Micheline Miller has a lot to celebrate. In 2019, she moved into MPHA family housing, giving her family the stability they needed after escaping an abusive relationship. In 2024, she was among the inaugural cohort of MPHA residents to participate in personal empowerment and career training with Twin Cities R!SE (TCR) through MPHA’s Pathways to Success partnership. Today, Micheline is celebrating a new milestone: one year of full-time employment—the first MPHA resident to graduate from TCR’s program through the Pathways partnership. And with a recent promotion at work, her incredible journey shows no signs of slowing down.

“It’s like they put a battery pack in me and got my feet moving again,” said Micheline Miller, a Minneapolis Public Housing Authority resident and Twin Cities R!SE participant.

Before starting the program, Micheline had paused nursing school and left her job to care for her youngest daughter. The time away from school and work had her feeling frustrated and depressed about the situation, and she knew she needed a change.

That’s when she learned about and joined MPHA’s Pathways to Success partnership. The program not only gave her the confidence to re-enter the workforce, but it also helped her overcome the emotional barriers that had been holding her back. In the month after completing TCR’s eight-week personal empowerment and career readiness training, Micheline accepted a clinic coordinator position with M Health Fairview.

“At Twin Cities R!SE, there’s always a coach to support you—ensuring you are heard and never left behind. My coach brought out strengths in me I didn’t even know I had,” said Micheline.

Since completing the program, Micheline has worked full time, helping ensure patients receive the care they need while bringing positivity and compassion to the clinic each day. Her dedication and genuine care for patients recently earned her a promotion to senior coordinator.

“I like helping the patients every day,” said Micheline. “You never know what someone is going through, so you just have to bring a smile and give them your all.”

For Micheline, the program’s impact extends far beyond her career. The emotional intelligence training has strengthened her relationships with family, improved her outlook on daily life, increased her confidence, and inspired her to empower and advocate for others.

Even two years after completing the program’s initial eight-week programming, members of Micheline’s cohort continue to stay connected, encouraging one another and sharing job opportunities. Looking ahead, she is optimistic about the future for herself and her daughters. She is looking to get back into nursing school, complete her degree, and continue building her career in healthcare.

Established in 2023, Pathways to Success is an innovative partnership that takes a holistic approach in empowering MPHA residents to achieve long-term financial stability. The partnership 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.

Once a family has lived in MPHA family housing for one month, staff reach out to introduce the partnership and its benefits and connect interested residents directly with TCR. To date, 14 MPHA residents have completed the initial eight-week TCR training. Of the 14 residents, three have achieved full-time employment, seven are working with TCR employment specialists with their job searches, four have exited the program, and one has completed one year of full-time employment, achieving graduate status with TCR.

As participating families increase their income and approach MPHA’s income limits for housing, agency staff connect families with information about TCHFH’s homeownership and financial literacy programs. The TCHFH program works one-on-one with residents to get them mortgage-ready by providing financial coaching, homeownership education, homebuying financial tools, and homebuying support.

To be eligible for TCHFH’s homebuying program, however, residents need to meet specific credit score, debt, and debt-to-income ratio requirements. For residents who are ineligible for TCHFH’s homebuying program, MPHA staff offer to refer the family to PRG to access credit and debt remediation services. Upon successful credit and debt remediation, families can then choose to remain with PRG or return to TCHFH to resume their homebuying journey—with PRG offering one-on-one homebuying counseling, workshops, and financial coaching.

For MPHA residents 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 Specialist, at avue@mplspha.org or (612) 476-2959. Alternatively, they can speak with their property manager who can connect them with the partnership team.