Leading With Love This Valentine’s Day

A Supporter Testimonial From Jenny and Bruce Greyson

This Valentine’s Day, as we reflect on our commitment to leading with love, we asked some of our amazing supporters what draws them to this work and what it is that they love about Piedmont Housing Alliance.

We are honored to share the words of longtime supporters Jenny and Bruce Greyson, who have witnessed years of resident-led transformation and community-building.

“Why We Support Piedmont Housing Alliance”

By Jenny and Bruce Greyson

In my work with local non-profit Book Baskets, beginning in 2000, I would occasionally find myself handing out books at events for the children at Friendship Court and Habitat for Humanity. This made me aware of the families in Charlottesville that needed help with housing. And I could see the desire of several local organizations, like Habitat for Humanity, to get low-income residents motivated to succeed and improve their lives. We could read in their newsletters about the individuals who were taking small classes to learn how to save what they could, and work for what they wanted and needed for their families. This was encouraging.

Then I became aware of Piedmont Housing Alliance beginning to talk to and organize the residents at Friendship Court, including a group of teen leaders who were consulted about their hopes and dreams. Talking and planning went on for years, with residents organized to voice what they wanted in their future. All residents would have a place in the new buildings. Streets would be altered to connect the area to the rest of downtown, and things like a day care would be added. It was decided that a new name was needed so residents were organized to that end, and residents helped design new park spaces and playgrounds. All this required money, so federal and state grants were applied for, and local donations were solicited. The slow but carefully planned process, with lots of input from residents, attracted us.

My husband volunteered over these same years with the Free Clinic. There he saw people who were bettering themselves by getting jobs, or higher paying jobs, or second jobs, and becoming “too successful” to qualify for free medical care at the clinic. They did not have nearly enough money to purchase health insurance, however, and illness could wipe out their savings and cause them to lose those jobs. They needed a pathway to good health in order to succeed.

Piedmont Housing Alliance saw the same problem with local housing. People who suddenly had enough income to move out of public housing had nowhere to go. To meet this need, they planned to add housing that was a step up in cost for the group that was moving up. The new neighborhood would be 3 times the size of Friendship Court, and would be built in phases so no family would be without housing at any time. It would attract new people with higher incomes who wanted daycare on site and shops and services nearby.

This is why we have been supporters of Piedmont Housing Alliance and why we feel it continues to gain our support”