There were problems with the equipment, so 15-year-old resident Yunazia Reeves brought out her own equipment, and began what Yunazia hopes will become a tradition, with movies projected onto the exterior wall of one of the buildings.

Holding those movie nights at the end of the day has a calming effect on the kids, reminding Yunazia of the effect stories her late grandmother Theresa used to tell, over and over, but always with new detail, had on herself: “warmth, like a hug” — plus a sense of safety.

Yunazia was a participant Friday at the annual back-to-school festival held by the Altoona Housing Authority for Fairview kids — partly to encourage the kids to register for the Gloria Gates Memorial Foundation’s after-school program at the complex, and partly to foster the kind of community feeling that Yunazia tries to create with those movie nights.

Soon to be a sophomore at Altoona Area High School, Yunazia wants to go to college to become a journalist so she can listen to others’ stories and pass them along to readers, like her grandmother passed along her stories of growing up in Elizabeth, N.J., to her.

Ja’nylah Muhammad (from left), Miracle Furman-Randall, Khyri Richards and Amiyah Richards contemplate the start of a piggy race Friday at the Altoona Housing Authority’s annual back-to-school festival at the complex. Mirror photo by William Kibler

Yunazia is taking a news writing course and will be working on the school yearbook, and she’s written for the school paper on “The Color Purple” and the track team.

With its after-school program, the foundation tries to inspire kids like Yunazia, not only at Fairview, but at a program the foundation runs at Evergreen Manors housing development, and will soon be running at Overflow Church, according to foundation Executive Director Jess Brunner.

The K-Grade 6 educational program works to develop character, healthy eating habits and financial, literacy, emotional and social skills — tools to help the kids eventually become contributing members of society, Brunner said.

The foundation is proud of graduates who grew up at Fairview like Josh Mentzer, who is entering his senior year at the University of Pittsburgh at Johnstown as a secondary education major and athlete; Sierra LaFavor, who is entering her junior year at Robert Morris University as a business management major with a minor in public relations; and Savannah Greene, who is also in college, Brunner said.

Celebrating success in the expensive world of higher education for people coming out of a low-income environment doesn’t mean there’s anything wrong with going into the workforce immediately after high school, Brunner said.

Gracelynn Leonard, 11 (left), her sister Elliana Leonard, 7, and Yunazia Reeves, 15, were participants Friday in the Altoona Housing Authority’s annual back-to-school festival at Fairview Hills family housing development. Mirror photo by William Kibler

The initial equipment for the movie night was provided by Fairview resident Tracy Leonard, according to Yunazia.

The mother of three daughters, Leonard has lived at the complex for nine years, starting when her parents moved into a smaller house that had no room for her.

She was 19 and pregnant, Leonard said.

“It can’t be too bad,” Leonard said, when asked how she likes Fairview. “If I’ve lived here nine years.”

Home “is what you make it,” she said.

It’s affordable, there’s green space for the kids to play and there are other kids for them to play with, Leonard said.

And while there are some neighbors “who are not very pleasant,” that is true of anywhere, she said.

Authority management is “great,” and the maintenance workers are “awesome,” she said.

“When you need help with anything, they’ll do it,” she said.

Still, she’d like to move to a home with her own yard where the kids could play, she said.

She’s employed at a day care, which is willing to help her obtain an associates degree in child development, she said.

Eventually, she’d like to become an elementary school teacher.

Her daughter Gracelyn, 11, wants to be a cop when she grows up.

That way, she can help and protect people, Gracelyn said.

There are 150 units at Fairview, with approximately 390 residents, according to Property Manager Randy Wilson.

The complex is essentially full, and there is a long waiting list — with 70 names for two-bedroom apartments.

“That’s a blessing and a curse,” Wilson said.

It’s a blessing because vacancies are easy to fill, but a curse because there’s not enough housing for everyone, he said.

To qualify for a unit, prospective families must meet income guidelines.

A four-person family, for example, would need an income no higher than $67,900 per year, according to an authority web page.