Project for Pride in Living

PPL’s Self-sufficiency Program (SSP) serves program participants and residents of PPL buildings by connecting them to important life-skill and educational resources, other PPL programs, and, for some, by providing professional services that enable them to remain in stable housing.

SSP was begun in 1988

Resident services grew out of PPL’s expansion into the rental housing business in the mid-1980s. The early focus of SSP was to help resident move from welfare to work. At the time, most of the people in PPL housing lacked the economic and familial resources that are often needed to cultivate a self-sufficient life. SSP service coordinators and community organizers often became that “reliable friend” encouraging a resident to take better care of themselves economically and emotionally and to continue their education.

In 1997, government welfare reform led to creating Welfare-to-Work programs – one year later, PPL created such a program in Connections to Work. In the same time frame, in an effort to help break the cycle of poverty, PPL made a stronger overall commitment to education – and to children’s success in life and school. SSP continues to focus on the adults who needed that extra “something” to gain a stronger footing in their lives.

For the past ten years, SSP has:

• Taken a lead in guiding immigrant families through the cultural shifts of their new homeland.
• Looked more intensively at how to serve people who will always need support to maintain a stable home.
• Made a more focused effort to improve the communities surrounding PPL properties.
• Brought resources into PPL housing, from adding community rooms to portable computer labs.