A June 21 article and photo caption incorrectly referred to the D.C. housing development of Wheeler Creek as being in Anacostia. The development is east of the Anacostia River but is not in the Anacostia neighborhood. The story also referred to a shooting as drug-related. The victim of the shooting says she does not know the nature of the dispute.
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Door May Close on Housing Program
Wheeler Creek looms above Mississippi Avenue SE. The formerly blighted area was once considered a symbol of public housing failure.
(Photos By Nikki Kahn -- The Washington Post)
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Others are adamant, however, that it is precisely that comprehensive approach that has made Hope VI successful.
"You can't promote homeownership and eliminate Hope VI," said Michael P. Kelly, executive director of the D.C. Housing Authority. "There's a disconnect there."
Homeowners at Wheeler Creek testify repeatedly to the power of ownership that Bush touts. Turner was on welfare in 1998 when she heard Skytower would be demolished to make way for a home she could own. It was like a kick in the pants, she recalled.
She took a construction job from the company demolishing her home, then went to work as an administrative aide for Nation's Capital Child and Family Development, a day care center, where she worked her way up to assistant to the chief operating officer. On June 6, she took a job close to home as office manager for the Wheeler Creek Community Development Corp. Her 10th-grade daughter's grades rose to the A-B range from a B-C average after she had a house to come home to and peer pressure changed. Now, Turner is plotting a return to school for a new career in human resources.
Before buying at Wheeler Creek, Vickey Shy, 40, had been a secretary for the Arlington County school system, renting a two-bedroom apartment at Baileys Crossroads for $950 a month, sending her son, Preston, to the local public school and largely keeping to herself.
Now, she pays a $750-a-month mortgage payment on her three-bedroom house and has landed a job as a community advocate for Wheeler Creek residents, helping them stick to their self-sufficiency programs, hold down jobs or navigate the bureaucratic thicket of the D.C. Housing Authority. She found a charter school for Preston, now 10: the Arts and Technology Academy 30 minutes away in Northeast Washington, where she drives him every day. And she is careful to keep $2,500 tucked away in savings, earmarked for the upkeep of her home.
"I never thought it would happen in Southeast D.C., but here it is," said resident Luella Johnson. "I can't even explain it, the sense of pride, 'Gosh, I own this.' It promotes the sense of community you see on TV."
As Massey said, the journey taken by Wheeler Creek homeowners has not been easy. In 1997 and 1998, when Valley Green and then Skytower were razed, only 23 families remained between the two developments' 450 units. They were relocated to subsidized apartments during construction. But in all, 286 former residents were eligible to return once Wheeler Creek's construction was complete.
Of those, only 80 signed on and enrolled in the family self-sufficiency program.
The coursework could take as long as three years and included personal finance and credit repair, employability and life skills, the workings of a mortgage, and the maintenance of a dishwasher. Wheeler Creek started an ex-offenders employment program, a substance-abuse program and parenting classes.
Even now, Wheeler Creek remains in the womb of the welfare state, to some extent. The D.C. Housing Authority was generous with its own jobs. Massey received management training at Catholic University and is now a property manager for the housing authority. Irma Turner, 65, one of the last Skytower residents, runs a catering business from her home, but the housing authority and Wheeler Creek are key customers.
Bessie Swann, executive director of the Wheeler Creek Community Development Corp., helped negotiate a deal with Harkin Builders Inc., the program's main contractor, to employ many of its residents. On Thursday paydays, resident employees had to get their paychecks during lunch at the community center, where they could talk about getting through the weekend with their checks largely intact, Swann said.
