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A Message from Nancy BibermanIs there any single factor you can point to in your life that accounts for your success? That says, "This is why I am who I am," to the exclusion of all else? What about your capacity to meet life's challenges, to solve unexpected problems and to overcome obstacles? Have you managed alone? Probably not. The simple truth is that we all depend on a network of support. Friends, family, colleagues, mentors. Babysitters, teachers, doctors. People who recognize our unique gifts and talents, and nurture our development. At WHEDCo, we understand the enormity of challenges faced by New York's poorest residents-particularly in the Bronx, which remains the poorest urban county in the nation. As the cost of living escalates, unemployment increases, and wages stagnate, daily life for the very poorest becomes an exhausting and dispiriting struggle for survival. We believe that all families have a right to a home, economic security, adequate healthcare and education. We also believe that society needs to give priority to the most burdened communities. How well the very poorest fare reflects the success of society as a whole. At WHEDCO, we started from this simple truth and created a 'whole-life' approach to economic development. Recognizing that people cannot advance economically when they are beset by a tangle of personal, family, and systemic problems, WHEDCO provides both the tools and the support people need to confront the challenges of urban poverty in its many dimensions - joblessness; homelessness; lack of education, skills, and opportunity; poor health; substance abuse; violence and depression. These problems overlap and interlock. They require solutions that do the same. In a single location, we have created affordable and beautiful homes and an economic development center for the whole community. In recent years we have built on this model, deepening our roots in the Bronx. We recently purchased one of the last urban renewal sites in the city for $11.00 and assembled $45 million in financing from public and private sources to begin construction of Urban Horizons II, a green and affordable housing development. WHEDCo remains on the cutting edge of affordable housing in NYC by constructing green and wired-for-internet homes for the poorest among us-helping to bridge the digital divide. We are well into an exciting project to retrofit our existing flagship, Urban Horizons, into a model 21st century building. It can be argued, in fact, that energy retrofits for affordable housing were born in the Bronx. Our full housing development portfolio puts us in close step with Mayor Bloomberg's plan to manage growth while greening the city as whole. Overall, WHEDCo stands at a unique point in its organizational history that's in parallel step with the will and energy of Bronx residents. We are poised to take advantage of this moment; to innovate and guide development in the Bronx to the needed scope and scale that ensures we create vibrant, efficient, and affordable communities for one of the poorest counties in the United States. We hope that you find our work inspiring, and will join our quest to bring economic advancement to the lives of low-income women and their families. Sincerely, |