Author: Catie Ratliff

On January 12, the Piedmont Housing Alliance broke ground on the Hickory Hope apartments at Southwood. The apartments will add 121 new affordable units to the community, and are the latest step forward in Southwood’s years-long resident-led redevelopment effort.

Hickory Hope apartments—a joint effort of PHA, Habitat for Humanity of Greater Charlottesville, Albemarle County, and Southwood residents—will be 100-percent affordable, with units ranging in affordability between 30 and 80 percent of area median income. According to PHA Executive Director Sunshine Mathon, housing choice vouchers will also be accepted for all units, a key measure in ensuring the units’ accessibility.

“Right now, a lot of folks who have housing choice vouchers are struggling to find housing that they can actually use their vouchers in,” said Mathon at the groundbreaking. “Building more apartments like this helps actually provide people options.”

In addition to affordable housing, the Hickory Hope apartments will provide residents with access to social activities, food bank distributions, eviction prevention measures, financial assistance, and more. The Albemarle County Architectural Review Board voted 3-0 in March 2023 to grant Hickory Hope a building permit, which was necessary due to the project’s location along an entrance corridor.

The construction of Hickory Hope apartments is the latest success in the Southwood redevelopment by Habitat for Humanity. “Both of our organizations—Piedmont Housing Alliance and Habitat—are fully committed to not doing things for people or to people, but with them, to elevate the genius and the hearts, the creativity of the people who are here, so they can be the leaders in the transformation,” said Dan Rosensweig, President and CEO of Habitat for Humanity of Greater Charlottesville.

Southwood started as a mobile home park in the 1950s, and was bought by Habitat in 2007. The redevelopment of Southwood has been in the works for decades, with predominantly Latinx residents working closely with Habitat leaders to ensure the area meets the community’s needs while minimizing displacement.

When completed, the Southwood community will be a 1,000-unit mixed-income, mixed use community. The project will add 500 units of affordable housing to the local housing market.

Resident-led efforts at Southwood are part of a larger effort to combat Charlottesville’s affordable housing crisis. Most recently, City Council passed a new zoning ordinance that broadly aims to increase the supply of affordable housing through density, though critics remain skeptical of the plan’s efficacy.

At Southwood, residents are optimistic about the future of their neighborhood.

“This is like planting a seed and we will see the fruits of this very soon,” said Roger Torres through a translator. Torres has lived at Southwood for 19 years, and will soon be moving into a new home there. “We want to invite everyone to come and see the new project. And, if they have the opportunity to apply to live here, they should do it and learn more about the project.”

Construction of Hickory Hope apartments at Southwood is expected to last 16 months.

Charlottesville’s lawmakers are in Richmond for the start of Virginia’s new legislative session, which is scheduled to run for 60 days, beginning on January 10. The legislators’ priorities run the gamut, from abortion access to restoration of voting rights.

For state Sen. Creigh Deeds, the start of the session comes with a new district number—11—and new leadership roles. After a slate of retirements, he is now the second-most senior Democrat in the Virginia Senate, and will chair the Committee on Commerce and Labor and the Subcommittee on Health and Human Resources.

Deeds says his priorities remain unchanged, despite his new roles. “In a broad sense, my goal and the goal of every legislator should be to make Virginia the best place to live, work, and raise a family,” he says. “To that end, I will work to build out the best mental health care system in the country right here in Virginia, to expand services to all parts of Virginia, and to make sure that we do everything possible to not leave people behind.” Other top issues for Deeds include public safety, economic development, and school funding. “Public education has to be the number one priority.”

To advance his priorities, Deeds says he’s working on a wide range of legislation, but is constrained by a cap on the number of bills he can introduce. “A senator can carry 21 bills, but that does not include bills that come from commissions,” he says. Deeds plans to platform gun regulation, criminal justice reform, and renewable energy, among other legislation. “Much of the work I will do will be through the budget. I will introduce budget amendments on behalf of the localities I represent and to promote the delivery of care, specifically in the health care world.”

The Charlottesville area has two new representatives in the House of Delegates: Katrina Callsen in District 54 and Amy Laufer in District 55. Both delegates are still settling into their roles, but are excited about the work to come.

To prepare for the start of the session, both women are meeting with colleagues, advocates, constituents, and other stakeholders. “I have filled my time before my swearing-in with meetings, … calls, trainings, hiring staff supports, community events, and work on legislation,” says Callsen. “I’m ready.” 

Laufer has taken a similar approach, “meeting with as many of my colleagues as possible before the session starts, to find areas of common ground, as well as advocates and agency representatives who will be impacted by legislation.”

Both Callsen and Laufer say their priorities remain unchanged from their respective campaigns, and they hope to advance their work through legislation.

“My top priorities are centered around protecting and uplifting our communities,” says Callsen. “My priorities haven’t shifted, but I can’t tackle them all alone. I am working closely with my new colleagues to make sure we carry bills together that accomplish our goals.” The delegate is currently working on a variety of issues, including foster care, gun safety, and voting rights.

In District 55, Laufer says she is “getting into the minutiae of the issues and making changes in the code in different ways to realize our priorities.” Beyond her campaign promises, Laufer indicated she is working on both bipartisan and nonpartisan items. “I’m spending a lot of my time talking with the localities I represent about how to assist them in improving services they provide to the community, and I’ll be submitting several budget amendments to follow through on that.”

One legislative focus for Laufer is a bill that deals with employment and wages for people with disabilities. “We are excited to work on increasing employment opportunities to enable people with disabilities to earn a living wage, have the dignity of work, as well as gain some independence,” she says.

Democrats control both chambers of the legislature, but all three local representatives know they have to advance legislation that Republican Gov. Glenn Youngkin will sign.

“Democrats have to be very careful and smart about the legislation that we put on the governor’s desk,” says Deeds. “We still have to work on a bipartisan basis to actually get things done. We want to challenge the governor and make him take positions on things that he has not addressed before, but we need to be careful about the legislation. It is more important to get things done, than it is to make political points.”

There was a new face on the dais at City Council’s first meeting of 2024.  

Natalie Oschrin, a Charlottesville native, ran for council on a platform focused on improving transportation, planning, access to housing, and the relationship between the city and UVA. As she settles into her new role, Oschrin says she’s excited about what’s to come.

“I am thrilled and grateful to be a part of the team,” she says. “The staff and fellow councilors have been so helpful throughout my orientations, so I felt welcome from the beginning. We have several meetings to make sure we’re getting the budget and Capital Improvement Plan in order, and pages of reading to prep for those meetings. I’ve been watching from the sidelines for a while now, so while I still have a lot to learn, I’m also prepared to do the job.”

January is typically a slow month for City Council, but Oschrin’s first meeting packed in many key priorities, including the election of the new mayor and vice-mayor, budget presentations, board and committee assignments, and funding for Premier Circle, a homeless shelter run out of the former Red Carpet Inn.

Several of the new councilor’s board and committee assignments correlate with her priorities, including positions on the Metropolitan Planning Organization, Regional Transit Partnership, Community Scholarship Program, and more.

Oschrin hopes to facilitate progress by looking at how various priorities and initiatives can be used to advance each other.

“For example, by keeping the mantra of bike/ped/bus going in all matters, I hope to … [build] better infrastructure, and to make my expectations clear that I want others to consider bike/ped/bus potential in what they bring to the table,” she says. “Better bike/ped/ … bus infrastructure improves quality of life in other areas, by making streets safer and quieter, reducing traffic, pollution, and car dependency, and saving folks time and money. These improvements will also allow more people to live in the city, closer to their jobs and activities without increasing car traffic and parking concerns.”

Though Oschrin is confident in her agenda, one hurdle she foresees is scheduling. Charlottesville City Council is a part-time job, and pays accordingly. Oschrin will be balancing her work for the city with her job as a full-time wedding sales manager.

“It is an overall structural problem with the low pay/‘part-time’ nature of City Council, and why there are not more women, young people, and lower-income people as representatives,” says Oschrin. “I would welcome a serious discussion with the state about changing that to allow wider participation.”

Winter is coming. And helping people get out of the cold is a core part of People and Congregations Engaged in Ministry’s mission—it played a large part in the group’s founding in 2004. “The faith community and emergency responders … were seeing individuals sleeping on church doorsteps in the middle of winter,” says PACEM Operations Manager Liz Yohn. “There’s a high risk for hypothermia, just as a basic physical challenge of sleeping outside on those nights. But there’s also larger problems related to being in the crisis of homelessness. An individual who is homeless, at 50 years old, is the geriatric equivalent of a 70-year-old who is housed.”

PACEM was recently in the headlines when it opened its doors early to help house those staying in Market Street Park (it is Charlottesville’s only low-barrier shelter, and operates each cold season). This year, PACEM shelters opened on October 21, and will remain available until April 12.

“[Demand] is similar to what we’ve seen in past seasons. … We’re seeing regularly in the realm of 35 to 45 men per night and about 12 to 15 women,” says Yohn. “I think it’s a little too early to say if [this] season we’re gonna see more demand. … But certainly it reflects the trends that we always see, which is when it gets wet outside and when it gets cold … demand is significantly higher.”

While the current need for shelter exceeds PACEM’s capacity, the organization has been able to exceed its cap of 35 men’s beds through a partnership with the Salvation Army. Shelter at the Salvation Army (charlottesville.salvationarmypotomac.org) is available year-round, but there are requirements for entry and a waiting list to access the shelter.

Additional services provided by the Salvation Army include a soup kitchen—which serves public breakfast and supper at 207 Ridge St.—and various expense assistance programs, including Christmas and bill payment assistance programs. Both PACEM and the Salvation Army also work to support shelter residents through case management, helping them transition into stable housing.

Finding and accessing housing resources can be confusing, with so many different organizations operating in Charlottesville. The Blue Ridge Area Coalition for the Homeless (blueridgehomeless.org) serves as a continuum of care agency, aiming to connect those in need and supporters with resources and organizations. As part of its mission to “make homelessness rare, brief, and nonrecurring,” BRACH recommends that those at risk of or currently experiencing homelessness contact the Homeless Information Line at 207-2328, or visit The Haven in person.

The Haven, at 112 W Market St., is not only a day-time shelter for the unhoused—it has a multitude of resources to support those facing housing insecurity. The shelter is open 365 days a year, and offers breakfast, showers, laundry, computers, phones, a store, mail, and housing assistance programs. More information about how to support and contact The Haven can be found on the organization’s website, thehaven.org.

“Homelessness is not for the weak, it is a very challenging experience to go through,” says Yohn. “The only way that they will get out is if they have someone there to help them meet their basic needs and provide a safe and welcoming space for them to do the work that it takes to get out of that.”

Charlottesville currently does not have a year-round, low-barrier shelter. As part of his response to tents popping up in Market Street Park this fall, City Manager Sam Sanders formed an internal work group to address the city’s homelessness and housing crisis. One of the group’s major tasks is to determine barriers that exist to opening a year-round, low-barrier shelter in Charlottesville.

“There’s an abundance of resources and compassion in our community, and there are a lot of folks doing work that is complementary to ours,” says Yohn. “Please consider supporting the local food pantries and resource centers. … You can help wherever you are, and every little bit adds up. So don’t be shy from participating.”