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"Being a homeowner has made me a better person - it's made me a better mother..."
These words were spoken recently by Anita, the single mother of Gia, a five-year-old girl, trying to explain to
a stranger her pleasure and wonder at being one of the first buyers in the Samaritan Project. She had been living
in a basement apartment, and the thrill of her daughter taking her first bath in a gleaming new tub instead of
a shower, is one not quickly forgotten. Gia played in the bath tub for over an hour! An event that many little
girls take for granted in Northern New Jersey, but a special joy for this little girl.
The Samaritan Project is but one of the programs of community development that has been made possible by Episcopal
Community Development's efforts. Foreclosed, abandoned houses in Newark are acquired from the City or from HUD,
then fully renovated, and sold to first-time home buyers whose incomes keep them out of the private market. The
program includes intensive home buyer training in budgeting, credit management, and home maintenance - and a lot
of hand-holding!
Since 1991 Episcopal Community Development (ECD), created by the Episcopal Diocese of Newark, has been providing
"technical assistance" to community groups throughout the seven county Diocese, to help them in all of
their community development efforts.
Dull sounding words: Technical Assistance.
What it really means is anything BUT dull! ECD helps groups that have more enthusiasm than experience to get
started....to figure out what their neighborhoods need....to figure out how they can meet those needs.
ECD's goal is to provide the know-how of housing development or job creation or playground improve-ments or provision
of child care facilities. ECD puts together the expertise that the community-based group needs to have available
in order to realize their dreams. Our measurable goal of "dream to reality," however, revolves around
the belief that it must be the dream of those in the community, not ECD's, and that the community sponsors must
know that the program is their own.
The reward for ECD? Hearing a little boy from the "projects" across the street from St. James Square
say at the dedication, "I never thought anybody would put anything that nice in this neighborhood!".
ECD had managed this project development for St. James CDC, but all the little boy knew was that his neighborhood
was more special than he had thought.
Empowering community groups and the individuals who live in the neighborhood is always one of ECD's goals,
but empowerment means different things to different folks at different ages. In Paterson, as ECD and St. Paul¹s
CDC put the finishing touches on the rehabilitation of a former tenement crack house, creating seven beautiful
coop apartments for very low income families, a poor elderly neighborhood resident stood staring in amazement and
said, "You people have really done a miracle!" It matters that this old man can believe that a miracle
can happen in his run-down neighborhood.
Involvement of old and new residents in the neighborhood in the plans for community development is an essential
part of ECD's philosophy. We try to help all residents in activities that will further their vision for their
street. In Newark's South Ward, for example, where ECD is overseeing the rehab of ten houses, we have obtained
funding for the construction of twelve new houses on vacant scattered sites, the first new houses in this neighborhood
in many years. As one long time resident said to us at our groundbreaking for the initial houses, "You are
the answer to our prayers!" ECD's goal is to work with all the neighbors to find answers to their wishes and
dreams of reclaiming their neighborhood.
The future for community development, and for Episcopal Community Development, will focus on a comprehensive approach
to addressing the physical and social problems of residents in communities in need. We are currently working with
ten different groups in the Diocese on a range of issues, all of which have implications far beyond the core issue.
No one problem can be tackled without evaluating its impact on many other problems. The involvement of the neighborhood
residents will give guidance to this effort to develop meaningful, coordinated programs.
ECD's vision is that its commitment to creating real partnerships with all concerned entities in a community will
strengthen the single efforts of all, and in the long run, will strengthen the communities we strive to serve.
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