. In the fall of 2002, the University of Alabama Volunteer Service took on the difficult task of revitalizing the program. Volunteer Services challenged the University staff and student body to volunteer their time and money in an effort to keep the program alive. The response has been phenomenal, and after months of tedious preparation, Art-4-All is back again in full force. Art-4-All 2005 is the direct result of caring individuals, a caring University, and a caring community. On behalf of the Tuscaloosa Housing Authority and our residents, we truly appreciate everyone involved.

Police Athletic League

The Police Athletic League (PAL) is a juvenile crime prevention program designed to place police officers and at-risk youth together in a positive environment through structured programs such as athletics, educational activities and cultural trips. PAL provides children with the opportunity to participate in organized activities promoting self-esteem, drug awareness, community clean up, and mentoring. Additionally, PAL supervises after-school activities such as the computer lab, study hall, basketball, organized play periods, and extended holiday hours. PAL also runs the Kid’s Club, sponsored by Calvary Baptist, which promotes similar activities.

The Tuscaloosa Police Department has the only nationally affiliated Police Athletic League program in Alabama. Lieutenant Greg Kosloff serves as the programs director. He currently sits on the PAL international board of directors. Each week PAL serves over 200 children with special after-school programs. Many of the programs are conducted at the Harris-Glynn Gym, located at McKenzie Court.

Welcome to Tuscaloosahousing.org’s Online Employment Resources page. The internet is an endless web of resources and information. It gives us the ability to find employment opportunities anywhere in the world and the flexibility to find a job that caters to our own unique employment experiences and educational backgrounds. Below we have prepared a list of the most popular, hopefully easy to use, job search sites on the internet. Remember you can search for a job anywhere, including locally, and you can search for specific jobs that are available in that particular area. For example, you can search for all of the"nursing" jobs in "Tuscaloosa" or all of the "office assistant" jobs in Birmingham etc. Although these internet sites are helpful, be sure to check with Tuscaloosa’s Unemployment Office, The Tuscaloosa News’ classified ads, and other local resources to ensure your search is successful. Good Luck!

1. www.monster.com - This is probably the most popular job search site on the internet today. Simply click on "search jobs" and if you haven’t already registered with monster.com you will be prompted to do so.
2. www.hotjobs.com - This site is managed by Yahoo. The great thing about this site is that you don’t have to register to search for jobs. You can begin searching immediately.
3. www.ajb.org - This is America’s Job Bank, a government sponsored employment site. The job search engine is on the left of the page and searches for jobs based on your local zip code.
4. www.careerbuilder.com - This is also a great site for a quick job search for a particular job in a particular area.
5. www.jobs.net - Easy to use and you can do a quick job search without registering.
6. www.computerjobs.com - Be sure to check out this site if you are interested in working in the technical field. Some of these jobs require little or no experience and offer training.

These web sites are excellent resources for searching the job market. Some of them even offer résumé builders and free insight into what prospective employers might be looking for. Although they are helpful, it is still a good idea to use the local resources available to you. Also remember that we are here to help you. If you need help composing a résumé or need help searching for employment within these web sites please call Sydney Brown at 758-6619 ext. 101.

There are many local resources and agencies that offer information and/or services that can assist you. We have created a list to help you determine which resource or agency is suitable for helping you meet your needs. Please keep in mind that this list is not complete. We will continue to add resources and agencies to this list as more information becomes available to us.

1. www.cspwal.com - This is the site for Community Service Programs of West Alabama. They offer some affordable housing, small business loans, workforce development, childcare management, a head start program for children, and an early intervention program for children. Contact them at (205) 758-4756.
2. www.focustuscaloosa.org - Tuscaloosa’s FOCUS on Senior Citizens Website. FOCUS offers programs and coordinates services that not only involve the elderly in meaningful activities but also assist families who provide care to older members. Contact them at (205) 248-9994.
3. www.whatleyhealth.com - This is the site for Maude Whatley Health Care. They offer all types of medical and dental services. Contact them at (205) 758-6647.
4. www.tcpara.org - This is the site for Tuscaloosa County’s Park and Recreation Authority. They offer a wide range of programs and have several different community centers and parks throughout the Tuscaloosa area. Contact them at (205) 562-3220.
5. www.tuscarts.org - This is the site for the Arts Council of Tuscaloosa. They offer different programs and performances. Contact them at (205) 758-5195.
6. www.tuscaloosa-library.org - This is The Tuscaloosa Library’s website. They offer educational programs to both adults and children. They also have computer labs with high speed internet access. Contact them at (205) 345-5820.
7. www.tuscaloosanews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/section?Category=YMCA07&LID=001&NoCache=1 - This is the Tuscaloosa Y.M.C.A.’s website. They offer several youth and after school programs. Contact them at (205) 345-9622.
8. www.sheltonstate.edu - Shelton State Community Colleges website. They offer free classroom and online GED classes as well as many other adult education opportunities. Contact them at (205) 391-2211.
9. www.stillman.edu - Stillman College’s website. They offer GED and computer classes. Contact them at (205) 349-4240.