Capital One Impact Initiative
Veterans across the country are struggling to find stable housing. This affordable housing community is ensuring Los Angeles vets have a place to call home.
02.13.21
Courtesy of Creative Commons
True
After years of service as a military nurse in the naval Marine Corps, Los Angeles, California-resident Rhonda Jackson became one of the 37,000 retired veterans in the U.S. who are currently experiencing homelessness — roughly eight percent of the entire homeless population.
"I was living in a one-bedroom apartment with no heat for two years," Jackson said. "The Department of Veterans Affairs was doing everything they could to help but I was not in a good situation."
One day in 2019, Jackson felt a sudden sense of hope for a better living arrangement when she caught wind of the ongoing construction of Veteran's Village in Carson, California — a 51-unit affordable housing development with one, two and three-bedroom apartments and supportive services to residents through a partnership with U.S.VETS.
Her feelings of hope quickly blossomed into a vision for her future when she learned that Veteran's Village was taking applications for residents to move in later that year after construction was complete.
"I was entered into a lottery and I just said to myself, 'Okay, this is going to work out,'" Jackson said. "The next thing I knew, I had won the lottery — in more ways than one."
<p>Communities like Veteran's Village are contributing to the national decline in homeless veterans. <u><a href="https://www.huduser.gov/portal/sites/default/files/pdf/2019-AHAR-Part-1.pdf" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">According to The Department of Housing and Urban Development</a></u>, 793 fewer veterans experienced homelessness between 2018 and 2019.</p><p>That drop continued a steady decline over the past decade, as the number of veterans experiencing homelessness <u><a href="https://www.huduser.gov/portal/sites/default/files/pdf/2019-AHAR-Part-1.pdf" target="_blank">has fallen nearly 50 percent</a></u> since 2009.<br></p><p><a target="_blank"></a>National Equity Fund (NEF), a nonprofit LIHTC syndicator and partner to Capital One, brought Veteran's Village to the bank, which responded by providing a $14.3 million construction loan and $15.6 million long-term equity investment through the purchase of low-income housing tax credits.</p><p class="shortcode-media shortcode-media-rebelmouse-image">
<img type="lazy-image" data-runner-src="https://assets.rebelmouse.io/eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiIsInR5cCI6IkpXVCJ9.eyJpbWFnZSI6Imh0dHBzOi8vYXNzZXRzLnJibC5tcy8yNTY0NDgyNi9vcmlnaW4uanBnIiwiZXhwaXJlc19hdCI6MTY1ODYwOTQ1N30.9Hx_lOBHw7k-4oEOdCCFG11hRY2rgQwgmlOKCFy7YmE/img.jpg?width=980" id="cc95e" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="ebfbc8429462c2ce7ca0764081868223" data-rm-shortcode-name="rebelmouse-image" data-width="2349" data-height="1320">
<small class="image-media media-photo-credit" placeholder="Add Photo Credit...">Courtesy of Thomas Safran & Associates </small></p><p>"Everyone deserves safe, secure, stable housing — especially the heroes that protect our rights and freedoms," says David Musial, a Capital One Senior Director of the Bank's Community Finance team, which specializes in financing affordable housing. "We are honored to be able to support communities like Veteran's Village as stable affordable housing is fundamental to physical and financial health and access to opportunity."<br></p><p>Veteran's Village strives to be more than just an affordable housing development. Its staff functions as a support system to help residents navigate their individual situations to ensure that each resident is equipped with the tools they need to thrive.</p><p>"Through the support of Capital One, we were able to provide much-needed housing for U.S. Veterans," said Amy Hyde of Thomas Safran & Associates, an affordable housing development and management organization whose properties include Veteran's Village. "Our goal is to enrich the lives of the people who reside in our buildings and Capital One's funding is helping us do just that," Hyde said.</p><p>For Jackson, that goal is realized through the sense of community throughout Veteran's Village.</p><p>"It's home for people who served their country and want to serve each other," Jackson said. "We take care of each other and we look out for each other. We're a family here."</p><p>In addition to supporting housing for veterans, Capital One supports affordable housing for residents throughout the Los Angeles area, including <u><a href="https://nationalcore.org/communities/vista-grande-court/" target="_blank">Vista Grande Court</a></u>, an affordable development that supports people over 60 years of age and Palo Verde Apartments, which includes 49 affordable units with 25 reserved for formerly homeless veterans and their families.</p><p>Capital One's support to affordable housing communities in Los Angeles comes as part of its larger <u><a href="http://capital.one/2Gl20C3" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Capital One Impact Initiative</a><a href="http://capital.one/2Gl20C3" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">,</a></u> an initial $200 million, multi-year commitment to advancing socioeconomic mobility through advocating for an inclusive society, building thriving communities and creating financial tools that enrich lives.</p><p>Jackson said that while she is grateful for her living arrangement at Veteran's Village, there is a long road ahead in ensuring that every veteran has access to stable housing.</p><p>"I pray that there will be more communities like this built because there are so many of my veteran brothers and sisters on the streets that don't even realize their living situation doesn't have to be the way it currently is," Jackson said.</p>
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Poet perfectly describes the fatigue so many are feeling at this stage of the pandemic
02.24.21
Photo: Canva
We're nearly a year into the pandemic, and what a year it has been. We've gone through the struggles of shutdowns, the trauma of mass death, the seemingly fleeting "We're all in this together" phase, the mind-boggling denial and deluge of misinformation, the constantly frustrating uncertainty, and the ongoing question of when we're going to get to resume some sense of normalcy.
It's been a lot. It's been emotionally and mentally exhausting. And at this point, many of us have hit a wall of pandemic fatigue that's hard to describe. We're just done with all of it, but we know we still have to keep going.
Poet Donna Ashworth has put this "done" feeling into words that are resonating with so many of us. While it seems like we should want to talk to people we love more than ever right now, we've sort of lost the will to socialize pandemically. We're tired of Zoom calls. Getting together masked and socially distanced is doable—we've been doing it—but it sucks. In the wintry north (and recently south) the weather is too crappy to get together outside. So many of us have just gone quiet.
If that sounds like you, you're not alone. As Ashworth wrote:
<p><em>You're not imagining it, nobody seems to want to talk right now.</em></p><p><em>Messages are brief and replies late.</em></p><p><em>Talk of catch ups on zoom are perpetually put on hold.</em></p><p><em>Group chats are no longer pinging all night long.</em></p><p><em>It's not you.</em></p><p><em>It's everyone.</em></p><p><em>We are spent.</em></p><p><em>We have nothing left to say.</em></p><p><em>We are tired of saying 'I miss you' and 'I can't wait for this to end'.</em></p><p><em>So we mostly say nothing, put our heads down and get through each day.</em></p><p><em>You're not imagining it.</em></p><p><em>This is a state of being like no other we have ever known because we are all going through it together but so very far apart.</em></p><p><em>Hang in there my friend.</em></p><p><em>When the mood strikes, send out all those messages and don't feel you have to apologise for being quiet.</em></p><p><em>This is hard.</em></p><p><em>No one is judging.</em></p><p><em>- Donna Ashworth</em></p>
<div class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="a6d6d90ab6e4939590af97e6e52eb426"><div class="fb-post" data-href="https://www.facebook.com/ladiespassiton/posts/2543307019309770"></div></div>
<p>Those of us who find ourselves feeling this way certainly <em>hope</em> that no one is judging. We hope that our friends understand, either because they're in the same boat or because we all get that we're all handling this weird time differently. <br></p><p>It's not that we don't care or that we don't miss people outside of our household desperately. It's more that we miss people so much that we can't stand this half-baked way of being with people anymore. Personally, I'd rather just wait it out until we get enough people vaccinated over the next few months. I'm holding out for the hugs, man. Going into hermit mode in this final stretch feels more doable than straining to make socializing work with all the limitations and the exhaustion on top of it.</p><p>There are exceptions, of course. People who live alone probably need whatever socializing they can get. And checking in with people, especially loved ones you know struggle with mental health issues, is important. Some of this pandemic wall can be veiled depression, so we need to look out for one another and touch base sometimes. It's also good for us to make connections even when we don't necessarily feel like it. Sometimes the desire might be lacking, but we're happy to have connected once we've done it.</p><p>And of course, there are people who have just pretended that the pandemic isn't happening this whole time. Maybe those people aren't feeling this, even while they're making life harder for the rest of us who are trying to follow the guildelines.</p><p>It's all just hard. There's no right or wrong way to make it through a pandemic, as long as we're not actively harming ourselves or other people. Everyone has different needs, and those change as we go through different phases of this thing. It's just nice to see a common feeling in this phase put into words so eloquently.</p><p>Donna Ashworth has published a whole book of poems about the pandemic called <a href="https://www.amazon.com/History-Will-Remember-World-Stopped/dp/B08BDWY9CP" target="_blank">"History Will Remember When the World Stopped."</a> She also has a book of poetry for women, <a href="https://www.amazon.co.uk/Women-words-live-Donna-Ashworth/dp/B08LRGWY74" target="_blank">"To The Women: Words to Live By."</a> </p><p>The arts are always a gift, but they can be especially powerful during tough times. Thank you, Ms. Ashworth, for using your words to give voice to what so many of us are experiencing.</p>
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Capital One Impact Initiative
Veterans across the country are struggling to find stable housing. This affordable housing community is ensuring Los Angeles vets have a place to call home.
02.13.21
Courtesy of Creative Commons
True
After years of service as a military nurse in the naval Marine Corps, Los Angeles, California-resident Rhonda Jackson became one of the 37,000 retired veterans in the U.S. who are currently experiencing homelessness — roughly eight percent of the entire homeless population.
"I was living in a one-bedroom apartment with no heat for two years," Jackson said. "The Department of Veterans Affairs was doing everything they could to help but I was not in a good situation."
One day in 2019, Jackson felt a sudden sense of hope for a better living arrangement when she caught wind of the ongoing construction of Veteran's Village in Carson, California — a 51-unit affordable housing development with one, two and three-bedroom apartments and supportive services to residents through a partnership with U.S.VETS.
Her feelings of hope quickly blossomed into a vision for her future when she learned that Veteran's Village was taking applications for residents to move in later that year after construction was complete.
"I was entered into a lottery and I just said to myself, 'Okay, this is going to work out,'" Jackson said. "The next thing I knew, I had won the lottery — in more ways than one."
<p>Communities like Veteran's Village are contributing to the national decline in homeless veterans. <u><a href="https://www.huduser.gov/portal/sites/default/files/pdf/2019-AHAR-Part-1.pdf" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">According to The Department of Housing and Urban Development</a></u>, 793 fewer veterans experienced homelessness between 2018 and 2019.</p><p>That drop continued a steady decline over the past decade, as the number of veterans experiencing homelessness <u><a href="https://www.huduser.gov/portal/sites/default/files/pdf/2019-AHAR-Part-1.pdf" target="_blank">has fallen nearly 50 percent</a></u> since 2009.<br></p><p><a target="_blank"></a>National Equity Fund (NEF), a nonprofit LIHTC syndicator and partner to Capital One, brought Veteran's Village to the bank, which responded by providing a $14.3 million construction loan and $15.6 million long-term equity investment through the purchase of low-income housing tax credits.</p><p class="shortcode-media shortcode-media-rebelmouse-image">
<img type="lazy-image" data-runner-src="https://assets.rebelmouse.io/eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiIsInR5cCI6IkpXVCJ9.eyJpbWFnZSI6Imh0dHBzOi8vYXNzZXRzLnJibC5tcy8yNTY0NDgyNi9vcmlnaW4uanBnIiwiZXhwaXJlc19hdCI6MTY1ODYwOTQ1N30.9Hx_lOBHw7k-4oEOdCCFG11hRY2rgQwgmlOKCFy7YmE/img.jpg?width=980" id="cc95e" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="ebfbc8429462c2ce7ca0764081868223" data-rm-shortcode-name="rebelmouse-image" data-width="2349" data-height="1320">
<small class="image-media media-photo-credit" placeholder="Add Photo Credit...">Courtesy of Thomas Safran & Associates </small></p><p>"Everyone deserves safe, secure, stable housing — especially the heroes that protect our rights and freedoms," says David Musial, a Capital One Senior Director of the Bank's Community Finance team, which specializes in financing affordable housing. "We are honored to be able to support communities like Veteran's Village as stable affordable housing is fundamental to physical and financial health and access to opportunity."<br></p><p>Veteran's Village strives to be more than just an affordable housing development. Its staff functions as a support system to help residents navigate their individual situations to ensure that each resident is equipped with the tools they need to thrive.</p><p>"Through the support of Capital One, we were able to provide much-needed housing for U.S. Veterans," said Amy Hyde of Thomas Safran & Associates, an affordable housing development and management organization whose properties include Veteran's Village. "Our goal is to enrich the lives of the people who reside in our buildings and Capital One's funding is helping us do just that," Hyde said.</p><p>For Jackson, that goal is realized through the sense of community throughout Veteran's Village.</p><p>"It's home for people who served their country and want to serve each other," Jackson said. "We take care of each other and we look out for each other. We're a family here."</p><p>In addition to supporting housing for veterans, Capital One supports affordable housing for residents throughout the Los Angeles area, including <u><a href="https://nationalcore.org/communities/vista-grande-court/" target="_blank">Vista Grande Court</a></u>, an affordable development that supports people over 60 years of age and Palo Verde Apartments, which includes 49 affordable units with 25 reserved for formerly homeless veterans and their families.</p><p>Capital One's support to affordable housing communities in Los Angeles comes as part of its larger <u><a href="http://capital.one/2Gl20C3" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Capital One Impact Initiative</a><a href="http://capital.one/2Gl20C3" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">,</a></u> an initial $200 million, multi-year commitment to advancing socioeconomic mobility through advocating for an inclusive society, building thriving communities and creating financial tools that enrich lives.</p><p>Jackson said that while she is grateful for her living arrangement at Veteran's Village, there is a long road ahead in ensuring that every veteran has access to stable housing.</p><p>"I pray that there will be more communities like this built because there are so many of my veteran brothers and sisters on the streets that don't even realize their living situation doesn't have to be the way it currently is," Jackson said.</p>
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My father trafficked me throughout my entire childhood. It looked nothing like people think.
07.31.20
I saw this poster today and I was going to just let it go, but then I kept feeling tugged to say something.
While this poster is great to bring attention to the issue of child trafficking, it is a "shocking" picture of a young girl tied up. It has that dark gritty feeling. I picture her in a basement tied to a dripping pipe.
While that sounds awful, it's important to know that trafficking children in the US is not all of that. I can't say it never is—I don't know. What I do know is most young trafficked children aren't sitting in a basement tied up. They have families, and someone—usually in their family—is trafficking them.
<p>I'm pretty open about my story. My father trafficked me from the ages of about 5 or 6 until I was a teenager. Knowing this, I can say, I was never once tied up in a dark place such as this picture. It's important for people to educate themselves on what trafficking can really look like.<br></p><p>Many, many times I walked into an amusement parks dressing room—Hershey, Dorney, etc.—with my father, told to wait in the stall, and a few minutes later another man came in acting like he was looking for his daughter. And that easily, a "drop" was made. Out I would walk holding his hand, nothing anyone would think twice about. Usually I'd be given something like an ice cream cone, etc. </p><p>And like me, these children are often not treated "badly." I mean, yes, they're treated awfully and violated beyond words. I mean they're are not hit, tied up, or beat up. Most of the time, they're treated with fake kindness (which really fucks up children's trust later on in life). But they're often praised, given treats, and made to feel like what is happening is a good (and normal or because they're special).</p><p>How many vacations we went on where I was left for a minute at the pool, until a man came and I left with him for a while. Airports where I was passed over to another man in a crowd, looking like any girl going from her dad or uncle to her dad or uncle. Again, a public drop and nothing suspicious.</p><p>Most children trafficked in the US are so conditioned they don't know anything else. It's their normal. I think back as an adult and think, "Why didn't I scream out for help? Make a scene?" But I had to forgive my inner child. There was no reason I knew to scream out for help. I wasn't in danger; this was just my normal life.</p><p>I say all of this to simply say, it's really important we bring attention to child trafficking in the US. VERY important. And posters like this can get the conversation going, but we also need to educate people that it doesn't all look like this. I lived in Robesonia, a tiny nothing town. My father was a little league coach. My mother knew and helped some with these happenings; and she was just a stay-at-home, small town mom. These things happen everywhere and can look very normal.</p><p>Best thing we can do is talk to children. We don't need to be graphic; but teachers, schools, need to talk to children about things like this in a child-safe way. Assume these children aren't being taken to doctors. Teachers can make a huge difference. Talk to children. Go with your gut. Schools need to not be scared to act on what they feel. Conrad Wesier had a social worker in the elementary school who pulled me out of class on more than one occasion after teachers noticed "things" and it went nowhere. Social services were never notified. And they should have been. Period.</p><p>And what you can do is watch. Pay attention. Be mindful. If you're waiting in line at a park, notice who goes in and out with what child. If you see something; speak up. If you're wrong, fine you ruined someone's day, apologize. If you're right, you saved someone's life.<a href="https://www.facebook.com/ufi/reaction/profile/browser/?ft_ent_identifier=ZmVlZGJhY2s6MTAxNTgyMzUxOTMyNTE5NzA%3D&av=754553191" target="_blank"><em></em></a></p><p><em>This post originally appeared on <a href="https://www.facebook.com/MelanieCholishsBook/posts/102675324870555" target="_blank">Melanie Cholish's Facebook page</a>. It has been edited lightly for publication. </em></p>
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Chrissy Teigen celebrates her freedom after being unfollowed on Twitter by President Biden
02.23.21
There comes a moment in everyone's social media life when they get stressed because they've been followed by an authority figure. When your boss, mother, or priest starts following you, social media immediately becomes a lot less fun.
When that happens, it's time to stop posting photos of yourself partying it up with an adult beverage. You gotta hold back on some of your saltier takes, and you have to start minding your language. Also, you have to be very careful about the posts you're tagged in.
Model, TV personality, and author Chrissy Teigen has been suffering through a mega-dose of this form of social media stress since January 20 when President Joe Biden followed her on Twitter. His follow came after Teigen made the request.
<p>Teigen is one of the most popular voices on Twitter with over 13.7 million followers.</p><div id="8b09e" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="03dec4f96d5b37cb6cb1e6a9169e4361"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet twitter-custom-tweet" data-twitter-tweet-id="1351887031585153025" data-partner="rebelmouse"><div style="margin:1em 0">hello @joebiden I have been blocked by the president for four years can I get a follow plz</div> — chrissy teigen (@chrissy teigen)<a href="https://twitter.com/chrissyteigen/statuses/1351887031585153025">1611149959.0</a></blockquote></div><p>On January 19, after the inauguration, the @POTUS Twitter feed was turned over from Donald Trump to Joe Biden. Teigen is a vocal supporter of the new president and thought being followed by him would be nice after spending nearly four years blocked by former President Trump.<br></p><p>Teigen, a staunch Trump critic, was blocked by him after tweeting "lol no one likes you" in response to a tweet lashing out at his own party for not being supportive enough. </p><p>It's unclear why he was angry about the lack of support, but he was dealing with the Russia investigation and Obamacare repeal at that time. </p><p>"It's very sad that Republicans, even some that were carried over the line on my back, do very little to protect their President," he tweeted (although you can't read it now because he's been banned from the platform).</p><div id="e7adc" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="74c1250841ec39b9518e2f1be462b0dd"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet twitter-custom-tweet" data-twitter-tweet-id="889218964051689474" data-partner="rebelmouse"><div style="margin:1em 0">@realDonaldTrump Lolllllll no one likes you</div> — chrissy teigen (@chrissy teigen)<a href="https://twitter.com/chrissyteigen/statuses/889218964051689474">1500841296.0</a></blockquote></div><p>Well, the day after he was inaugurated, Joe Biden followed Teigen making her one of only 11 accounts he follows. The rest are cabinet members and family. At the time, Teigen appeared to be pleased with the new follower, writing, "my heart oh my god lmao I can finally see the president's tweets and they probably won't be unhinged."</p><div id="f17aa" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="3e471feafd4851ed24cbfc4d89ea0391"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet twitter-custom-tweet" data-twitter-tweet-id="1352074714223665153" data-partner="rebelmouse"><div style="margin:1em 0">OH MY GOD !!!!!!!!!! https://t.co/BmBfkPZgEj</div> — chrissy teigen (@chrissy teigen)<a href="https://twitter.com/chrissyteigen/statuses/1352074714223665153">1611194706.0</a></blockquote></div><p>However, in the coming days, the follow caused Teigen an incredible amount of Twitter stress. How would you feel knowing that just about everything you tweeted would be seen by the president?<br></p><p>As they say, be careful what you wish for, you just might get it.</p><p>This caused Teigen to be more thoughtful about what she shared on Twitter and reduced the number of tweets she made each day. </p><p>Earlier today, she asked Biden to unfollow her so that she could flourish. "I love you!!! it's not you it's me" she wrote.</p><div id="7ce4e" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="14f38a9e43cf8821e8ba52d79e22b842"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet twitter-custom-tweet" data-twitter-tweet-id="1364247602594676736" data-partner="rebelmouse"><div style="margin:1em 0">I have tweeted a handful of times since my treasured @POTUS following. In order for me to flourish as me, I must as… https://t.co/KVxEjl4lz7</div> — chrissy teigen (@chrissy teigen)<a href="https://twitter.com/chrissyteigen/statuses/1364247602594676736">1614096949.0</a></blockquote></div><p>After that, the president set her free with an unfollow.<br></p><p>She tweeted a sigh of relief. Now, she can use all of the colorful language she wants without having to endure the potential scrutiny of the president.</p><div id="f9b2a" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="ce203660f6497beda1aa672d75f6983a"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet twitter-custom-tweet" data-twitter-tweet-id="1364275302713597952" data-partner="rebelmouse"><div style="margin:1em 0">bitch fuck shit suck the d I am FREE!!!!!!!!!!!!</div> — chrissy teigen (@chrissy teigen)<a href="https://twitter.com/chrissyteigen/statuses/1364275302713597952">1614103553.0</a></blockquote></div><p>Although it must be freeing for Teigen to be able to say what she wants, her move may have been a little short-sighted. Who wouldn't want to be able to have a direct line to the president of the United States whenever they want?<br></p>
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