“It Takes a Village”: RRHA Awarded Grant to Tackle Gun Violence Through Community Empowerment

The City of Roanoke Redevelopment and Housing Authority (RRHA) is proud to announce it has been awarded a Firearm Violence Intervention and Prevention Grant totaling $299,916 to launch the “It Takes a Village” program. This two-year initiative, running from July 1, 2025, through June 30, 2027, will be based primarily at the Villages at Lincoln community. While the core programming will center on Villages at Lincoln, residents of the neighboring Hunt Manor housing site will also benefit. With this funding, RRHA aims to strengthen community bonds, provide hands-on learning opportunities for youth, and reinforce Resident Councils at both public housing locations.

As part of It Takes a Village, RRHA will collaborate with local organizations to deliver a variety of engaging and supportive services:

• One World Arts will lead weekly youth art classes that promote peace and nonviolence in neighborhoods through creative expression and community engagement.

• Taylor’s Tutoring will host two small after-school tutoring groups for elementary and junior high/high school students. These sessions will also offer access to the newly established computer lab at Villages at Lincoln, providing students with hands-on experience using digital learning tools.
  
  
• Family Services of Roanoke Valley will facilitate both a Positive Actions Group and a Teen Outreach Program (TOP). These programs are designed to help adolescents develop healthy peer relationships and nurture mental wellness through structured discussions, activities, and mentorship.
  
  
• The Western Virginia Area Labor Federation will launch a summer pilot program offering weekly workshops and camps that introduce teens to career pathways in the skilled trades. These interactive sessions aim to spark interest in high-demand professions and equip youth with practical insights and hands-on experiences. Participants who complete the program will receive a $200 stipend in recognition of their engagement and achievement.

In addition, RRHA will incorporate an agricultural component by recruiting teens for paid opportunities to build a large-scale organic garden and plant fruit trees at both the Villages at Lincoln and Melrose Towers, RRHA’s largest community serving elderly and disabled residents. This initiative will provide youth with valuable skills to create and sustain a thriving garden, while also helping to offset reduced SNAP benefits and other challenges faced by many of our elderly and disabled residents.

Youth and families will also be working with The Harvest Collective and Star City Compost to learn about and engage in compost collection, cooking classes, and family nights that celebrate food grown in the gardens. Once the garden is completed, families will be encouraged to take part in neighborhood potlucks that highlight the use of fresh, homegrown produce.

This grant was made possible thanks to the shared efforts of RRHA and The Harvest Collective, working together to support our community.

“We are excited to receive this grant from the Department of Criminal Justice Services and to use the funds not only to support our RRHA communities now, but also to build lasting skills and spaces that will benefit them for years to come,” said Greg Goodman, Director of Community Support Services at RRHA. “This grant takes a whole-family approach, and we look forward to rolling out the programming soon and seeing the positive impact it will have.”

“We are excited to continue our work with RRHA, building on our successes at the EnVision Center and expanding the impact of our coalition that animates this project. The current crises, including food, water, and housing insecurity, pollution, global warming, as well as federal, state, and local political dysfunction, all contribute to community violence in Roanoke,” said Hunter Hartley of The Harvest Collective. “By restoring our relationship with our environment, we can learn how to mindfully allocate resources toward resolving the root causes of these crises. Through community stewardship of our food security system, we build our capacities and develop and maintain healthy, bountiful relationships with each other and the environment that supports all life. Each of us shows up with a history of successes and failures. But opportunities for continued growth are like dormant seeds, simply needing the right conditions to grow and eventually bear fruit. We hope more will join us in this journey of place-based healing, as the invitation to connect directly with nature and each other is always present.”