Two tireless and enthusiastic advocates for affordable housing and community development addressed nearly 50 community leaders and volunteers at the Andover Community Trust Annual Meeting on May 25 at The Chateau in Andover.
“I love this organization—ACT. You change lives, one affordable house at a time,” said Senator Susan Tucker.
Since its founding in 1992 by a small but visionary group of Andover citizens, Andover Community Trust (ACT) has built four permanently affordable homes for income eligible families, and two new homes are being planned. “When affordable housing choices are available in a community, people who otherwise would not be able to live there benefit from the opportunities that the community provides,” said John Pearson, ACT President and the architect who has designed three ACT homes. “ACT believes strongly that the community itself becomes more vital and livable when it is able to retain economic diversity.”
At the Annual Meeting, Senator Tucker was given the Fred Stott Advocate Award in appreciation of her hard work advocating for affordable housing in Andover and for the families who live in this area. “Sue has provided leadership in protecting the most vulnerable among us,” said Susan Stott, ACT Executive Director.
Senator Tucker served in the Massachusetts Senate from 1999-2010, representing the City of Lawrence and the Towns of Andover, Dracut and Tewksbury. As chair of the Housing Committee, she sponsored and passed legislation addressing the foreclosure crisis in Massachusetts, as well as landmark legislation to preserve affordable housing, commonly referred to as Expiring Use. Her work as a legislator is part of a lifelong commitment to advocacy and community service.
The evening’s keynote speaker William Traynor, strategic advisor to Lawrence CommunityWorks (LCW), discussed network organizing as a strategy for neighborhood revitalization in Lawrence. “This work is about finding and bringing out the best in human beings,” he said.
When Traynor became Lawrence CommunityWorks executive director in 1999, a position he held for 10 years, he was moved by the “aspirational quality of the people of Lawrence.” He described Lawrence as “a tough city with an interesting history that defines its present.” He also called Lawrence “a city of hustle. When you have energy, you’ve got lots to work with.”
Traynor perceived the need to build a different way of connecting people in Lawrence. He began by creating a sewing class and then a young architects program. “We started to create spaces that fed people’s aspirations,” he said. “Especially with young people, we said, ‘Do you know you have choices in life?’”
Since its rebirth in 1999, Lawrence CommunityWorks has emerged as a powerful vehicle for community revitalization in Lawrence. Today, it has a record of accomplishment and a vision for Lawrence founded in network organizing and community development.
LCW now has 5,000 members. “You join because you have aspirations,” said Traynor. This was one of the first community development organizations to successful implement Individual Development Accounts (IDA), in which participants put in money, then take financial literacy classes, share their stories and ideas, and withdraw money from their accounts to further their individual aspirations. “Our success rate is far above the national average,” said Traynor.
In addition, LCW has developed more than 100 neighborhood circles. A small stipend is given to someone in a neighborhood to host a dinner, and LCW trains facilitators and hosts. “The idea is about getting people together, not creating formal meetings with officers or rules,” said Traynor. “What Lawrence needs is a diverse network of people.”
