It takes more than paint and nails to transform worn-out neighborhoods. New “bricks and sticks” do not in themselves confer sustainability. Although eliminating blight, renovating houses and producing affordable homes is the end goal, the strategy that Housing Association & Development Corporation follows is unique. HADC focuses on both job training and affordable housing, recruiting neighborhood residents and high school dropouts to learn construction skills rehabilitating blighted houses. No other community development organization in Pennsylvania operates like it. The homes renovated by HADC’s construction trainees and by students enrolled in YouthBuild Allentown become affordable homeownership or rental opportunities when the projects are finished. Sound and secure housing is the foundation upon which prosperous neighborhoods are built. Jobs and employment skills foster prosperity. Together, they make neighborhoods sustainable.