Piedmont Housing Alliance Staff and Board Gather with Residents at Monticello Vista Apartments for a Spring Luncheon

On a beautiful spring day in April near downtown Charlottesville, several members of Piedmont Housing Alliance’s board and staff took some time out of their day to meet with residents at Monticello Vista Apartments. On Wednesday, April 18, residents, staff and board members got to know each other a little better and shared lunch together, catered by Piedmont Housing Alliance client and soon-to-be restaurateur, Jeanetha Brown-Douglas of JBD Mobile Catering, while learning about how the apartments used to be a factory where shirts and rocking chairs were made.  Long-time resident Jay Bartlow, whose mother used to work in the factory, told stories of his life at Monticello Vista which began in 1993 after a motorcycle accident left him paralyzed from the neck down. He says, “She’s my angel looking over me.”

New resident Diana Buttner said, “What I like about this place is that it’s like a book. It’s filled with all of these characters, and everybody has these wonderful and different personalities. But we all share the fact that we love it here.” Diana found herself in hard times and was desperate for a new place to live after her mom passed away. Now she is grateful to be part of the MVA family.

The luncheon also provided an opportunity for Piedmont Housing Alliance’s team of housing counselors to explain their one-on-one housing counseling and financial coaching services, and share information about upcoming financial education and homebuyer classes. Monticello Vista Apartments offers 50 affordable apartment homes in the Belmont neighborhood of Charlottesville, and is one of nine affordable apartment communities managed by Piedmont Housing Alliance’s Alliance Management.