HOPE VI Evaluation Report on Oak Hill
Community Revitalization Program
Hide Yamatani, Ph.D., MSW, MBA
Community Enhancement Research Network
School of Social Work University of Pittsburgh
June 6, 2002
Table of Contents
Executive Summary
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Section I. Introduction
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A. HOPE VI Mission
B. HOPE VI and New Features
C. Evaluation of Oak Hill’s HOPE VI Initiative
Section I. Profile of HOPE VI Residents in Oak Hill
A. Aggregate Profile
B. Income Profile
C. Race/ethnic Profile
D. Eviction
E. Public Transportation
F. Total building cost
G. Total Cost for Social Service
Section III. HOPE VI Resident Survey
A. Demographic Information
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1. Residency in Hill District
2. Age Distribution of Heads of Households
3. Race/Ethnic Distribution
4. Educational Level
5. Marital Status
6. Employment Status
7. Children Living in the Household
8. DPW Temporary Assistance Clients
9. Job Training and Education Programs
10. Training completion rate
B. Over all satisfaction with services offered to
residents of Allequippa Terrace
C. Assessment of Services provided by
Housing Opportunities Unlimited
D. Assessment of services offered by HOU
E. Additional Evaluative Assessment
F. Neighborhood Safety
G. Illicit Drug Abuse
H. Resident/Family Empowerment
I. Tenant Council
J. Community Meeting Attendance
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Section IV. Responses to Open-ended Questions
A. Feeling about Current Housing Situation
B. Feeling about Current Housing Situation Compared
to 12 months ago
C. Service Adequacy
D. Cultural/Racial/Gender Respect
E. Recommendation for Improving Services
F. Services Needed Right Now
G. Reasons for Not Using Services
Section V. Program Administrators, Outreach Workers and
Social Service Providers Assessment
A. Income Integration
B. Physical integration with neighborhood
C. Self-sufficiency Program
D. Community Safety
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Section VI. Overall Summary and Conclusion
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Section VII. Consulted Bibliography
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Appendix 1: Factors Associated with Successful Collaboration
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A. Critical Factors Influencing Collaboration Outcome
B. Essential elements for a successful Collaboration
Appendix 2: Community Enhancement Research Network
School of Social Work University of Pittsburgh
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Executive Summary
The major mission of HOPE VI initiative is to revitalize the nation's most
severely distressed public housing facilities and communities. The US Congress and
Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) created the HOPE VI grant
program in 1992 to provide a major source of support for investment in public housing
and to support residents in need of community-based social services. Since 1993, HOPE
VI has conducted major surgery on devastated communities through decisive public
housing reform, and by practicing and emulating collaborative strategies to transform the
nation's poorest public housing into mixed-income urban communities (The U.S.
Department of Housing and Urban Development, 1999; The Housing Research
Foundation, 2000). Oak Hill’s HOPE VI Initiative was implemented by Beacon/Corcoran
Jennison Partners in collaboration with the Allequippa Terrace Resident Council,
Housing Outreach Unlimited, the City of Pittsburgh and a number of community based
organizations.
Based on the findings of this evaluation study, the HOPE VI initiative in Oak Hill
is improving the living environment for public housing residents through the demolition,
rehabilitation, reconfiguration, and replacement of obsolete public housing. Additionally,
revitalized housing in Oak Hill is contributing to the improvement of the surrounding
neighborhoods. Although future challenges surely await, the HOPE VI housing initiative
has dispersed the concentration of very low-income families, and has contributed to the
building of a positive community atmosphere.
The community of Oak Hill, Allequippa Terrace was one of the most socially
isolated communities in the City of Pittsburgh. The pattern of housing development
required the creation of streets that did not exist prior to the development. These streets
provide a more "open" community feeling and integrate Oak Hill into the rest of the Hill
District and West Oakland. The number of individuals relocated from public housing to
new housing units (350) represents 65% of resident members (538). The income
distribution of those who have been relocated is mixed.
How do residents feel about their housing situations? An overwhelming majority
of residents responded with positive comments about their HOPE VI housing, such as “the
housing is wonderful, peaceful, quiet, a good change,” “I feel good about my house,” and
“right now the neighborhood is a safe place to live.”
Residents were also asked "how do you feel about your housing situation right
now compared to 12 months ago?" Once again, their responses were generally positive.
Responses included: “better neighborhood, and some of the neighbors are very nice and
want a good community,” cleaner, safer, quiet,” “I feel a lot better about this place than I
did over a year ago,” “love the housing now,” and “decent, private, larger, better.” There
were relatively few negative comments. Examples include, “the housing is better except
for a lot of rules and regulations dictating how to live,” and “when I first moved to 259
there was not that many kids, now it’s too many.” Only a few residents indicated that they
wanted to move out of the Oak Hill community.
Residents were asked to what extent services offered through HOPE VI meet their
needs. Most responses to this question, both quantitative and qualitative, were positive.
There were at least 33 major services offered to the Allequippa Terrace residents to
prepare them for changes in welfare policies and to capitalize on new opportunities.
Housing Opportunities Unlimited (HOU) outreach workers also provide
facilitative assistance to Oak Hill residents in need of various services. The vast majority
of the Oak Hill residents are familiar with HOU (95.5%). A total of 17 major services
were offered by HOU to the residents of Allequippa Terrace during years 2000 and 2001.
The top-rated services include: relocation assistance, food assistance, job
development/employment, assistance reporting problems with new units, information
about housekeeping, and information on programs in the community.
The majority of residents (89%) feel that they are safe in their neighborhoods – an
unexpected finding among public housing residents. Similarly, a majority of the sampled
residents feel there is less illicit drug use (63.9%) and less drug trafficking in the
neighborhood (66.3%) compared to 12 months ago. In addition, the majority of Oak Hill
residents feel that they: are better informed about available services and resources; have
greater access to community resources; and are better at supporting themselves and their
family members than they were a year ago. A significant number of respondents (69.5%)
also felt that their family's issues and problems were addressed appropriately and in a
timely fashion (69.2%) by community service providers.
In contrast, only a slight majority indicated that they have been involved in
discussions about services provided to this community within the last year, and only
46.9% of the respondents indicated that they have been asked for their opinions regarding
the identification of services/resources needed in the community. The residents reported
being familiar with the Allequippa Terrace Resident Council due to information obtained
from communication flyers, friends, the Housing Authority and HOU, and through use of
sponsored services. A majority of respondents indicated that they believe the Tenant
Council's purposes include resident representation, provision of important information,
and to find solutions to common problems in the neighborhood.
Slightly over one-half (51.4%) of the respondents indicated that they attend
community meetings. Over the last year, community residents attended an average of 16
meetings (median value) -- of those who attended at least one meeting or more. They
were notified of the community meetings by flyers (64.8%), mail (20.7%), friends
(14.5%), and Council members (6.1%). Slightly over one in ten (12.3%) indicated that
they were unaware of the community meetings.
In view of the fact that currently there are 241 children (ages 18 or younger) in
Oak Hill, the need for a playground and other recreational facilities is evident. This
suggestion surfaced repeatedly in the resident survey and in discussions held with a focus
group of residents.