Comments by Sharonel Monroe
Tenant and Board Member
Women's Community Revitalization Project

It is an overwhelming feeling to be able to call someplace your home. When I think of a home, I think of a place where joy is abundant and laughter is contagious. The neighborhood I came from was not a home. No matter how hard we tried to create that loving atmosphere inside, it was always interrupted by the sound of gunshots, breaking glass, or the thumps of bodies being beaten, over and over again. We became prisoners of our own house.

I did not feel like I wanted to get a job, because I was worried that my children would not be safe. We got our new home through the Women's Community Revitalization Project (WCRP) in 1999. In 2000, I started working. WCRP did not give me a job; the job was always there. But being in this housing has given me the confidence and assurance that my children are safe, so I could go back to work. Your home is where you grow, and if you feel afraid, you cannot do that. Once you feel safe, you want to expand your horizons.

WCRP has gone from being just a name to me. I became a member of the advocacy committee, and then a member of the board. We wanted to start an after-school program on one of the sites. At a tenant meeting, everyone had the same kind of need for their kids. Two other parents and I thought we would start it. We planned it and then children started signing up. The whole thing started with just three women.

WCRP is not involved simply in housing; it takes more to better a person than being able to live in a house. WCRP has resources to help a person be stronger and self-reliant—like a caring family that has your needs and your desires in mind. The environment is warm, and it makes me feel good now to invite someone into my home.