In the early 2000s, Jocelyn and her kids were bouncing around, moving between living with friends and families and in various housing programs. What they needed was a stable place for her family to call home and set down roots. That’s where MPHA came in. Today, Jocelyn is a homeowner, she is loving her career, and her kids are all grown up.

When her name came up off the family housing waitlist at MPHA, after six years of waiting, it was a gamechanger for Jocelyn’s family. When MPHA notified her that it was her turn to lease an affordable single-family home, Jocelyn was so excited to be moving into her own space.

Jocelyn and her kids lived in their North Minneapolis home for about a decade. In that time, Jocelyn earned a degree, landed a job that was fulfilling, and started to view homeownership as the next step.

“Low-income housing made it possible for me to go to school,” Jocelyn said. “I could only work on a part-time basis between being in school and raising my kids. So having subsidized housing really helped a lot.”

“I graduated from college when my son was in 5th grade and my daughter was in 3rd grade. Living in public housing definitely helped me reach my educational goals,” Jocelyn said.

After earning her degree in critical race theory and sociology, Jocelyn had some trouble finding work that fit her ambitions. But when she was at the MPHA dropping off her rent payment, she noticed an agency job listing that intrigued her. She asked if residents could apply for MPHA jobs and Jocelyn was pleased to hear that residents were both eligible and encouraged to apply. Jocelyn has worked at MPHA as a leasing clerk, eligibility technician, public housing coordinator, and property manager. Today, Jocelyn works as the property manager for a high-rise in the Cedar-Riverside neighborhood.

A fellow employee, Jan Hughes, encouraged Jocelyn to the consider homeownership. As a sociologist, Jocelyn understood the power owning a home could have on her, her family, and her Northside community. She could build home equity, address the wealth gap on a micro level, and promote economic growth for her family. Soon, Jocelyn got connected with a local organization that provided homeownership education and assistance for first-time homeowners. Through that program, Jocelyn was able to buy her own home in 2017.

Today, Jocelyn owns her home in North Minneapolis, in the same community she’s lived in her entire adult life—including her time in public housing. Jocelyn works as an MPHA property manager, helping support residents who needed subsidized housing just like she once did. Jocelyn is just one of the many MPHA residents who have used the agency’s family housing portfolio as a steppingstone to achieve more education, secure more fulfilling work, earn higher wages, and become a homeowner.