Take Action Today to Save Public Housing in Richmond

The Richmond Redevelopment and Housing Authority has been accepting public comment on both its one-year and five-year plans since May 20, with a deadline of July 8 (today!) to weigh in on proposed plans to demolish public housing and remove public input from the process.

Before reading further, go to Richmond for All to read their take on the stakes and to sign their petition, then go to the Greater Richmond Age Wave to get help in submitting your thoughts or add your name to their pre-written comment. 

These organizations and the Legal Aid Justice Center have picked up the call from community advocates to help raise awareness and facilitate input. RRHA has been absent from any outreach, instead relying on 20th century public transparency laws to allow them to say that posting a notice in their headquarters counts as informing the public.

The July 8 (today!) deadline, which falls the day after a holiday weekend, has approached without any significant public outreach from the agency. On May 20, the day when this comment period was (not) announced, RRHA posted on Facebook twice and did not mention these critically important plans. The agency has posted frequently, twice shouting out to its CEO Damon Duncan.

Thankfully, Richmond has a strong network of organizations and individuals who are playing catch-up to the backroom conversations that have already taken place. We will have more updates on exactly how RRHA has allowed the public to be in the dark until this point, but in the meantime we encourage you to make your voice heard. 

While the RRHA says it is only accepting written (printed) comments until July 8 (today!), we encourage you to send an email copy of anything you submit to RRHA Board of Commissioners Chair Robert Adams and RRHA CEO Damon Duncan.