New View on Pisgah View

By Abigail Wendle

“Historically, public housing has had a rather shady reputation with drugs and crime.”
– Isaac Coleman

Miaisha Wadsworth believes in “the will of the people to overcome big obstacles, obstacles they thought they could never beat.”

In the past, violence and public housing have made great bedfellows in Asheville. Residents of public housing units were used to seeing drug deals take place in broad daylight and falling asleep to the lullaby of gunfire. But residents of the Pisgah View apartments, the city’s largest public housing complex, have set out to create a different future.

Isaac Coleman, Assistant Manager of Pisgah View Apartments, is proud of the accomplishments this community has made since the implementation of many   social and community programs and projects.

According to Asheville
City Police Captain Tim Splain, the police department began to focus on
fighting crime in the Pisgah View Apartments, Burton St. and the
surrounding area because there was “about 170% more likelihood that
you’d be a victim of violent crime or you’d experience drug dealing or
a shooting incident in that neighborhood” than others in the city.
Miaisha Wadsworth, a Pisgah View resident for the past ten years,
confessed, “a few years ago I was scared to even sit on my front
porch.”

Now, on weekday evenings in Pisgah View, approximately forty girls and
boys from kindergarten through the ninth grade can be seen lining up
under the instruction and supervision of Toshia (Tasha) Skyes with the
help of Cicely Rogers to rehearse their new drumming and dance
routines. On Sunday mornings, mothers and children meet down at the old
baseball field to help Robert White weed, water and harvest in the
complex’s new Peace Garden. As tomatoes and peppers ripen, residents
take pride in the change that has begun in their community over the
past few years.

Referring to Hillary Clinton’s famous line, Mr. White said, “They
always say that it takes a village to raise a child. But there is no
village anymore. So we have decided to rebuild our village. Everybody
in our society is concerned about themselves. It’s always I, I, I.”
Pisgah View’s plan is to demonstrate the importance and power of “we.”

The “we” at Pisgah View was strengthened when the city, non-profit
organizations and residents of the West Riverside community came
together to apply for a ‘Weed and Seed’ federal grant. According to
Dawa Hitch, the West Riverside Weed & Seed site coordinator, “‘Weed
and Seed’ is an initiative funded by The Department of Justice for
communities in the United States who are suffering from high crime
rates and quality of life issues.”

The West Riverside area, including Pisgah View, receives approximately
$875,000 over five years to weed out criminal activity and seed in
education, health, cultural/arts and business programs. These programs,
such as OnTrack’s series of money management classes are presented to a
select panel of community residents who then choose which programs meet
the specific needs of the West Riverside and Pisgah View communities.
Community oversight of the funding allows the residents to play a large
role in ‘seeding’ practical and sustainable programs into their unique
community.

The ‘weeding’ out of drug and criminal activity is the responsibility
of the Asheville City Police who, through funding from the grant, are
able to pay officers for overtime duty in the West Riverside district.
On any given afternoon as school buses drive through to drop off
children and Gary’s Ice Cream truck tinkles past with candy bars and
bags of chips, three to four police cars sit at the entrance to the
complex. Cars are pulled over, licenses are inspected, and individuals
with warrants out for their arrest are cuffed.

Residents have a mixed response to the constant police presence. Mr.
White boasts about the fact that he “has not heard a gun shot in a
year.” Ms. Wadsworth, who had been afraid to set foot outside of her
house, has taken many steps into leadership positions in her community.
Despite the fact that for some members of her community, “selling drugs
is a way to make ends meet,” Ms. Wadsworth has come to believe that
“it’s not the best way.” Ms. Skyes has a different view of the police
presence. Though she appreciates the positive programs that ‘Weed and
Seed’ funds in her community, she feels that “the police treat everyone
here like we’re all criminals.”

For Captain Splain, the ‘Weed and Seed’ grant has been more than just
money. He stated that it is “probably the greatest opportunity for [the
police] to get in a cooperative relationship with service providers and
the educational systems where, […] for a change, we don’t have to
just go out and arrest people [but are able to] participate in
community meetings instead of sweeping the streets.”

Captain Splain recognized that more force from the police department
still leaves “something missing,” because crime is a “societal problem,
not just a law enforcement problem. Because we have so many more broken
families now, lack of education, lack of socio-economic status…that’s
what impacts the crime rate.” Captain Splain hopes that the police
department’s “concerted effort to do more of a holistic approach to how
we do law enforcement, [including] working with the community” will
change residents like Ms. Skye’s feelings about their presence in
public housing.

Housing Authority executive director Gene Bell acknowledged an
improvement in their relationship with the Asheville City Police,
noting that the police “were breaking down the wall between
[themselves] and the Housing Authority.” However, staff at the Housing
Authority, along with the police, acknowledged that a decreased crime
rate in one public housing complex meant a likely increase in another
because, according to Captain Splain, “crime jumps.”

Back at Pisgah View, residents still organize and work to maintain a
disciplined and positive attitude about creating lasting changes for
the future. Sweat rolling down her brow and back, Charlina Madden,
visiting family who live in Pisgah View, crouches down under the August
sun to water the garden’s tomato plants. Choosing to spend her day off
helping Mr. White, Ms. Madden has a humble beginners’ philosophy, “This
is a new change for me and for this community. It ain’t easy, but it’s
a start.”