‘Because of our giving’: Church pays off $1M in Alexandria residents’ back rent

It was a stunning, even frightening, discovery recently for Alexandria’s mayor. She learned from the agency overseeing public housing that nearly 450 families owed $1 million in back rent. All the families faced eviction.

But, by partnering with community faith leaders, a looming crisis has been dodged, and the residents are getting a fresh start.

The Alexandria Redevelopment & Housing Authority (ARHA) operates more than 1,000 public housing units in the city. When Mayor Alyia Gaskins learned nearly half had overdue rent, she was shocked.

“I was curious how much did people owe and I learned it was everything from $50 to some owing close to $30K,” Gaskins said. “My concern was what happens next.”

The immediate fear: If ARHA evicted 445 families, it would overwhelm the city’s social services safety net.

So she turned to the Mayor’s Interfaith Council for guidance with this question: “Is there a way we can support residents in this time? So the idea came, could we clear the back rent? Could we provide people with a fresh start?”

Gaskins says she made two phone calls: one to her pastor, another to the leader of Alfred Street Baptist, Rev. Howard-John Wesley.

In a recent service, Wesley explained the problem to the congregation.

Alfred Street had already begun what they called their SEEK campaign to raise money to help with homelessness and housing.

“We are getting ready with our SEEK offering to stop the eviction of 450 families in the city of Alexandria who can retain their houses because of our giving,” Wesley told his congregation during a recent service.

The congregation’s response was overwhelming. Alfred Street Baptist paid off the $1 million in overdue rent. The Fresh Start Initiative was underway.

“People wanting to be connected to something bigger than themselves,” Wesley said, “and in the midst of the days and times in which we live which seem to be so callous and cruel to people who are impoverished, here’s a way to make a difference.”

An important part of the plan: Every resident whose back rent is paid off will have to go in for an individual meeting to talk about why they got behind and determine the steps to take in the future to make sure it doesn’t happen again.

That’s where Shiloh Baptist and other faith organizations including Agudas Achim and Groveton Baptist come in. They will be helping to fund followup services once it’s determined what public housing residents need, whether it’s funding to upgrade skills for a better paycheck or connecting to food banks.

“Everybody is entitled to their opinion, but I serve Jesus Christ, and we have a duty to help our neighbors and look after the least of these, because that’s what Jesus said we should do,” Rev. Taft Quincey Heatley of Shiloh Baptist Church said.

The nonprofit ACT for Alexandria also has a key role as a conduit for the money and making sure it’s well-spent.

ARHA also must put new internal systems and staff in place to identify problems sooner and address them, Gaskins said.