E R I E R E G I O N A L C H A M B E R A N D G R O W T H PA R T N E R S H I P
Community Resilience Shines Through Collaboration
| By Cory Vaillancourt
“Resiliency” is a funny word. In Erie, resiliency conjures up images of a resolute, redoubled effort to hang on, despite the fickle folly of an oft-unpredictable economic situation. Resiliency also implies a lack of ascent, or rather, a Herculean effort to simply maintain a basic order; in Erie, we know that this couldn’t be further from the truth – Erie’s resiliency is not just a struggle to desperately maintain a tenuous grasp of the cliff’s edge, it is also an opportunity to summit a seemingly insurmountable peak that now appears closer than ever: through partnerships, collaborations, investments in new businesses, property improvements, and future development plans, two community organizations in Erie know that resiliency leads to revitalization, like a hanging from a cliff leads to planting a flag. “To be resilient is to be steadfast in a vision that takes you from today to where you want to be,” said Chuck Scalise, president of the Housing and Neighborhood Development Service (HANDS), a silver level investor with the ERCGP. “I see Erie as an evolving community that is re-inventing itself. We are recognizing the value of our natural resources and regional assets and understanding that we are a great community and need to promote what is good and fix those things that are not.” According to their website, the organization has been “committed to making stronger and more vibrant neighborhoods in partnership with the communities it serves through the development and management of quality affordable housing” for over 40 years. “The management team at HANDS sees ourselves as being leaders and partners within the City of Erie and our region,” said Scalise. “We have,
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over the years, provided significant support to the City of Erie and other non-profit developers to revitalize and renew neighborhoods.” A perfect example of HANDS’ contribution to the revitalization of Erie is the manner in which they have planted their flag in Erie’s “Little Italy” neighborhood. “HANDS first became involved in the Little Italy neighborhood through a demonstration program called the Targeted Housing Impact Area funded through the Erie Community Foundation (a diamond level investor with the ERCGP),” Scalise said. “This program provided matching grants to property owners to do physical improvements to ‘jump start’ neighborhood revitalization.” Scalise cites these improvements as contributing to the neighborhood, overcoming negative images and positioning itself as a “neighborhood of choice.”
“To be resilient is to be steadfast in a vision that takes you from today to where you want to be.” Rose Graham also believes that Little Italy is poised for revitalization. In her role as executive director at the Sisters of St. Joseph Neighborhood Network (SSJNN), she points to a plethora of their programs that transform resilience into
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