Since 2023, the Pathways to Success program has helped connect MPHA family housing residents with career and personal development resources. In partnership with Twin Cities R!SE (TCR), the program aims to help MPHA family housing residents gain meaningful employment and/or advance in their career. And while the partnership is three years old, the program’s most recent cohort of MPHA residents featured a new milestone—its first second generation TCR participant, Dena Broughton.

Living in Coon Rapids with her two kids, Dena watched the cost of her apartment’s rent rise in recent years. As the growing rent started to place a strain on her family’s budget, Dena applied for MPHA’s public housing and housing choice voucher waitlists. While her family endured the rent burden for years, Dena’s name finally reached the top of MPHA’s family housing waitlist in late 2025. And in January 2026, Dena and her two kids moved into the Glendale Townhomes.

After getting settled into her new home, MPHA staff reached out to Dena to share more about the Pathways to Success program (MPHA staff provide information to new families about the voluntary program following a family’s first month living with MPHA). When Dena received information about the program, she already had an example of the power of TCR’s training: it was the same organization that trained her mom, Dalerice, and helped launch her career at MPHA nearly five years prior.

Dena thought the training would be worthwhile but didn’t think the timing was right when MPHA staff first reached out. She was working as personal care assistant for her daughter with autism and meeting her daughter’s needs while raising two kids proved too stressful to try to balance a career training program. But as the summer went on, and her daughter started the school year, Dena was able to recruit her mother to help with some childcare so she could attend the TCR training.

“It changed me,” said Dena Broughton, Minneapolis Public Housing Authority resident and Twin Cities R!SE participant. “I’m blessed to have had this opportunity.”

Dena gained a lot from the training. She says the most important part was the emotional intelligence training. It pulled her out of her comfort zone, helped her understand herself, and has improved her relationships with others.

“The coach, teachers, and the other students motivated me,” said Dena Broughton. “They made me stick with it.”

For Dena’s mother, Dalerice, seeing her daughter complete the TCR training is a full-circle moment. Four and a half years ago, Dalerice completed the same training, helping launch her own career with MPHA.

“I’m so proud of her,” said Dalerice Lewis, MPHA Building and Grounds Specialist and Twin Cities R!SE participant. “I had been trying to convince her to do the program for a while. So, I am so happy to see her do this for herself now.”

Prior to completing the TCR training, Dalerice was working for a cleaning company that MPHA would periodically contract with for deep cleaning projects. In that role, Dalerice did not have the room to progress her career like she wanted. When she learned about TCR, it seemed like a perfect opportunity to grow her skills and to help find a new position. It was the TCR program that helped Dalerice get hired at MPHA as a building and grounds specialist at the Spring Manor buildings in Northeast.

Now, both Dena and Dalerice have completed the eight-week empowerment and career training and are part of the TCR community. Dena is taking full advantage of TCR’s Career Club for continued coaching and resource support. With her skills gained caring for her daughter, Dena is hoping to find remote work in the healthcare industry.