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Their Side Of The Story

Emilee Lampert, Ellie Proctor, & Paige Majdic | March 3, 2021

Topics: blessing warriors rva, EPIC Health Partners, Hands On RVA, HomeAgain, Homeless Crisis Line, homelessness, Homeward, poverty

After speaking with numerous individuals experiencing homelessness, we are shedding light on their personal stories – because stories have the power to spark empathy and understanding.

“If you could have any superpower, what would it be?” 

I used to answer this question with a simple “invisibility.” I often imagined myself vanishing into thin air when my mom called me to do chores, sneaking past security guards to go backstage at concerts, and eavesdropping on a preconceived conversation to find out how my crush felt about me. How marvelous it would be to disappear for a few hours! 

But you see, my answer to this question, the scenarios that I daydreamed, and the pictures I painted in my head all viewed invisibility as a choice. It assumed that I could control if and when people saw me. But the fact of the matter is, invisibility is often a condition that one does not choose. Often, it is society’s reaction to a situation that they do not take the time to understand. 

I admit, I have turned a blind eye when I cross paths with someone experiencing homelessness. It’s not that I didn’t care. It was more the fact that I, like so many others, have the privilege of removing myself from situations that make me feel uncomfortable. Because if I took a minute to look, to interact, to listen to their stories, I would have seen past the stigmas that overshadowed them. If I really looked and listened, I would have seen that they too are siblings, children, students, employees, athletes, and members of our community.  If I really looked and listened, I would have to admit that anyone could be faced with a situation that made their story  “invisible” too.

Meet Mr. Marcellus 

If I looked and listened, I would have understood Mr. Marcellus is trapped in a hard-to-break cycle.

For many years, Mr. Marcellus could be found working at a car rental or security company. However, after a tough layoff, he found himself in a rut. Mr. Marcellus mentioned that people are quick to advise you to get a job, but slow to offer the necessary tools to land the role (clean clothes, a fresh haircut, a polished resume, etc). Too many are quick to shun and slow to understand the situations of those in need. Mr. Marcellus is just one example showing that the cycles these individuals face are hard to break. However, he is consistently fighting to get out of his rut, get into a home of his own, and get his health in check.

Meet Mr. D. 

If I looked and listened, I would have understood that Mr. D had one too many things knocking him down, and he needed a friend to help him up.

When everything has knocked you down, it’s a lot harder to get back up again. Mr. D never thought it would happen to him. He never thought he would lose his parents and his house. He never thought he’d have to go through a divorce. He never thought he’d lose his dog, Buddy. Mr. D found himself living the unthinkable in the span of a few years, and turned to alcohol to numb the pain. It’s easy for people to encourage you to get back up after being knocked down — but finding the motivation and perseverance to do so is far from easy. 

Meet Mr. Jonathan 

If I looked and listened, I would have understood that Mr. Jonathan and I face the same demons.

Mr. Jonathan’s battle with depression led him to quitting his job. He was overwhelmed with the thought of being responsible for other’s lives in addition to his own as a driver. Luckily, with the help of EPIC Health Partners, HomeAgain, and the Homeless Crisis Line, he found the aid he needed. Mr. Jonathan will be the first to tell you he messed up, yet also the first to tell you that with a little support, a positive attitude, and hard work you can change your situation. He’s proven this philosophy to his shelter housemates by landing an interview only three days after moving in. His advice to someone in his situation is, “There are services out there. You just have to get up and go look for them.” Mr. Jonathan is appreciative for the support that has gotten him to where he is today. However, he knows that the sooner he can stop relying on these services, the sooner they can be allocated to others in need.

Meet Mr. Orlando

If I looked and listened, I would have understood that Mr. Orlando is faulted for aging. 

“My goal is to find a good job and a stable place to stay.” After having laborious jobs and playing sports for most of his life, Mr. Orlando underwent hip replacement surgery hoping it would ease his severe pain. The surgery was a success — but Mr. Orlando had a new challenge in front of him. After the surgery, jobs were hard to come by because of his age, and his struggle to find work affected his ability to secure an income and afford housing. However, he continues to fight for himself and for his future. In his shelter, Mr. Orlando has a good group of guys by his side, and is motivated to get on the computer each and every day to look for jobs and work on his resume. 

Meet Mr. Douglas. 

If I looked and listened, I would have understood that Mr. Douglas’ fate was out of his hands. 

Mr. Douglas was a chef at different establishments across the country, including two beloved Richmond restaurants. However, it all changed after he was hit by a car crossing a street in Washington DC. He has endured approximately 46 surgeries, now has a prosthetic leg, and suffers from additional injuries caused by the accident. Many housing and shelter options cater only to able-bodied individuals, and Mr. Douglas wants to call attention to this inequity. 

Taking time to sit down and meet these men opened up my heart to their stories and put a name to their faces. Once we open our hearts to their stories, that’s when we really see someone, and they are no longer invisible to us. They become the men and women they always were, but that we never took the time to see. 

They can become survivors of their circumstance, and may no longer be imprisoned by the stigmas we place on them: being “addicts,” being “lazy,” or “taking advantage of the system.” Instead, the stigmas can begin to disappear and reveal who they are: neighbors in need of a hand, workers in need of hire, or patients seeking care.

This is the first step to spark change, to understand and include these individuals so that we may see past the stigmas. 

The second step is to take action.  We need to take accountability and understand the systems in place, so that once we hear their stories, we can help these individuals move forward. 

Action starts with educating yourself on how you can help. There are different degrees of actions you can take. Even what might seem like the smallest of acts, such as making personal care kits or donating items that are in dire need to Blessing Warriors RVA, have the potential to greatly impact individuals experiencing homelessness. Additionally, volunteering your time with organizations like Hands On RVA or helping to fund programs that have consistently impacted the Richmond community, such as Homeward, are incredible ways to get involved. 

With understanding and action, together we can help Mr. Douglas locate accessible housing, help Mr. Jonathan and Mr. Orlando find jobs, and help thousands of others whose stories deserve to be told.

Stories are catalysts for change — if we choose to listen. 

Further educational resources and outreach opportunities can be found through:

VA Housing Alliance Action, Virginia Supportive Housing, National Alliance to End Homelessness, Homeward’s Get Involved page, CARITAS, Blessing Warriors RVA, and Richmond Street Sheet, which is a resource for individuals and families in crisis to obtain needed services. 

GRTC Connects: Route 12 – Church Hill to the East End

Wyatt Gordon | July 31, 2019

Topics: affordable housing, bus routes, buses, church hill, East end, GRTC, GRTC Connects, homeownership, housing, population shift, poverty, public transportation, richmond transportation, transportation, wyatt gordon

The fifth installment in a monthly series in which a hometown Richmonder who has spent over a decade abroad explores the many different neighborhoods accessible by GRTC bus lines, to discover the ways transit connects us all.

Church Hill:

Strolling down the tree-lined avenues of historic homes, manicured mini-lawns, and tastefully curated porches of Church Hill, one could be forgiven for thinking they were out on a jaunt in Georgetown or Old Town Alexandria. Alas, a glance down 29th street toward the James River provides a reminder that this is still Richmond; the Confederate Soldiers and Sailors Monument towers here over Libby Hill Park, one of the neighborhood’s grandest green spaces.

Confederate Soldiers and Sailors Monument (Photo by Wyatt Gordon)

Upon this hill 282 years ago, William Byrd II — a notoriously cruel slaveowner — observed that this bend of the James reminded him of a view from his childhood, that of the Thames from Richmond Hill on the outskirts of London. The name of the neighborhood also derives from a nearby landmark: Saint John’s Episcopal Church. Within its four walls, Patrick Henry persuaded the First Virginia Convention to send its troops to fight the British with a cry of “Give me liberty or give me death!” If Church Hill is a neighborhood with a long memory, then its collective consciousness likely has whiplash from the rapid change that has swept across this part of the city over the past decade and a half.

This past March, the National Community Reinvestment Coalition released a study on gentrification and cultural displacement. In the report’s Richmond section, local urban planner Shekinah Mitchell documents the “racialized wave crashing onto the shores of neighborhoods” in the city’s East End like Church Hill.

In 2016, the number of black and white people in Richmond was roughly equal — clocking in at 47 and 46 percent, respectively, of the city’s population. This equalization marked a drastic shift from the demographics at the turn of the millennium, when blacks made up 57 percent of the River City and whites just 38 percent.

Image via The Valentine Archives

Beyond the identity crisis faced by similar cities once characterized by their large black populations, such as Washington, D.C. — dubbed “the Chocolate City” for this very reason — Richmond’s shrinking black communities are the canaries in the coal mine of widespread physical, economic, and cultural displacement. The southern chunk of Church Hill up to Broad Street has long featured mostly white residents; however, the area’s stock of charming, relatively affordable homes and increasingly expensive amenities like Alewife, WPA Bakery, and Dutch & Co. have drawn in ever-greater numbers of homebuyers with purchasing power beyond that of longtime residents.

Image via The Valentine Archives

Such rapid gentrification means the majority of homebuyers in black neighborhoods today are white people. The New York Times recently created an interactive map to document this phenomenon down to the census tract level. In the area increasingly marketed as Church Hill North, whites made up just one in four residents in 2012; yet over the period from 2000-2017, comprised 61 percent of those who received home loans. In Chimborazo and Oakwood, the numbers are more alarming still: blacks made up 83 percent of residents, but whites received 68 percent of mortgages. 

New neighbors and amenities is a decidedly positive development for Church Hill. Gentrification need not be a dirty word: the problem with incoming residents is that all too often, the hunt for a place to live is a zero-sum game, resulting in a wave of displacement rather than a tide that lifts all boats. Historic district regulations and zoning laws frequently block the creation of more affordable multi-family housing, like the three-to-four story apartment buildings that make the Museum District so charming.

In this willfully sleepy neighborhood where bars close early and the sidewalks are still historic brick, it can be easy to squint and envision Richmond as it was centuries ago. The boxy, modernist homes springing up in every vacant lot are a preview of the city’s certain future. Whether neighborhoods like Church Hill — and Richmond at large — will grow denser or less diverse remains an open question.

The Ride:

After gorging myself on both savory and sweet pies from Proper Pie Co., I stood at the corner of 25th and Broad waiting on GRTC’s Route 12 bus. A woman randomly walked up to me and asked if I needed a daily pass for the bus. She had accidentally bought multiple, not realizing that she could not activate the passes another day, but rather they were only good for the day of purchase. Thanks to the kindness of this stranger named Carrie, the ride was off to a good start.

Photo by Wyatt Gordon

Lacking active GPS data, the Transit app and GRTC’s app both showed the same arrival time. Yet no bus came. Instead of waiting thirty minutes for the next bus to possibly not show, my friend Amber and I decided to walk the ten blocks to the new Market at 25th. After exploring this corner of the East End, we walked to the stop at 22nd and Fairmount Avenue to see what the experience of a shopper headed back to public housing’s Mosby, Whitcomb, Fairfield, and Creighton Courts would be like.

Transit app had live tracking for two westbound buses. Buses on Route 12 are supposed to come every thirty minutes, but due to bunching, this day a westbound passenger would have to wait either 12 or 48 minutes between buses. There was no live data for eastbound buses at all. The first bus we wanted to take never appeared. As we waited thirty minutes for the next scheduled eastbound 12 bus, two westbound buses drove past. 

After a half an hour sitting on the curb (this stop has no bench, shelter, or even a sidewalk), the next scheduled bus also failed to arrive. Frustrated, I tweeted at GRTC asking if something was wrong with the eastbound route.  Their prompt response informed me that only two buses were running that day, and they had no information of any disturbances along the route.

During this final half hour waiting on the next scheduled bus, I witnessed both buses disappear from the Transit app’s tracking at Route 12’s westbound terminus and reappear in Shockoe Bottom, again heading westbound.  After both buses passed our stop heading west a second time, Amber and I became too exasperated by the lack of a bus or answers, and gave up on the 12 — we took the Route 7 bus back to Church Hill. 

For someone riding the bus simply to write an article, the failure of four buses to show presents an inexplicable inconvenience. For someone trying to get home after shopping with their family, this would be a disaster. Imagine sitting on the curb for hours with two kids in 98 degree heat, as all your refrigerated goods perished, and your bus home failed to come again and again.

The East End:

Wine tastings of bubbly rosés, fresh caught scallops, and shelves overflowing with rapini, Hokkaido pumpkins, and bok choy could not have been found in the East End just a year ago. For shoppers at the newly opened Market at 25th, such luxuries are becoming commonplace.

PHOTO: The Market at 25th

As we wandered through aisles named after East End churches, teeming with tons of products sourced from the greater Richmond region, the Market’s desire to make itself approachable to existing residents was almost palpable. The dozens of families packing their carts full on a Friday afternoon seemed to indicate all is going according to plan: for the first time in years, East End residents have access to healthy, affordable groceries at a full-service supermarket. Our conversational cashier concurred; after some initial growing pains and price adjustments, business has been booming.

A block down the road lies Bon Secours’ Sarah Garland Jones Center — another relatively recent neighborhood addition, which painstakingly pays homage to the first black woman who passed the Virginia Medical Board’s exam to become a doctor. Through a partnership with the Robins Foundation, the center is home to the Front Porch Cafe, a coffee house that equips East End youth with life skills and work experience while providing the community an inviting local place to gather.

Go a few blocks in any direction from these top-notch amenities and their placement in the East End begins to feel like an anomaly. Most other streets in this area feature at least one staple of what sociologists refer to as “urban decay”: abandoned homes, boarded-up storefronts, general blight. The poverty and neglect found here can feel so tragic and unavoidable to the untrained observer, but the East End was designed to fail.

It is no coincidence that four of Richmond’s six large public housing communities all lie within one mile of each other in the East End. Altogether, over 9,100 people call Richmond Redevelopment & Housing Authority’s Mosby, Fairfield, Whitcomb, and Creighton Courts home. Over half of the residents are children seventeen and younger; the rest are mothers, grandmothers, and mostly female guardians living below the poverty line.

Photo via The Valentine Archives

South of Baltimore, RRHA’s four East End properties comprise the largest cluster of public housing in the country, and thus one of the densest concentrations of poverty in the whole nation, according to the agency’s outgoing head. What began as a New Deal-era ideal to replace slums with quality workforce housing rapidly transformed into a racialized weapon, to warehouse society’s least desirable people — blue collar blacks — in blocks of homes far away from wealthier whites. The six public housing complexes built for black people were never meant to replace the 4,700 housing units the city gutted from historically-black neighborhoods like Jackson Ward and Fulton, not to mention all the homes lost in predominantly black communities to the construction of I-95 and the Downtown Expressway.

In his book, Richmond’s Unhealed History, Rev. Ben Campbell writes, “You cannot separate the history of public housing in Richmond from race. It is the white establishment deciding what they want to do with predominantly black neighborhoods and using language that suggests they are trying to help improve them, while the actual fact is much darker than that. And that set the stage for what we are dealing with now.”

Today, that staggering concentration of poverty means 60 percent of Richmond’s public housing units fall within just one district, and thus have only one advocate for their needs on both a city council and a school board of nine. This intentionally diminished power of low-income voices manifests itself in the way we talk about, maintain, and plan the future of public housing today.

The courts’ maintenance issues and widespread lack of heat in past winters — many units didn’t have a functioning boiler last year — have led new RRHA CEO Damon Duncan to declare that Richmond’s current public housing properties have “exceeded their useful life by a good 15 years.” While current RRHA residents would likely jump at the chance to move into higher-quality housing, Duncan’s plans to demolish Richmond’s courts without guaranteeing current residents affordable units in new constructions has left many in the community worried displacement may soon be on their doorstep.

The boundary between Church Hill and the East End is as vague as it is porous. Although home values in the former may be triple or quadruple those of the latter, both neighborhoods face a similar challenge: how can we as a city welcome new residents without displacing those whose families have lived there for generations? If policymakers can’t solve this problem soon, then in a generation, there may not be much of a difference between Church Hill and the East End anyway.

Richmond in Top 20 Cities for Income Inequality in the Nation

Brad Kutner | January 9, 2014

Topics: inequality, poverty, richmond, social, virginia, wages

Windsor Farms is a historic neighborhood in Richmond’s West End just north of the James River. Its streets are lined with colonial-style homes meant to mimic an English village.

[Read more…] about Richmond in Top 20 Cities for Income Inequality in the Nation

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