Additional Community Feedback
Housing
“ I feel like I ’ m walking around on eggshells just about every single day of my life and I don ’ t like that . Specifically in my neighborhood , I feel very included . But outside of my neighborhood , I do feel like I ’ m walking on eggshells . I ’ m sort of waiting for something to occur .”
“ We see a disproportionate number of folks seeking homeless services that are minorities . So when you compare the population of Arlington , you see a disparity in that more people are homeless that are African American , than people who White , Asian , or even Latino .”
“ When they found out that I worked at that school , some of the White people would talk about it as a ‘ rough ’ school . I think that ’ s code for ‘ Black ,’ and it shows an undercurrent of prejudice in the White community very much still alive and present . That Black spaces or spaces that are more populated with Black people must somehow be more ‘ rough ’ or ‘ less safe ’ is not true .”
“ The City helps fund about 20 different non-profits that are all working in low-income communities , but often people don ’ t know about them . The challenge is to try to figure out how to get the word out .”
We can do things like invest in those low-income neighborhoods with things like improved streets , sidewalks , community centers . We have already done this in several places with our Community Development Block Grant funding .... I think we ’ ve invested about $ 10 million of grant funding in those low income East Arlington neighborhoods where you used to see a lot of crumbling infrastructure and a lot of older streets with potholes .
– an Arlington resident
Unity Council Report 66