Earlier this month HUD released Bridging the Wealth Gap, their economic justice agenda that will better support renters to build assets through savings, credit building, and banking.
The agenda includes expanding Family Self-Sufficiency (FSS) programs, like those Compass runs, that combine the savings opportunity with high-quality financial coaching to help families build savings.
We’re especially excited to see HUD consider the future of FSS as an opt-out program - defaulting families into FSS from the start rather than asking them to go through the administrative burden of applying and enrolling on their own. This has the potential to connect over 2.2 million families with FSS! Compass has been a strong advocate for the opt-out model with HUD, based on feedback from our Client Advisory Board and learnings from our Rent to Save opt out pilot with Cambridge Housing Authority.
This agenda marks a shift in how HUD will run "self-sufficiency programs” like FSS, focusing less on wages and jobs and instead on facilitating savings, better access to safe financial services, and credit building. It’s a great step toward ensuring people with low incomes can build assets, plan for the future, and move their families forward.
Compass applauds HUD’s focus on reparative economic mobility measures. We look forward to continuing to advocate on behalf of our clients and families to make programs accessible, people-centered, and equity-driven.