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Tracey Robinson : "It fits our family"

For Tracey Robinson, 41, the Plan for Transformation gave her the extra push she had been looking for.

Robinson first moved to Altgeld-Murray development near 130th street in South Chicago as a child, and fondly remembers the development as a family-oriented and tight knit community. Eight years later, her mother bought a home and the family moved out, but Robinson returned to Altgeld when her number came up on the CHA waiting list. Her reasons for moving were simple: She was 18 years old, a high school graduate and believed that the free utilities and income-based rent would give her the support she needed while she looked for a job. Although she didn't intend to stay in public housing, Robinson spent more than half her life in Altgeld and when she finally got the chance to get out, she took it.

Her chance came in 2004, when the CHA gave her the choice to p either relocate temporarily while the 363 units of the development were being renovated, or take a permanent housing choice voucher and move into the private market. Robinson accepted the permanent voucher and moved with her husband and five children to Pullman, a racially diverse community near 111th street in South Chicago, characterized by Victorian row houses, neighborhood parks and historical landmarks.

Part of her motivation to move, Robinson said, was to provide a better environment for her family.

"I wanted my children to see that there was something else other than Altgeld Gardens, she said. "I just wanted to let them know that we can make it outside Altgeld Gardens."

Thus far, Robinson and her family seem to be thriving. Her eldest three children are in college and her two younger ones have adjusted well to their new school and to the unexpected tranquility of the new neighborhood.

Moving out of public housing has not been without its challenges, however. Unlike living in the projects, Robinson has to pay her own utility bills and heating costs for her family's clapboard townhouse are often a burden. Despite these obstacles, Robinson has succeeded in laying the foundation for a new life. She now works as a counselor for Housing Choice Partners, a CHA-partner agency that helps residents find homes in the private market. Her job has allowed her to use her experiences to help others, while giving her the stability to plan for the future. Some day, Robinson said, she wants to give up her voucher and buy a home of her own.

To learn more about Robinson's life and take a look at the below Q&A:

What was it like living in Altgeld Gardens?

When I was younger, it was beautiful. You were not scared to leave your doors open, everybody knew everybody. It was family community. Everything was in the community. We had a Laundromat, a grocery store. Everybody kept their lawns manicured. It was just a family community. Everybody just looked out for everybody. We moved, and you know we heard rumors about how the crime had increased, and it did, but when I went out there, I wasn’t scared, I didn’t get beat. I pretty much kept to myself, kept my children under control, talked to my neighbors and we had no problems the whole time I was there.

I wouldn’t say it was crime-free because there were some instances when some things did happen but I believe that because I was involved with my children’s school and I just stayed involved with my children, I knew where they were at all times, and I stayed involved with my neighbors, knew who they were who were on the left or the right of me.

How did you hear about the Plan for Transformation?

We were getting newsletters, we were getting fliers in the mail. We were getting an action plan that would take place, step by step and they gave us enough time to let us know that this is what’s going to happen. It actually has to happen, the buildings need to be renovated that we were living in because they were old buildings with old plumbing and they actually did need to be renovated. And they gave us a choice of whether we wanted to stay or whether we wanted to go. So it wasn’t like we were just pushed out. They gave us a choice. They gave us a choice of whether we wanted to stay in public housing or whether we wanted to take the housing choice voucher and venture out and see what else is out there other than Altgeld Gardens.

What was wrong with the buildings?

The plumbing was real old. We had leaks a lot of times or maybe in the wintertime pipes would burst because you know you had pipes running through the top of the house because you know that’s the way the buildings were built in that time. And Altgeld tried to keep up with it as much as possible. You know, they tried to bring in new plumbing and things of that sort, but it was just a lot of buildings. You had some buildings where they were made out of cinderblocks, the walls were made out of cinderblocks and some o those chipped away and they fixed those and they had old enamel sinks, they tried to update those, you know, put in new cabinets, put in new sinks. We had concrete roofs and a lot of times, weather damage, things of that sort, started to crumble that needed to be fixed, maybe some of the porches that needed to be fixed but all in all, it was still a good place to live.

Were there changes when you moved back (to live on your own)?

There were changes when I moved back. People were not concerned about the way their lawns looked and the way the front of their houses looked. A lot of people were not keeping an eye on their children, not maintaining. It wasn’t everybody, you know, just some people, but you know, one apple spoils the whole bag…There were some issues and CHA to my knowledge did the best that they knew how. We ended up having our own police department out there at one time. And then the Chicago Police Department ended up taking over. And that helped out a lot.

Why do you think things changed?

I would say, sometimes it’s the criteria. At one time, Altgeld had a high criteria of the people that they would let rent there. You know, a lot of people worked and the ones that couldn’t work, they were involved in their community and you know I think people just stopped being involved in the community. A lot of people stopped volunteering and things of that sort and being willing to help and then there was a time when you turned eighteen you were allowed to split off from your parents and get your own apartment so that started a whole new era of leaseholders that was ultimately was not ready to have their own apartments. And then, people from outside would come in and crime would happen, things would happen, people have relatives that come and visit and things would happen, you know.

Were drugs a problem?

Yes, drugs were a problem. Drug sales were a problem.

Were you working when you were living there?

Yes, I worked – well, I didn’t work for a while, that’s why I ended up volunteering a lot at the schools, walking my children to school every day, making sure they were being walked home and I ultimately ended up with a couple of jobs: First, I became a manager for Arby’s restaurant and then I went from there to being the assistant manager at TCF National Bank and I got promoted to manager and I did that up until about two years before I moved from Altgeld and then I started here, Housing Choice Partners.

There are some who would say that one of the upsides of the Plan for Transformation is that it’s forcing people to be self-supporting. What do you think?

It may be a good thing, but it can also be a bad thing. You are actually pushing people out there that have never worked. You have some who don’t even know how to begin to look for a job.  That have no work ethic, that don’t know how to get a job and keep a job, so that may be a bad thing because you’re just putting them out there to fail. You’re pushing them out there and they don’t know anything. They’re just out there, turning around in circles. And then it can be a good thing for people who know how to maintain and the people that already work, that already know what their family needs and know what they’re going to need to do to take care of their family and that are willing to make that sacrifice as far as moving and going to a new neighborhood and finding things that will make their family work.

There were people who didn’t work and had no desire to work but there were people who actually knew that they had to work to take care of their family and where they were at that time was not going to be where they were going to be all their life. They had the perception that “I am not going to stay here all my life. And I have to work in order to move onto the next stage of my life.” So, there were people who were, I would say, go-getters. They would get out and go and work every day just like normal people and then you had those who are not going to work. If it was possible that they would still be there, paying minimum rent, no light and no gas and just live.

Even when I didn’t have a job, I always found something to do to bring in some income, whether it was babysitting, whether it was cleaning houses, whether it was running errands for people or taking them shopping, you know, things of that sort.

What made you different from those who didn’t want to make a change in their life?

I would say my mom. Regardless of the fact that I had children -- we were living with her -- education was the number one thing – that you must learn how to be independent. And I think that started it from the time I was 16. We were taught to be independent. You know, go and get your own money, make your own money. Make sure your family doesn’t need anything and if they do, be able to supply their needs. Don’t ever have to wait on, you know, the first of the month things of that sort. Now, there is an issue of babysitter issues. They may have an issue of, ‘I have five children and you know, I can’t work because I need somebody to be there for my children’ and that may be a reason why I didn’t work in the beginning, either. My children were small and I wanted to be there everyday for my children. And I just found other avenues so that I could be there at home with my children and still bring in income.

You said education was important to your mother. Is it important to you too?

Yes, very important. Education will take you a long way. Without education, you really can’t find a job that you want. Without education, you really are not going to go anywhere. Education is really, really important. Staying in school, graduating from high school and going to college and getting a degree in something that you enjoy.

Why did you decide to take a voucher?

I wanted my children to see that there was something else other than Altgeld Gardens and that we can actually live other than Altgeld. There’s other things out there for you to see. It’s not just in this community. Because when I say that Altgeld was an actual community, it was its own community. And I just wanted them to see, you know, it was like we stayed in our community all the time because every day we were somewhere, but I just wanted to let them know that we can make it outside Altgeld Gardens. And so far, we have.

Where did you move?

I moved to Pullman – a historic district – Pullman, it’s off 111th and Cottage Grove. And it’s a real tight-knit community: They have housing associations because it is an historical district. And it’s nice. It’s really nice. The children love it because they all have their own bedrooms. But it’s really, really nice.

How is your landlord?

I was worried about getting a landlord that they call a slum landlord that is only concerned about the income or the rent that they were being paid and so far, so good. Anything that needs to be fixed, he comes and fixes it. We haven’t had any rent issues, so I was lucky this time.

How has the move impacted your lives?

I really don’t have to worry about the gangs as much. In Altgeld there were gang issues. I don’t have to worry about the gangs as much. I’m not worried about my children going outside to play anymore. The advantage is that my younger children’s school is four doors down from the house so I can see them go to school. And it’s more space, it seems like it’s ours, regardless of whether we’re renting or not. The house seems like it belongs to us. It just fits. It fits our family.

It’s been a good experience as far as my children … learning new things, learning how to take care of their things. Not to say that that wasn’t done before but this is a whole new experience for everybody and there was an adjustment period. It took them about six months to adjust: not hearing all the noise, not having someone knocking on the door every fifteen minutes, asking “Is so-and-so here?” So things like that they had to get used to. They had to get used to a new neighborhood, and my two younger children had to get used to a new school.  They have adjusted, they love it.

Do you think your children would have done as well as they have had you stay in Altgeld?

Yes. They’ve known from the time of—what we expected from them. I’m glad we’re out of Altgeld. Boys have a harder time than girls as far as gangs and you know in the neighborhood that you live in. So I’m just glad we’re out. We’re out. I don’t know what issues they have going on right now but we’re out and my children are doing well.

How about you? How has this move changed your life?

I pretty much knew what I wanted from day one. Even if we hadn’t gotten the voucher, we probably wouldn’t have been there for more than another year and a half anyway. I already knew I wanted to move. I knew the plan already, but it was just getting them adjusted to the plan. I didn’t mean to stay that long in Altgeld. I wanted it to be a stepping stone that I could push off for me and my family. And they gave me the extra push, so even now, even with the housing choice voucher, I want to go from rent to own.

What are some of the unexpected challenges?

The gas bill and the light bill. That is really challenging to the point where we used to live in what we used to call this box, where we didn’t pay light and we didn’t pay gas. But now you have to maintain this bill on a monthly basis.  And in the wintertime, the gas is extremely high because it is a townhouse, it is a frame house, it’s an old townhouse. Our windows are new but it’s the house’s structure and the gas bill can be extremely high. And the light bill? We’ve actually had a handle on that. But I guess it’s the ultimate shock of much it really, really costs as far as those bills are concerned.

Do you think the Plan for Transformation is a good idea?

Yes and no. Again, that falls into trying to find out who’s ready and who’s not.  We run across some clients who are really not... And we try to accommodate, we try to put the client around resources that we know may help them not become homeless. You have some clients that know how to pay bills, know how to keep up with bills. You have some that even at this point, even in public housing, somebody else actually helps them pay their bills as far as, ‘I’m going to hold your money so that your rent can get paid.’ There’s a lot of substance abuse. There’s a lot of alcoholism. And a lot of those clients are not going to make it. They’re not going to make it. It’s not everybody. You have clients who just need a little extra push. Just need somebody to say, “You can make it. You’ll be able to make it. You’ll be able to maintain.” And you have some that don’t need that push. They’ll just go and do, but there are some that will not make it.

Do you miss your neighbors?

Yes, I really do. We were family. We saw our children grow up together. My oldest son was seven when I moved there, and my daughter was five. And we watched our children grow up together. We had our babies and raised our babies on Front Street. We were a close-knit family in Block 1. We still stay in touch. … Some of the children who were on the block they still come over to the house and we still see a lot of the neighbors who were there.