GLENDALE, AZ — For 19 years, Jose Quevedo lived on Section 8 housing assistance. In 2025, he bought his first home, and he credits a city program with making it possible.
Quevedo, a Glendale resident, is one of 11 graduates of the city's Family Self-Sufficiency program, known as FSS. The federally funded initiative pairs Section 8 participants with a personal success coach to help them increase their income, build credit and work toward financial independence, including homeownership.
"I wanted to break that cycle. I wanted to get off of Section 8. I wanted my own," Quevedo said.
It started with a letter in the mail. A coordinator with the FSS program reached out to Quevedo, telling him he was a strong candidate for homeownership and inviting him to connect. He almost didn't respond.
"I'll be honest, I thought it was a scam at first. But I was like, what's the worst that can happen just by reaching out?" Quevedo said.
That decision changed his life.
Through the program, Quevedo worked with a success coach on budgeting and credit building. He also created a vision board, a visual map of his goals, including buying a home.
To increase his income, Quevedo joined the Air Force Reserve and landed a job at Lockheed Martin at Luke Air Force Base. With down payment assistance through an FSS partner organization called Trellis, he was able to close on his first home.
Kimberly Hall, the city's Director of Community Services, said the program is designed to meet each resident where they are.
"We would partner the resident with a success coach to better understand what the resident's goals are budgeting, vision boarding, just so we understand what your goals are and how we can help you get there. Homeownership is a major part of it if the resident's interested in that, as well as workforce development," Hall said.
Over the past 3 years, the FSS program has graduated 11 Glendale residents and produced 3 homeowners. The city has disbursed $89,077 in escrow funds to participants during that time. Officials say they hope to expand the program from 50 participants to 75 and extend eligibility to youth in public housing.
Quevedo said he could not have done it without the FSS team.
"I wouldn't have done it without Alma or pretty much any of her other companions over there at FSS. It was an amazing program," Quevedo said.
The FSS program is available to qualifying Section 8 residents in Glendale, Phoenix, Tempe, Chandler and Scottsdale.
To learn more or apply, click here.
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