Charlottesville Tomorrow’s housing reporting has won a 2025 Nonprofit News Award from the Institute for Nonprofit News (INN). The series of articles by Neighborhoods Reporter Erin O’Hare was honored with the Breaking Barrier Award.
The award recognizes reporting that brings “new understanding to an issue or topic affecting people or communities that are historically underrepresented, disadvantaged or marginalized, resulting in impactful change.” said the INN announcement. It was one of 30 awards across 11 categories announced at a ceremony in New Orleans on Sept. 10. Contest judges selected the winners from a pool of nearly 600 entries.
“The depth of this coverage, and the way the community came together in response, shows that Charlottesville Tomorrow is embedded in place and with people in a way that’s changing the city,” a judge wrote. “This story pulled to top place in my mind because of the strong model it provides for other news organizations to follow.”
Our reporting highlighted access to housing in Charlottesville and Albemarle County as a critical issue directly affecting the lives of thousands of residents. The coverage provided information that empowered community groups and local officials to protect affordable housing in the area.
“The work that we do at Charlottesville Tomorrow is first and foremost for our community,” said O’Hare. “But I hope this national recognition means that journalists across the country are reading these reports and feeling motivated to seek out the people in their own communities whose voices have been ignored or silenced.”
On June 28, 2024 Charlottesville Tomorrow broke the news that Carlton Mobile Home Park was being sold to an undisclosed private developer, threatening to displace nearly 200 low-income residents. O’Hare’s reporting drew attention from local groups, including Democratic Socialists of America Housing Justice and the Legal Aid Justice Center. Using information from the report, they organized to help stave off evictions. By August, Habitat for Humanity had committed to buying the property for over $7 million in partnership with the Piedmont Housing Alliance and the City of Charlottesville.
One Carlton resident wrote in: “I wanted to thank everyone for trying their best to stop the buying of the trailer park because we and others have nowhere else to go, we have been here for a long time.” Another reader shared that the Carlton reporting made her contact city officials for the first time.
O’Hare also covered the displacement of residents from the Cavalier Crossing apartment complex in August 2024. We reported that Cavalier Crossing was sold to a private firm that planned to redevelop the property into luxury units. The firm informed residents it would not be renewing their leases.
This reporting caught the eye of Albemarle County Supervisor Mike Pruitt, who met with the firm and organized a meeting with housing advocates. The company distributed a new notice to residents with specific renovation plans, an offer of relocation assistance and a resource packet. By mid-October, the Board of Supervisors committed to increase the county’s Emergency Relief Program by 65% to a total of $430,000. About 20% of the new funding was earmarked for security deposits to help residents who have to move, which advocates had made a priority.
On March 27, 2025, we reported on renovations at the Midway Manor apartments, home to about 100 low-income seniors and people with disabilities.The final report was published four years after Charlottesville Tomorrow exposed the building’s hazardous living conditions and monitored the progress of improvements, the culmination of a long-term commitment to keeping Midway Manor residents and other community members informed.
“Erin responds when she hears the community asking to tell their story, and she does it with great care and skill. That shines through in her writing, and it really resonates with folks, often motivating them to take action,” said Managing Editor Akash Sinha. “The team, including editor Jessie Higgins who worked closely on many of these reports, is grateful for this recognition from our mission-driven colleagues.”
Charlottesville Tomorrow’s housing reporting is one of four nominations in the INN Breaking Barriers Award for our size category. The other finalists include Shelterforce’s reporting on community ownership of an affordable apartment complex, InvestigateWest coverage of psychiatric care for low-income teens, and a reporting project by InvestigateWest about racial disparities in police searches.
Editor’s note: This From the Newsroom post was updated with awards results.
