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Women’s Community Revitalization Project Celebrates Its 30th Anniversary


  On Friday, October 14th, lights gleamed over the outdoor patio of Oxford Mills, an apartment complex on W. Oxford Street, while tenants, allies and employees of the Women’s Community Revitalization Project (WCRP) celebrated the organization’s 30th anniversary.

  The WCRP held a ceremony to celebrate its 30-year history as a woman-led organization that has worked to strengthen Philadelphia’s poorest neighborhoods since 1986. The organization started in Kensington but has since spread to encompass Northern Liberties and sections of North Philadelphia.

  The event included food, drinks and a poetry reading by Philadelphia poet Trapeta B. Mayson, as well as words by Nora Lichtash, the executive director of WCRP and Staci Moore, the board co-chair of the WCRP.

Philadelphia poet, Trapeta B. Mayson, performs during the WCRP’s 30 year celebration./Kaitlyn Moore

Philadelphia poet, Trapeta B. Mayson, performs during the WCRP’s 30 year celebration./Kaitlyn Moore

  The organization has so far created 282 units of affordable housing for families and invested $90 million in Philadelphia communities. The organization works to provide affordable housing to families and provide supportive services like job training and family support while also working to influence policy-making at City Hall.

  Lichtash has been involved in the WCRP since its creation in 1986. Over the years, Lichtash said she has seen a huge loss of factory jobs that used to sustain the neighborhoods of North Philadelphia. With the loss of factory jobs, Lichtash said there has been a large abandonment of homes and structures that has promoted new high-end developments.

  “We welcome new people and new business, but we want to make sure that long-term people who have worked so hard in these neighborhoods get to stay,” Lichtash said.

 Nora Lichtash, executive director of WCRP greets guests at the celebration./Kaitlyn Moore

Nora Lichtash, executive director of WCRP greets guests at the celebration./Kaitlyn Moore

  In 2015, WCRP organized a campaign that successfully established an expansion of the State Housing Trust Fund to $25 million. Most recently, WCRP has worked to create the Development with Displacement Campaign to advocate for legislation that protects community members of all income levels.

  Lichtash explained that half of the projects completed by the WCRP are funded through a government program that provides tax credits to large corporations. “They put money into our housing and then they get a break on their tax bill for ten years.”

  The rest of the money comes from a number of different sources that Lichtash said at times can be difficult to raise. “It’s hard especially for us because we don’t turn people down based on their income,” Lichtash said. She attributes the organization’s success to the sheer amount of people behind the effort, including volunteers, employees, engineers, architects and general contractors.

The crowd enjoys the WCRP’s celebration event for 30 years of advocating for affordable housing./Kaitlyn Moore

The crowd enjoys the WCRP’s celebration event for 30 years of advocating for affordable housing./Kaitlyn Moore

  Sharonel Monroe, a tenant and member of the advocacy committee of WCRP, came to WCRP in 1999 with five children. Monroe said that the housing and resources are what allowed her to change her life and be able to send four kids to college.

  “The resources that they have inside their organization helped me get everything else in order so that I could succeed within my personal life as well as managing the home,” Monroe said, “and I really believe that if I had not been in this kind of housing setting, with the resources and the information that I had, I wouldn’t be able to do so much with my children, like I am doing now. It’s a blessing.”

  Monroe believes the efforts of WCRP help create communities that promote more productivity. “It creates communities when you live inside their houses. Its multicultural and diverse,” she said. “If families come in broken or tattered in any kind of way the resources would help them become more productive.”

Guests of the WCRP 30 year celebration enjoyed drinks, food and a poetry reading./Kaitlyn Moore

Guests of the WCRP 30 year celebration enjoyed drinks, food and a poetry reading./Kaitlyn Moore

  After participating in the WCRP housing program, Monroe soon got involved working with the organization. “I wanted to find out what the whole organization was all about after they blessed me,” she said. “I found out they were resources for women with families that had different problems and they were able to help them afford housing. It was a passion of mine to be a voice for women going through situations.”

  Lichtash said that having tenants become involved with the WCRP is an important aspect of the organization’s goals. “Our board is made up of nearly half of low-income people who either have needed affordable housing or do need affordable housing,” Lichtash said.

  “I really hope to be in the background of this organization for the next 30 years,” Monroe said. “Celebrating this with them [tonight] is a really great celebration. It allows me to see what they are doing is good and it will continue.”

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