Community Bridges Spring 2012 Fellow: Asia McCleary-Gaddy ’14, Fifth Ward CRC As a student in Dr. Emerson’s Urban Inequality class, I am also involved in the Community Bridges program led by Rice graduate Jecca Steinberg. Through Community Bridges I was placed at a partner organization called the Fifth Ward Community Redevelopment Corporation (CRC). The Fifth Ward CRC works to revitalize the Fifth Ward community and change it into a “community of choice”. The Fifth Ward is a historically black community and the CRC works to keep the historical integrity but regenerate its building revenue. Under the leadership of Kathy Payton , the Fifth Ward CRC specializes in housing and ownership. As a whole the company buys unused property or land that is for sale and transforms it to modern affordable housing as well as property to attract businesses. On weekends and through private meetings, clients may come to discuss different avenues of home ownership and attend workshops on budgeting. Through these actions, the Fifth Ward CRC wants to change the reputation of the Fifth Ward from being a poverty and danger ridden area into an up and coming affordable area full of opportunity. The first step to achieving this dream is to first modernize the way the community looks. Garbage removal and house renovation are priorities. When I received my congratulations letter from Jecca Steinberg, my job title was resource development. Resource development had such a professional ring to it and I was
excited just to say it to others. In order to prepare for my first day of work, I researched exactly what a “resource developer” did. I became knowledgeable in areas of grants, and non-profits so I would start the internships with at least a base understanding. However, the first day at the job our supervisor Kathy Payton threw a curveball at me, emphasizing the need for flexibility at the Fifth Ward CRC. They were a small staff that did great wonders. The title each employee had on their business card was one of many. Everyone at the CRC would, as Mrs. Payton stated, “wear many hats.” Although I was working in resource development, I might have to complete a task under advertising our marketing. Being flexible was the key to getting things done. Everyone had numerous responsibilities that contributed to a greater project at hand. At the completion of each house created, everyone claims it as a personal victory because the house reflects the persistence, dedication, and hard work of the organization as a whole. One of my finest accomplishments at the Fifth Ward CRC was the completion of the volleyball court which was a mini project to the upcoming Starbucks collaboration. I, under the guidance of fellow employee Rosalind Taylor, completed extensive research on dimensions, materials, and delivery dates to the proper locations. I call this project an accomplishment because I was trekking into unknown territory. Materials such as sand, gravel, certain grasses were unfamiliar to me, but I was still beyond eager to begin this project. I am a little embarrassed to admit this, but I had no idea there were different types of sand or grass; thus, working on this project was truly an eye-opening experience. My coworkers laughed at me pointing out the many things I missed growing up in New York City - commonly referred to as “The Concrete Jungle.” I delved head first into my volleyball court calling all people and companies I could find to secure the best deal. Non-profits work on an extremely limited
budget and going over the settled amount is not an option. Finding the company that had the required materials for the groundwork of the volleyball court was not a problem. The challenging dilemma was finding the company that would deliver to the Fifth Ward area without exponentially increasing the price. Two weeks after calling companies, and making spreadsheets I had found a winner and I was more than happy to announce that on April 21, 2012 the Fifth Ward should have a sand volleyball court open for community recreation. Another moment that stood out to me during the duration of my internship was when I was able to listen in to a client’s call regarding back payments. A CRC employee spoke to the clients about budget and how, during previous meetings, they’d created a potential spending budget. However, many times while making the budget people forget to include small expenses, such as leisure spending and payments. This often times will add up and eventually lead to the client losing their home or other property. This connected to my life in the way that I myself am still learning how to budget. This is such an instrumental skill to learn because we will need it at all stages of life. My work within the Fifth Ward Community Redevelopment Corporation reflected many of my readings that we completed with Dr. Emerson in the urban inequality class. I truly valued the academic component to my service to the Fifth Ward because I grew a deeper understanding and an appreciation to the activities that non-profits accomplish. Through my journey at the CRC, I would sometimes become frustrated with how long it would take to finish a project. However, I soon learned that there was a lot going on behind the scenes that I was unaware of. Through state policy and financial considerations, there are many invisible blocks
that prevent non-profits and other community organizations from making the impact they have the potential to make. A reading that stood out most to me was our readings in Urban Fortunes. Logan and Molotch spoke of how inequality is distributed across urban space. The distribution is designed to concentrate the wealth and poverty, concentrate particular racial/ethnic groups into an area, and also concentrate family types. The findings of this reading were demonstrated in the Fifth Ward which was a concentration of poverty. Through mixed income housing, CRC could change this phenomenon and as a result spark a change in other areas such as taxes and schooling. Although this idea seems simple, I would have never formulated it without the background knowledge and research of urban societies as a whole.