The “Why” Behind Investments in Historic Eastside

 One of my favorite “live” albums of all time is Frankie Beverly and Maze Live in New Orleans. During one of the intros to his song “Southern Girls,” he states that people asked him why he did a live album in New Orleans, to which he replied, “Why not ya dig.” That response is what comes to mind when I’m asked why LISC Jacksonville continues to invest in Historic Eastside with the Eastside Home Repair Program, discussed in this newsletter, and is launching a program in September called “Project Boots.” 

While the aforementioned quip may be more satire than anything, the reasons for “why” Historic Eastside are both personal and strategic. First and foremost, I spent the majority of my youth being shaped and molded by the community called Historic Eastside, but during my time as a kid we simply identified it as “Out East.” The myriad of families that called “Out East” home reflected a pathway to success for myself and many of my friends. The postal worker lived next to the social worker who lived next to the teacher who lived next to the longshoreman who lived next to the lawyer was a visible possibility of what any of us could and eventually would become.

However, as access become more available to me and many of my peers and disinvestment became more common, what we knew and appreciated became a distant memory, leaving in its wake an aggregation of poverty and all the accompanying consequences. You may ask again why the investment in Historic Eastside and I will simply say again, “Why not?”

LISC’s investments in Historic Eastside do not represent a singular investment in a social program with the hopes that the people will somehow be better. Our investments in Historic Eastside represent a belief in the enterprises that have been tried and true in terms of disrupting the entanglements that poverty and lack of solid investments bring. During the last 10 years, LISC Jacksonville has invested in people, homes, and technical assistance to empower the people who are closest to the issue with the tools to be a part of the change they want to see. We have partnered with organizations ranging from the United Way to LIFT JAX to Operation New Hope to get the work done.

Our latest work, including the Eastside Home Repair Program and soon-to-be-announced Project Boots, represents our latest iteration in terms of getting that done. It represents our deepest dive to date in terms of transforming a neighborhood by making Historic Eastside a destination where people want to live without displacing those who currently reside there. It is LISC Jacksonville’s belief that through a mix of corporate philanthropy, social responsibility on the part market enterprise, municipal policy, and investment we can collectively work together to deliver a product to market that gets east siders back home and becomes a destination for others.

Therefore, I say, when people ask me why LISC Jacksonville makes investments like these in Historic Eastside, I simply say, “Why not ya dig?”