Atlanta Revamps Public Housing

Glover's work in the realm of housing is so bold that it warrants the title "human transformation," according to Husock. Since 1994, she has reinvented Atlanta's 50,000-tenant public housing program, replacing city-owned properties with private developer complexes and instituting a work requirement for residents. At the heart of Glover's program is the Integral Youth and Family Project, manned by a corp of idealistic, young "family support coordinators" who wage on-the-ground interventions to help their tenant-clients make positive life changes, says Husock.

Though the program has met resistance from some tenants, the combined work requirement and counseling program seems to be making an impact, writes Hussock:

"The most recent figures show that 62 percent of AHA-supported household heads in Atlanta are employed. Before the recession, the figure had reached 70 percent. When Ms. Glover took over, it stood at 18.5 percent. This is what reducing black poverty actually looks like - turning the underclass into the working class."