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Ben Carson's 'signature' HUD initiative has gone nowhere
Last June, Housing and Urban Development Secretary Ben Carson traveled to his hometown of Detroit to unveil his "signature" initiative:one-stop shops for social services known as EnVision Centers in 17 communities nationwide. The centers were described in lofty terms as "centralized hubs" offering low-income residents "support services that can help them achieve self-sufficiency."
But eight months later, not one has opened and the program remains mired in confusion and bureaucratic tangles, according to interviews with HUD officials and staffers for nonprofits and housing authorities that have been designated as EnVision Centers.
Some critics say the program appears to be little more than a rebranding of work that was already underway.
"No one actually knows what they are supposed to do," said Chad Williams, executive director of the Southern Nevada Regional Housing Authority, which includes Las Vegas where the affordable housing crisis is severe. "I was approached to run one, and I said: 'What does it do? Where's the funding?'"
Williams says he declined to participate after finding out there was no money attached. "EnVision Centers are a failed policy perception," Williams said. "I guess they give the image that HUD is doing something."
HUD officials suggested that the Trump administration version is struggling to get off the ground because of bureaucratic red tape. Public housing directors and nonprofit organization staffers interviewed by NBC News pointed to HUD having provided no funding or staffing for the initiative.
Staffers at seven proposed centers around the country told NBC News the work appears to be largely a continuation of previous nonprofit and housing authority services, only with a new designation.
A phone app, announced more than a year ago, was created to showcase the centers. But while the app provides links to government agencies, it does not indicate where the centers are located.
But some of the organizations designated as partners for the EnVision Centers offer services that seem outside the core mission of helping low-income Americans achieve self-sufficiency.
One such group is the Colorado-based Space Foundation, which marketed its services to the centers, including a "virtual audience with an astronaut," at the cost of $7,000 for a single two-hour session.
Another national partner is dFree, an organization that describes itself as "a transformational, lifestyle movement" that helps people "achieve financial freedom through faith-based guidance."
Last June, Housing and Urban Development Secretary Ben Carson traveled to his hometown of Detroit to unveil his "signature" initiative:one-stop shops for social services known as EnVision Centers in 17 communities nationwide. The centers were described in lofty terms as "centralized hubs" offering low-income residents "support services that can help them achieve self-sufficiency."
But eight months later, not one has opened and the program remains mired in confusion and bureaucratic tangles, according to interviews with HUD officials and staffers for nonprofits and housing authorities that have been designated as EnVision Centers.
Some critics say the program appears to be little more than a rebranding of work that was already underway.
"No one actually knows what they are supposed to do," said Chad Williams, executive director of the Southern Nevada Regional Housing Authority, which includes Las Vegas where the affordable housing crisis is severe. "I was approached to run one, and I said: 'What does it do? Where's the funding?'"
Williams says he declined to participate after finding out there was no money attached. "EnVision Centers are a failed policy perception," Williams said. "I guess they give the image that HUD is doing something."
HUD officials suggested that the Trump administration version is struggling to get off the ground because of bureaucratic red tape. Public housing directors and nonprofit organization staffers interviewed by NBC News pointed to HUD having provided no funding or staffing for the initiative.
Staffers at seven proposed centers around the country told NBC News the work appears to be largely a continuation of previous nonprofit and housing authority services, only with a new designation.
A phone app, announced more than a year ago, was created to showcase the centers. But while the app provides links to government agencies, it does not indicate where the centers are located.
But some of the organizations designated as partners for the EnVision Centers offer services that seem outside the core mission of helping low-income Americans achieve self-sufficiency.
One such group is the Colorado-based Space Foundation, which marketed its services to the centers, including a "virtual audience with an astronaut," at the cost of $7,000 for a single two-hour session.
Another national partner is dFree, an organization that describes itself as "a transformational, lifestyle movement" that helps people "achieve financial freedom through faith-based guidance."
