Celebrating Community Development Block Grant's 50th Anniversary and Fair Housing Month

HCD and the City of Richmond could not undertake the work or offer the needed services for our residents without the collaboration of our community partners. We are exceedingly grateful for their ongoing partnerships.  To that end, HCD will share “Stories from the Field” to highlight the work that our partners do every day to assist Richmonders but especially as it relates to National Community Development and Fair Housing Month.

Today HCD will be highlighting the YWCA Richmond and Urban Hope. Check back on Tuesday, April 23rd for more stories about our partners. 

Stories from the Field will appear weekly until the end of April.

Southside Community Development & Housing Corporation

Southside Community Development & Housing Corporation (SCDHC) opened its doors in the Old South District of Richmond, VA in 1988. The organization remains Richmond’s oldest historically Black-led nonprofit community development corporation which engages in developing single- and multi-family housing and housing counseling services for households at or below 80% area median income. SCDHC began with an earnest desire to revitalize the Old South District, once a thriving urban community that had declined and gained a reputation as one of Richmond’s most poverty-stricken and crime-ridden communities. With the help of grant funding and partners, SCDHC successfully catalyzed the transformation of the Old South District of Richmond from a community of blighted neighborhoods into a functioning, mixed-income community of families with hope. 

SCDHC launched their HUD-approved Housing Counseling Center in 1998. In 2019, they expanded their social programs to include Virginia's first English/Spanish bilingual Financial Opportunity Center. Their mission is to create thriving and sustainable communities, and we take a holistic approach to achieve this. SCDHC provides a range of services, including residential and commercial development, homeownership education and counseling, financial counseling and coaching, employment services, technology training, and supportive programs to low-income families throughout Central Virginia. 

Southside Community Development & Housing Corporation is a lead agency in advancing racial equity in Richmond, focusing their work on historically Black and disinvested neighborhoods. Since 1988 we have developed over 750 units of affordable housing, including over 450 single-family homes, assisted over 10,000 first-time homebuyers purchase their first home, and helped over 2,000 low-income homeowners avoid foreclosure. 
 
Success Story

A distressed client approached SCDHC seeking help to save her rented home that she had lived in with her family for over a decade. The landlord was ready to sell the property and told the client she would either have to purchase the home or find another place to rent. In the midst of this distressing news, the client separated from her spouse and realized she would now have to qualify for the house on her own. This news caused the client to become very anxious and upset.

The client was adamant about staying in this house because she considered it her sanctuary and a stable environment for her and her family. She was assured by her SCDHC’s HUD-Certified Housing Counselor that the organization would provide exceptional assistance to help her achieve her goal of purchasing this home. The client cooperated fully with the necessary procedures to qualify for down payment assistance, but an unexpected setback occurred when the house failed inspection. Because it was an older home, there needed to be repairs to the crawl space, deck and downspouts, electrical upgrades, and caulking around the windows. This resulted in the need to postpone the closing date by an additional three weeks, adding to the client's worries. Additionally, her down payment assistance was temporarily put on hold. 

Thanks to the client's determination and the guidance provided by her counselor, she was able to address the repairs on time, despite the challenges. The client was very happy when the home was able to pass a successful reinspection, and subsequently obtained City of Richmond down payment assistance of $30,000.

On February 15, 2024, the client closed on her home, marking a significant milestone in her journey. The client's determination, combined with the unwavering support from SCDHC and the City of Richmond DPA, ultimately led to a successful outcome that brought joy and stability to the client and her family’s life.
 
The Hollands Phase II – Built in 2023

 

YWCA Richmond 

Rupa Murthy, CEO of YWCA Richmond joined the agency nearly 9 years ago. YW’s mission of empowering women and eliminating racism drew her to the work – which includes providing resources, including safe, violence free housing and resources for survivors and their children who experience domestic violence. Building healthy relationship skills, workforce navigation, and providing childcare has been part of the YW’s work for 144 years. Rupa is grateful to lead this agency and the incredibly talented people who work with her daily. 

Urban Hope

Founded in 2000, Urban Hope is a housing nonprofit that partners with clients to gain financial health, secure safe, quality, affordable rental housing, and chart pathways to homeownership. Their work is inspired by Christian faith, led by and centered on residents, and focused on the East End of Richmond, VA. In a rapidly changing neighborhood, Urban Hope prioritizes racial equity, are committed to anti-displacement practices and policies, and seeks to build towards an inclusive and just community where everyone can find a home.  

In the last year, Urban Hope completed the new construction of two duplexes, one on a lot awarded by the City’s Land Bank, in partnership with the affordable developer, project: HOMES. Urban Hope completed a capital campaign to renovate a vacant church building into their new headquarters. Ten families moved from the instability of invisible homelessness or homelessness, cost-burdened housing, or threat of displacement due to the real estate market into an affordable rental with Urban Hope. One tenant became a first-time homebuyer through the great counseling of their staff, and several more households are on their way through Urban Hope’s pilot homeowner programs and the financial strides folks are making due to affordable rent. 

Because of the impact of Urban Hope and/or affordable housing, 87% of their tenants feel more safe, 97% feel more stable, 93% are more able to afford their home than their previous living situation, 87% report less stress related to finances, 97% report making progress towards their financial goals, 89% report having better economic opportunities, 83% report having better educational opportunities, and 73% report feeling healthier overall. 

In the words of Urban Hope’s tenant who bought her first home in November 2023: 

“I feel like I finally have something to offer my family.  Whether it's the information needed to move out of poverty or how to purchase a home or hopefully, have a home to call your own.  Knowing that my life and labor won't be in vain, that I may have accomplished something that will make their moving forward a little easier, is all to the glory of God!  I started my adult life with bad credit (not of my own doing) and knowing I can help position my grandchildren with a better future, means all the world to me.”   

 Ms. Sims at her loan closing                              

615 N. 30th Street

Metropolitan Business League 

The Metropolitan Business League (MBL) is a nonprofit, membership-based business association serving Central Virginia with a focus on small, women-owned and minority-owned businesses. We currently have more than 1300 members that are located in the metro Richmond area, City of Petersburg, and Brunswick County. All members from youth entrepreneurs and veteran entrepreneurs to young professionals are offered an array of programming activities monthly. 

MBL focuses on 3 pillars: education, increased procurement opportunities, and access to capital. The Capital Access Program- a portfolio of funding which consists of grants and micro loans continues to gain national attention and is a modeled program throughout Virginia.  

MBL is a trusted resource for entrepreneurs who are working to establish themselves in this business ecosystem and those who are more seasoned and need help scaling their business.  

The Metropolitan Business League is now a Kauffman Affiliate and offers the FastTrack curriculum for startup and existing businesses. This ten-week course/cohort allows participants to sharpen their entrepreneurial skills by delving into many distinct aspects of owning a business.  

MBL’s commitment to education is unwavering. Through partnerships with organizations like The Kauffman Foundation and our innovative Youth Entrepreneurship Program, we empower future leaders to thrive.  

Before the end of this calendar year, MBL will have given more than 2 million dollars in grants and micro loans and will have helped many local small businesses with securing more than 2 million dollars in local, state and federal contracts. Also, by the end of the year, MBL’s membership numbers will also increase to 2,000, with members across the commonwealth. MBL now has 20 staff members who are assigned to our 3 satellite offices, with a fourth location in Norfolk to open in the coming months. 

The City is excited about the strategic direction of the organization and the future of the MBL. They are a valuable part of the entrepreneurial ecosystem within the City and State. We, along with MBL, looks forward to the organization’s expansion and ability to assist more small businesses, especially in the City of Richmond.  

 

MBL Youth Entrepreneurship Program and MBL YEP Program Leaders

Grand Opening of Office at 1717 E. Cary Street 

MBL President & CEO Floyd E. Miller, II with MBL Board of Directors

Richmond Behavioral Authority 

At the Richmond Behavioral Health Authority (RBHA) we know that Housing is a Right! Embracing the Housing First Model, RBHA understands that when we meet the basic need for housing that we can then provide necessary supports to help an individual address other areas of importance in their lives.  

The Housing and Homeless Services Department at RBHA operates multiple programs to assist in connecting individuals to stable housing. These programs include but are not limited to their Permanent Supportive Housing (PSH) program, PATH program, and our Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) program through the City’s Housing and Community Development Department.  

Our PSH program is designed to connect individuals to housing that are diagnosed with a serious mental illness. By placing them in housing we can then connect them to services to address their physical and mental health without the added burden of worrying about their housing. 

Our PATH program is designed to engage Homeless individuals or those who are at risk of being homeless and refer or link those individuals to the necessary resources including but not limited to: mainstream services and public resources like mental health treatment and permanent housing.    

Our Transitional Family Housing program, funded with CDBG funds, is designed to provide outreach and intensive case management to families presently staying in local shelters. The program assists these families with obtaining permanent housing and providing support services for six months after a family is housed.    

RBHA has operated the Residential Support for Homeless Families Program for over three decades utilizing CDBG funding. The following are testimonies from families assisted through the program: 

“To whom it may concern, I really just wanted to speak on how appreciative I am of the services Ms. Robinette Reeves rendered for me moving into my new apartment. Ms. Reeves continuous help along the way and just her support and overall guidance has just made this whole experience worthwhile. I’m forever grateful for this new beginning, TW 02/08/2024”. 

Ms. Reaves, I am thankful that you have chosen to help my children and I during one of the most difficult, most stressful, challenging times in our lives. Trying to find housing has been extremely exhausting and draining, but your support has made a significant difference during this time, and I just want to say my family and I sincerely appreciate it. Thank you, 
CH 02/06/2024”. 

Through our continued partnership with HCD we hope to be able to continue to operate the Residential Support for Homeless Families program to continue to support fair housing for all families.