In August 2018, Jennifer and Glenn Lammey moved with their five children to Burton Village, a public housing community in Rehoboth Beach, Delaware, managed by the Delaware State Housing Authority (DSHA). They also enrolled in the Moving to Work (MTW) program, a requirement for a person or family receiving public housing, Section 8, or Housing Choice Vouchers in Delaware.

MTW participants sign a contract agreeing to take whatever steps are necessary to become independent of government-assisted housing within seven years. Those steps include finding and maintaining a steady job and income, enrolling in career-oriented courses or training, or a combination of both. Participants are also required to work with a DSHA case manager to develop an action plan and meet regularly with that person to report on their progress.

To provide a work incentive, MTW participants’ rent is capped at 35 percent of their adjusted monthly income (AMI), not to exceed $350/month. As their income increases, their rent increases, but the amount they pay over $350 is put into a savings or escrow account for them.

After five years, if the participants’ income has increased enough to enable them to pay fair-market value rent, they transition out of MTW’s Tier 1 and are eligible to receive their entire escrow account; 60% of the funds must be used to purchase a home or pay fair-market rent. The remaining 40% may be used for other housing-related expenses.

If an MTW participant’s income has not increased enough to pay the fair market value of their rental unit within five years, they may stay in the program for an additional two years (–MTW’s Tier 2–) but will receive only 60% of their escrow account when they leave the program.

The Lammey’s already had jobs working for restaurants when they started in the MTW program, but they struggled with fulfilling other program requirements, particularly those that involved going to credit counseling and financial management classes. They weren’t always sure whether they had completed certain milestones, even when they had.  “I sometimes felt as though I was going in circles,” Mrs. Lammey says. “I had trouble understanding the process.”

But with help from their support team, including their DSHA case manager and NeighborGood Partners financial coaches, they got on track. It also helped that they had an extra year to complete Tier 1 when DSHA made the decision during the Covid pandemic to “freeze” MTW participants’ accounts or to temporarily stop the clock from running. By the fall of 2023, the Lammey’s had enough money in their escrow account to begin looking for a home to buy.

It took them a year to find one within their price range that didn’t need major repairs. In June 2024, they signed a contract to purchase a townhouse in Harrington and went to closing on July 8. They moved in shortly after.

The Lammey’s are enjoying their new home. “There’s lots of room and lots of room to grow,” says Mrs. Lammy. “We have the freedom to customize our living space on our terms.”

Now the general manager of Domino’s Pizza in Milton, Mrs. Lammey says the MTW program helped them establish goals and made them accountable for their own budget. “It helped us achieve self-sufficiency. We went from relying on food stamps and Medicaid to having $30,000 in our escrow account and being able to buy a home.” 

The advice she would give to anyone starting out in the MTW program is to “be serious about your goals, use the team that’s available to you and be focused on the finish line. For us, the goal was buying a home.”