By Larry Baas WVLP.LP is your community radio station at 103.1 FM and streaming live at WVLP.org. WVLP, like Hilltop Neighborhood House, HealthLinc, Neighbors’ Educational Opportunities (NEO), Neighbors Place, and dozens of homes throughout the community is a creation of Project Neighbors. WVLP...
By Paul Schreiner Originally built to house what was to become HealthLinc, Neighbors Place is an apartment building housing 18 low-income women. Very affordable, the women are provided with all utilities, free TV, free WiFi, two laundry areas, and a 3000 square foot, grade level common room. Their...
By anonymous donor Over the past few years, I found myself searching for ways that I could respond to the issues of racial inequity. We have been bombarded with news stories that invariably end with the words, “disproportionately impacting Black Americans.” Blacks are three times more likely to...
A critical component of the FRF’s Individual Development Account (IDA) initiative was to secure a strong bank partnership. Matt Vessely, the Regional President of 1st Source Bank, immediately saw the benefit of such a relationship as the initiative brought a unique and focused path for the bank to...
Emergency Loan Program By Rev. Dr. Gregory Jones The freedom recovery fund emergency loan/grant program has benefited six families since its opening in 2022. Approximately $6,000 was made available for emergency responses that were distributed or allocated to emergencies experienced by...
How did you hear about the Freedom Recovery Fund? I heard about the Freedom Recovery Fund from a client. What made you interested in applying for the FRF? I was interested in applying because of the idea of gaining more financial literacy and financial freedom. I want to be in a place where I...
Essence Roberson is a young African American from the Southside of Chicago. Her passion for mental health has pushed her to start Essence Mia Luxx (EML). EML was established in 2020 and has strived to help provide the opportunity for people to embrace themselves as they are. Essence believes that...
You may have noticed that we’re trying to incorporate solar into our new building projects. We’re also going to be putting solar on Neighbors Place, which is great not only because it will offset our energy costs and make for a cleaner NWI environment, but it reminds everyone who...
Anyone who watched the spectacles surrounding the determination of how to spend the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) money in both Porter County and the City of Valparaiso was treated to an education on the different workings of two governments tackling the same problem. Without making a judgment...
Frankly, this is the easiest and most rewarding part of the job. Because we are an affluent culture with roots in Christian notions of responsibility, many people have the discretionary time and motivation to volunteer. But in the beginning, one must target the search: churches, civic...
Project Neighbors builds “affordable housing,” a term I dislike because its definition changes with the person using the term. I use it to mean housing made available for rent or purchase at about 60% of existing market rates. It still may not be affordable to some families, but then other efforts...
The world has become increasingly more and more complex – even on matters as mundane as student transfers — while at the same time we are presented information and encouraged to think about these matters in terms of simplistic soundbites. This is of course a recipe for mass confusion and...