Another item checked off my life's to-do list!
Tuesday, May 19, 2009
Saturday, May 16, 2009
Program to fix up homes in last phase
By Deborah Hirsh • Courier-Post Staff • May 16, 2009
State, local and church officials Friday announced the third and final phase of a program that grants forgivable loans to Camden residents looking to fix up their places.
The Camden Home Improvement Program, also known as CHIP, offers eligible homeowners up to $20,000 in loans to fix their homes. Priority is given to repairs that affect the safety of residents, such as rewiring a faulty electrical system. However, grants can also be awarded for fixing basic systems, preventing deterioration and enhancing the exterior facade. If the homeowners stay in their home for five years, the entire loan is forgiven. They can sell the home before that, but must repay all or part of the loan depending on how many years they stay.
The idea originated from Camden Churches Organized for People and Concerned Black Clergy, who said the state's $175 million economic recovery plan had not done enough to improve the city's neighborhoods.
Since the program first launched in December 2006, more than 130 homes have been rehabilitated and dozens more are in progress.
An additional 83 are expected to be rehabbed in this final phase. Homeowners in Fairview, Morgan Village, Parkside, Lanning Square, Central Waterfront, Cooper Grant and downtown will now be eligible to apply.
State agencies anticipate eventually giving out $8 million to up to 300 homeowners across the city. Of that money, $5 million comes from the Camden Economic Recovery Board, $2.5 million from the Department of Community Affairs and $500,000 from the city of Camden.
Gloucester City contractor Munawar Bashir, 44, said the program has not only helped homeowners but also kept him and other local businesses afloat.
Bashir said it wasn't long after he and his brother started their company in 2005 that projects began to slow down. Sometimes, he said, people would hire them and then they didn't have the money to pay for the job.
"It's cold winter and no jobs, I'm just crazy running around," he remembered. "I lost everything, house and car."
He heard about the CHIP program in 2007 and applied to be one of their designated contractors. If not for those projects, he said, "I would have lost everything."
On Friday, he and two employees put siding on an East Camden home, one of about 35 grant projects they've worked on so far. Bashir estimated that 90 percent of their jobs come from CHIP.
If there were enough money to meet the high demand for the grants, contractors would have even more projects. Aida Figueroa, who manages the project through Cooper's Ferry, said she has a wait list of more than 250 people who applied for the second phase of the program but weren't able to get funding.
Church leaders said they hope to find a way to continue the program because helping residents improve their homes can trigger a domino effect throughout the neighborhood, increasing depressed property values.
"That one that stands out has encouraged some of the other people on the block to fix up their houses, too, at least on the outside," said the Rev. Willie Anderson, of the Gateway neighborhood.
The program "definitely needs to be done again," he said. "We've got a lot of working poor that's doing all they can just to stay in their homes and pay their taxes. They just don't have the money for a new roof or a heating system."
State, local and church officials Friday announced the third and final phase of a program that grants forgivable loans to Camden residents looking to fix up their places.
The Camden Home Improvement Program, also known as CHIP, offers eligible homeowners up to $20,000 in loans to fix their homes. Priority is given to repairs that affect the safety of residents, such as rewiring a faulty electrical system. However, grants can also be awarded for fixing basic systems, preventing deterioration and enhancing the exterior facade. If the homeowners stay in their home for five years, the entire loan is forgiven. They can sell the home before that, but must repay all or part of the loan depending on how many years they stay.
The idea originated from Camden Churches Organized for People and Concerned Black Clergy, who said the state's $175 million economic recovery plan had not done enough to improve the city's neighborhoods.
Since the program first launched in December 2006, more than 130 homes have been rehabilitated and dozens more are in progress.
An additional 83 are expected to be rehabbed in this final phase. Homeowners in Fairview, Morgan Village, Parkside, Lanning Square, Central Waterfront, Cooper Grant and downtown will now be eligible to apply.
State agencies anticipate eventually giving out $8 million to up to 300 homeowners across the city. Of that money, $5 million comes from the Camden Economic Recovery Board, $2.5 million from the Department of Community Affairs and $500,000 from the city of Camden.
Gloucester City contractor Munawar Bashir, 44, said the program has not only helped homeowners but also kept him and other local businesses afloat.
Bashir said it wasn't long after he and his brother started their company in 2005 that projects began to slow down. Sometimes, he said, people would hire them and then they didn't have the money to pay for the job.
"It's cold winter and no jobs, I'm just crazy running around," he remembered. "I lost everything, house and car."
He heard about the CHIP program in 2007 and applied to be one of their designated contractors. If not for those projects, he said, "I would have lost everything."
On Friday, he and two employees put siding on an East Camden home, one of about 35 grant projects they've worked on so far. Bashir estimated that 90 percent of their jobs come from CHIP.
If there were enough money to meet the high demand for the grants, contractors would have even more projects. Aida Figueroa, who manages the project through Cooper's Ferry, said she has a wait list of more than 250 people who applied for the second phase of the program but weren't able to get funding.
Church leaders said they hope to find a way to continue the program because helping residents improve their homes can trigger a domino effect throughout the neighborhood, increasing depressed property values.
"That one that stands out has encouraged some of the other people on the block to fix up their houses, too, at least on the outside," said the Rev. Willie Anderson, of the Gateway neighborhood.
The program "definitely needs to be done again," he said. "We've got a lot of working poor that's doing all they can just to stay in their homes and pay their taxes. They just don't have the money for a new roof or a heating system."
Monday, May 11, 2009
Community Garden (a.k.a. What Joshua Does with His Days)
Vacant city lots transform into family-tended gardens
By Lavinia DeCastro • Courier-Post Staff • May 10, 2009
Less than a year ago, 9-year-old Alex Checo came home from a school field trip clutching a small tomato plant. "He was so excited," said his mother Martha Checo. "He said "Mom, let's go. We have to plant it.'" Checo didn't share her son's excitement. "At my house, we don't have the space to grow a garden," she said.
She did it anyway, setting the plant down in the small patch of dirt at their Cramer Hill home.
"We had so many tomatoes, if you came in and took a couple, we wouldn't even notice," said Alex, a student at the St. Anthony of Padua School.
Although the family's garden is still small, they now have room to grow as many vegetables as they would like. The Checos were among the first families to sign up for their own plot at a new community garden in a city-owned lot on the corner of 29th Street and River Road, across from Von Neida Park. "We're going to have more throughout the city," said City Council President Angel Fuentes during Saturday's groundbreaking ceremony. "This is just the beginning."
The garden, one of about 20 sprinkled throughout the city, is the result of a partnership between the city, a group of local churches and the Camden Children's Garden. About half of the community gardens in Camden are on city-owned properties, said Children's Garden Director Mike Devlin. The other half belongs to faith-based organizations, he said.
"This is a good partnership with the churches," Fuentes said. "Imagine if each church could select an empty lot near them and beautify it. I think it would make a huge difference in the city."
The lot in Cramer Hill is among the 5,000 to 10,000 abandoned properties in Camden.
For the past five years, the lot was a neighborhood blight. Trailers that served as a police substation from 1994 to 2002 still sat there, abandoned. "We put up the trailers and within a couple of days, folks came here and firebombed it," Fuentes said, blaming the damage on drug dealers who sold their wares on the corner of 28th and Heyes streets. When the city restructured its police department the trailers were no longer needed.
Tired of seeing the abandoned structures, four Cramer Hill churches belonging to a group called Camden Churches Organized for People decided to do something about it.
"We got together with the Children's Garden and asked: "What can we do with this site?' " said Mandi Aviles, director of youth ministries at St. Anthony. With the help of a group from Volunteers of America, the staff at the Children's Garden prepared the first nine plots to be planted then used part of a $250,000 Robert Wood Johnson grant to supply seeds and plants. Those who participate in the program have to sign an agreement with St. Anthony and the Cramer Hill community garden committee to take care of the land. "The first step is to get the gardens going," Devlin said.
On Saturday, volunteers were busy planting the more than 500 plants and seeds bought with grant money. With a little help getting started, neighbors usually stick with it, Devlin said.
"Gardening is popular in every culture," Devlin said. "It's as popular in Haddonfield as it is in Camden." And the demand is growing. There are more community gardens popping up this year than any other previous year, Devlin said. So many, in fact, that Camden County ran out of the wood chips it has provided free of change for many years. The wood chips are used to divide the plots. "We used them all up," Devlin said.
Membership in the Children's Garden club has climbed to include more than 70 families and 30 nonprofits. For their $25 to $60 annual dues, members have access to free plants, seeds, fertilizers, fencing and other planting materials. The National Gardening Association estimates that 9 million more households will be gardening this year, a 19 percent increase from last year.
For the residents planting the gardens, the benefits outweigh the amount of produce they can harvest.
"I think it's going to restore a lot of the hope that was lost here," Aviles said. "We see so much negative that we forget that there are things that we can do that are positive if we just get together and do them."
By Lavinia DeCastro • Courier-Post Staff • May 10, 2009
Less than a year ago, 9-year-old Alex Checo came home from a school field trip clutching a small tomato plant. "He was so excited," said his mother Martha Checo. "He said "Mom, let's go. We have to plant it.'" Checo didn't share her son's excitement. "At my house, we don't have the space to grow a garden," she said.
She did it anyway, setting the plant down in the small patch of dirt at their Cramer Hill home.
"We had so many tomatoes, if you came in and took a couple, we wouldn't even notice," said Alex, a student at the St. Anthony of Padua School.
Although the family's garden is still small, they now have room to grow as many vegetables as they would like. The Checos were among the first families to sign up for their own plot at a new community garden in a city-owned lot on the corner of 29th Street and River Road, across from Von Neida Park. "We're going to have more throughout the city," said City Council President Angel Fuentes during Saturday's groundbreaking ceremony. "This is just the beginning."
The garden, one of about 20 sprinkled throughout the city, is the result of a partnership between the city, a group of local churches and the Camden Children's Garden. About half of the community gardens in Camden are on city-owned properties, said Children's Garden Director Mike Devlin. The other half belongs to faith-based organizations, he said.
"This is a good partnership with the churches," Fuentes said. "Imagine if each church could select an empty lot near them and beautify it. I think it would make a huge difference in the city."
The lot in Cramer Hill is among the 5,000 to 10,000 abandoned properties in Camden.
For the past five years, the lot was a neighborhood blight. Trailers that served as a police substation from 1994 to 2002 still sat there, abandoned. "We put up the trailers and within a couple of days, folks came here and firebombed it," Fuentes said, blaming the damage on drug dealers who sold their wares on the corner of 28th and Heyes streets. When the city restructured its police department the trailers were no longer needed.
Tired of seeing the abandoned structures, four Cramer Hill churches belonging to a group called Camden Churches Organized for People decided to do something about it.
"We got together with the Children's Garden and asked: "What can we do with this site?' " said Mandi Aviles, director of youth ministries at St. Anthony. With the help of a group from Volunteers of America, the staff at the Children's Garden prepared the first nine plots to be planted then used part of a $250,000 Robert Wood Johnson grant to supply seeds and plants. Those who participate in the program have to sign an agreement with St. Anthony and the Cramer Hill community garden committee to take care of the land. "The first step is to get the gardens going," Devlin said.
On Saturday, volunteers were busy planting the more than 500 plants and seeds bought with grant money. With a little help getting started, neighbors usually stick with it, Devlin said.
"Gardening is popular in every culture," Devlin said. "It's as popular in Haddonfield as it is in Camden." And the demand is growing. There are more community gardens popping up this year than any other previous year, Devlin said. So many, in fact, that Camden County ran out of the wood chips it has provided free of change for many years. The wood chips are used to divide the plots. "We used them all up," Devlin said.
Membership in the Children's Garden club has climbed to include more than 70 families and 30 nonprofits. For their $25 to $60 annual dues, members have access to free plants, seeds, fertilizers, fencing and other planting materials. The National Gardening Association estimates that 9 million more households will be gardening this year, a 19 percent increase from last year.
For the residents planting the gardens, the benefits outweigh the amount of produce they can harvest.
"I think it's going to restore a lot of the hope that was lost here," Aviles said. "We see so much negative that we forget that there are things that we can do that are positive if we just get together and do them."
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