DETROIT – U.S. Housing and Urban Development Secretary Ben Carson traveled to Detroit Thursday to announce the first round of EnVision Center designations in 17 cities around the nation.
EnVision Centers are designed to offer HUD-assisted families access to support services that can help them be self-sufficient and make federal resources available to more households currently waiting for HUD assistance.
Carson and Detroit Mayor Mike Duggan met with public housing residents, community leaders and other stakeholders at Life Remodeled’s Durfee Innovation Society, where they were among the first group of demonstration communities.
"Housing assistance should be more than just putting a roof over someone’s head," Carson said. "These EnVision Centers offer a more holistic housing approach by connecting HUD-assisted families with the tools they need to become self-sufficient and to flourish."
"EnVision Centers are about bringing services to people in neighborhoods, and I am thankful that our partners at HUD chose Detroit to open the first one in the country," Duggan said. "This new center will help make the most of these services and facilities that serve the community."
EnVision Centers will be located on or near public housing developments. They are centralized hubs that should serve as incubators to support economic empowerment, educational advancement, health and wellness and character and leadership, Carson said.
Each demonstration community receiving the EnVision Center designation will convene with its local stakeholders and resident councils to assist in the selection of services to be offered at the Center, as a means of ensuring many voices are heard and the needs identified are addressed, according to HUD officials.
Here are the EnVision Center communities announced Thursday: