Last week, MPHA family housing residents and sisters Nimco and Asho Abdi reached a new milestone—they completed Twin Cities R!SE’s (TCR) eight-week career readiness course side-by-side. These sisters are equipping themselves with everything from interview skills to emotional intelligence training so they can meet their full potential as they work to become nurses.

Since 2023, MPHA and TCR have partnered to support MPHA family housing residents on their journey toward meaningful careers. The partnership, a part of the larger Pathways to Success program, provides personal development, career training, and ongoing support that help MPHA residents secure employment and build lasting skills for long-term success. For Nimco and Asho, completing the first step of the program—an eight-week career readiness course—provided them confidence and momentum toward reaching their goals.

“I liked the training,” said Nimco Abdi, Minneapolis Public Housing Authority resident and Twin Cities R!SE participant. “I learned a lot. I learned interview skills. And the emotional intelligence training was helpful.”

Currently enrolled at Minneapolis College, Nimco and Asho believe the training helped support their education as they work towards degrees in nursing. After relocating to Minneapolis from Uganda in 2025 and enrolling in college earlier this year, the sisters appreciated the mock interviews and confidence building exercises as they prepare for their future nursing careers. Nimco has already begun her journey, currently working as an aide at an adult care center.

“We are both focused on getting our nursing degree,” said Nimco.

But it’s not just Nimco and Asho that are taking advantage of the resources MPHA offers residents, their parents are working to purchase a home through the Pathways to Success homeownership track. The Abdi family is taking full advantage of the holistic partnership to feel empowered, gain meaningful employment, and eventually become homeowners. And as the family pursues these milestones, they can do so comfortably, knowing they have a stable, affordable housing provided by MPHA.

MPHA’s Pathways to Success is a comprehensive approach to empowering MPHA residents to achieve long-term financial stability. The program connects MPHA families with TCR to deliver career readiness training, PRG, Inc. (PRG) to provide specialized financial coaching and credit remediation services, and Twin Cities Habitat for Humanity (TCHFH) to connect families with homeownership education, financial coaching, and variety of homebuying tools to make homeownership a reality.

MPHA has made it easy for residents to learn about and sign up for the program. After a family has lived in an MPHA family home for a month, MPHA staff introduce them to the voluntary TCR program and explain the opportunities available. When residents express interest, MPHA staff helps enroll them in TCR’s career training program. While the TCR program spans two years, the first milestone is an eight-week personal development and career readiness training.

As families near MPHA’s income limits for its housing, agency staff share details about TCHFH’s homeownership and financial literacy programs. The TCHFH staff work with residents one-on-one to get them mortgage-ready with financial coaching, homeownership education, unique homebuying financial tools, assistance addressing collections and judgements, building savings for down-payments, and hands-on support both during and after their homebuying journey.

The Abdi family is one of many families using MPHA housing as a steppingstone to long-term stability. And with the help of the agency’s Pathways to Success program, personal empowerment, meaningful employment, and homeownership are within reach for the Abdi family.

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For MPHA families interested in enrolling in the workforce, financial, or homeownership programs available through the Pathways to Success partnership, they can contact A Vue, MPHA Housing Stability Coordinator, at avue@mplspha.org or (612) 476-2959. Alternatively, they can speak with their property manager who can connect them with the partnership team.