The American Dream of home ownership eludes thousands of Tennesseans who live in poverty, but 23 former residents of Chattanooga public housing developments have made the transition to having a place of their own.

“You can easily say, ‘I pay $50 rent and have no light bill, so why leave public housing?’ ” said Tammy Parker, 42, who purchased a $129,000 Hixson home in 2000. “But (public housing) is not the American Dream. The dream is to get a home and get wealth. That’s freedom.”

Mrs. Parker, who used to live in the Harriet Tubman housing development, is one of the almost two dozen former public housing residents who credit personal choice and government programs for helping them overcome poverty.

As family self-sufficiency homeownership coordinator for Chattanooga Housing Authority, she advises CHA residents about what they need to do to gain financial independence and move into home ownership. And as CHA’s Youthbuild advisor, she works with 17- to 24-year-old high school dropouts who are studying for their GED while learning a construction trade.

“The best part about home-ownership is saying that it’s mine and having security for my kids,” said Mrs. Parker, mother of three. “They can always say that they can come home.”

Gary Kelley, CHA’s director of resident services, said the family self-sufficiency program has been around since the mid-90s.

“It’s a jump start for many of our residents who want to move from where they are to another level in their lives,” Mr. Kelley said. “It helps them get to the next level with support from CHA staff.”

Nationally, more than 8,000 former public housing residents have become homeowners through low-income housing initiatives established since 2000, according to the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development.

Tennessee’s overall poverty rate rose to 15.6 percent of all residents, according to 2005 figures released this year by the U.S. Census Bureau. In 2005, 904,143 Tennesseans lived below the poverty level, including 40,125 in Hamilton County.

In Chattanooga, about 2,834 families remain in public housing, and 2,720 low-income families are in CHA’s housing choice voucher program, a rental assistance program, according to Cheryl Marsh, the housing authority’s public information officer.

For 47-year-old Greg King, the move from public housing to home ownership required substantial changes in his lifestyle. He took the first step when he stopped drinking the day his aunt died in 2002.

“It was time for change,” he said. “I was getting older, started staying away from old friends. I stopped drinking.”

He joined CHA’s family self-sufficiency program and took money management classes at the Bethlehem Community Center.

“You have to have a plan and stick to it, even when nobody is paying you any attention,” said Mr. King, who bought his home in 2006.

Antoinette Cosme, 40, the mother of two teenage girls, purchased her $80,000 home in 2005 in the Lake Vista community in Bonny Oaks. A former resident of the Harriet Tubman housing development and Cromwell Apartments, she said she couldn’t afford a home for years.

Ms. Cosme participated in the self-sufficiency program, landed a job with Orange Grove Center and began saving money.

“I’ve been there (Orange Grove) 11 years,” she said. “I went to Chattanooga State and became a certified support care specialist. I’m assistant house manager now.”

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