When Alfred Shirley was a kid, his mom gave him some sound advice: If someone’s knocking at the door and they don’t look familiar, don’t answer — especially if they’re knocking with one hand and holding a clipboard in the other. Shirley has long heeded his mother’s guidance, and he heard it anew when he […]
Author Archives: Erin O'Hare
I'm Charlottesville Tomorrow's neighborhoods reporter. I’ve never met a stranger and love to listen, so, get in touch with me here. If you’re not already subscribed to our free newsletter, you can do that here, and we’ll let you know when there’s a fresh story for you to read. I’m looking forward to getting to know more of you.
Posted inGovernment and public institutions, Race and equity
Charlottesville community will help resettle Afghan refugees, as it has for decades
Kari Miller’s phone is ringing off the hook this week. Two families that recently fled Afghanistan when the Taliban seized control of the country arrived in Charlottesville and needed assistance immediately. The families need homes so that they can get out of the hotels they’re staying in, so that their children can start school with […]
Posted inRace and equity
PHAR interns graduate from their program ready to help public housing residents learn their rights and use their voices
Syleethia Carr was always finding flyers for one thing or another posted to the screen door of her home in Westhaven, Charlottesville’s oldest public housing community. But in the time she lived there, only one flyer ever caught her eye: One advertising an internship with the Public Housing Association of Residents, or PHAR. “It was […]
Posted inHealth and safety
The state has $700 million available in rent assistance, but local nonprofits fear the complicated application process will prevent vulnerable people from applying
As the saying goes, home is where the heart is. And in its physical manifestation as housing, home is very much the heart, central to all other aspects of a person’s life. If someone loses their housing, they might not be able to get to work as easily, and they could lose their job. If […]
Posted inHealth and safety, Race and equity
The CDC just issued a complicated new eviction protection order that may — or may not — cover Charlottesville and Albemarle
Issuing new eviction protections amid the COVID-19 pandemic sounds like it should be a simple solution — but it isn’t.
Posted inOur neighborhoods
Housing voucher programs are integral to housing affordability. Here’s how they work locally.
Housing remains a hot topic of discussion in both Albemarle County and the city of Charlottesville as both localities work through the housing components of their respective comprehensive plan updates, which include developing plans and policies for how to create not just more housing, but more affordable — and deeply affordable at that — housing […]
Posted inGovernment and public institutions
Albemarle nears firearms ban on county property, draws protest
Ahead of Wednesday’s Albemarle County Board of Supervisors meeting, a crowd of more than 100 gathered outside the County Office Building on McIntire Road to rally against a proposed gun ordinance that would prohibit the carrying of guns, ammunition or parts in public parks, buildings and recreation centers owned by the county. Steve Harvey, a 2022 […]
Posted inRace and equity
City council votes to fund an eviction prevention pilot program through Legal Aid Justice Center
During Monday night’s Charlottesville City Council meeting, all five councilors voted to fund an eviction prevention pilot program through Legal Aid Justice Center. It was just in time: The national eviction moratorium expires in just over a week, on July 31.
Posted inRace and equity
Local tenants and housing advocacy groups prepare for a surge in eviction filings when national moratorium ends
Legal aid, housing advocacy groups and tenants — especially tenants — are bracing for the inevitable wave of eviction filings that will crash on the shores of courthouses throughout the U.S. at the end of the month, when the CDC’s national eviction moratorium expires at midnight on July 31.
Posted inRace and equity
Housing voucher applicants have new protections under Virginia law
As Charlottesville and Albemarle County continue to have conversations about affordable housing, experts hope that some recent additions to Virginia’s Fair Housing Law will make it easier for those who receive housing vouchers of any kind to have a choice in where they live.
