Clean Slate E3 Celebrates 25 Years of Enriching HACP Youth With Kemba Smith Film Screening, Hill District Arts Festival

This weekend marks an important milestone in the Housing Authority of the City of Pittsburgh's signature youth outreach program - Clean Slate. The Clean Slate program has provided HACP youth with educational opportunities for more than 25 years, beginning as a major drug prevention initiative in the late 90s and evolving to a non-profit affiliate organization that provides an annual scholarship program for HACP residents.

Clean Slate E3, The HACP's nonprofit affiliate, was launched 15 years ago, as a companion piece to the Clean Slate program, providing education and employment support to HACP residents. We are very pleased to recognize both these milestones with a weekend of celebration held in partnership with ACH ClearPathways and their annual Hill District Arts Festival, July 26 - 28, 2024.

Clean Slate launched in the fall of 1998 "in an effort to inspire our young residents to steer clear of the national drug epidemic and the gang-related crime that engulfed so many American cities," said Michelle Sandidge, HACP Chief Community Affairs Officer. "Years later, we took the Clean Slate mission and established our own nonprofit affiliate - Clean Slate E3 - in order to provide our residents the opportunity to take that inspiration and better their lives through higher education. Today, we can look back and reflect upon the success the program has achieved while continuing to invest in young HACP residents through Clean Slate E3."

HACP staff, in partnership with ACH Clear Pathways, and invited guests will celebrate this milestone anniversary on Friday, July 26, 2024, with a screening of the film, "Kemba," at the Elsie H. Hillman Auditorium at the Kaufmann Center in the Hill District.

The film is based on the true story and book by motivational speaker Kemba Smith, who will also be in attendance and will conduct a question-and-answer session following the film. Smith's book, "Poster Child: The Kemba Smith Story," and the film follow her journey to college where she unknowingly falls in love with a drug kingpin and later serves a federal prison sentence for his crimes. Her case drew national support, and after spending more than six years in prison, Former President Bill Clinton issued her pardon in 2000.

Clean Slate E3 is also proudly serving as a presenting sponsor of ACH Clear Pathways 2024 Hill District Arts Festival, featuring the Just Fine MJB Tribute Band and the World's Greatest Entertainer Doug E. Fresh. Bring the whole family and check out local artists' wares, food trucks, live DJs, and children's activities. Other event sponsors include UPMC, The Pittsburgh Penguins Foundation, the Urban Redevelopment Association of Pittsburgh, Highmark Wholecare, TriState Capital, Catapult Greater Pittsburgh, and E Properties and Development.

Clean Slate E3 was launched in 2009 in order to expand potential funding sources for activities that enrich the lives of HACP residents, including but not limited to: job training, educational enhancement and scholarships. Clean Slate E3 was named after the Housing Authority's long-running youth outreach and education program Clean Slate and was dedicated to the mission of educating, encouraging and entertaining HACP youth.

Clean Slate E3 is continuing its commitment to HACP youth with the recent allocation of $2 million to expand the program's recreational and Section 3 employment opportunities, as well as grant opportunities for local youth-serving organizations.

The organization, along with our partners at NEED, is also preparing to allocate its separate scholarship funding for another school year to eligible HACP college students and high school graduates. This year's awardees will be announced soon.

"Clean Slate E3 aims to assist the most deserving public housing residents to achieve self-sufficiency through educational advancement. We have hundreds of exceptional students in our communities who depend on scholarship dollars to advance their education and we are extremely pleased to be able to contribute toward their growth," HACP Executive Director Caster D. Binion said.