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Parents worry as evacuation continues Newtowne 20

Capital - 3/1/2020

On a bright Thursday morning, Cherdi Henson walks her two younger children through the frigid February air to the bus stop near their home in Newtowne 20.

Henson's son, James, a first-grader, chats with his friends and totes a Buzz Lightyear backpack. His sister Justyn, a fifth-grader, walks close to her mother, a sparkly unicorn backpack strapped to her shoulders.

While the pair are headed to Walter S. Mills Parole Elementary School, their mother will meet with officials from the Housing Authority of the City Annapolis to implore them not to move her and her children to Robinwood as part of a scheduled evacuation announced earlier this month. Not only could it mean her children have to change schools during the school year, but it also could put her older son at risk of being attacked because he is from a different housing community.

Since Feb. 6, Henson along with 41 other families have been preparing to evacuate because of a gas leak discovered in late January. Initially, they expected to move out in the summer but because of the gas, Henson's morning ritual will soon change as her family must move out for good by Friday.

"They told us we were going to relocate last year but not until June - it would have given us time to get situated and the kids would have been out of school," said Henson, 36, who expressed frustration about why Newtowne hadn't been shut down before.

Her feelings were shared by Nicole Downs, another Newtowne resident, who has a son in county schools. This move feels rushed despite previous property problems, she said.

"If it was such a danger, we should have been out years ago. The gas has been going on for years," Downs said.

When asked why families hadn't been relocated sooner, HACA Executive Director Melissa Maddox-Evans, who assumed her post in October, said she couldn't speak to decisions that were made before her arrival.

Because of the speed of the move-out, all Newtowne residents planning to stay in public housing were only offered one option, Maddox-Evans said.

Thus far, 19 families have been awarded housing choice vouchers to move out of public housing, the director said. The housing authority has not heard from five families yet. The rest have already moved to a new public housing unit or are in process.

Churches and nonprofits that have been working in Newtowne and other public housing communities for years are now mobilizing to assist the remaining residents ahead of the move.

In recent weeks the anxiety among residents has been palpable, partially because parents have not been told if their children would have to change schools or not, said Todd Smith, an elder at Downtown Hope, an Annapolis church working with public housing residents.

Some of the children have had "noticeable behavior changes," and it has entered into the school day, Smith said.

With a little more than a week until evacuations must be completed, there is still work to be done on how the Anne Arundel County Public Schools system will address transportation.

Chief Operating Officer Alex Szachnowicz of the school system previously said he can't move forward on assigning bus stops or specific buses for families until the housing authority provides a finalized list of children.

"Our commitment remains we will make every effort possible to ensure youngsters can complete their school year at the school that they are at," Szachnowicz said.

As of Thursday afternoon, the district received information on 13 out of 22 students who will be impacted by the overall relocation, he said in an email statement. One child is still at the Newtowne complex and the other 12 will receive a bus number, bus stop and time with the intention to stay in their current school.

Alderwoman Sheila Finlayson, D-Ward 4, who represents Newtowne 20, said she has been in communication with the county school system but has not received official word regarding school changes and transportation.

"I am waiting to be called upon if there is a need," she said. "So far, it looks like it's going to plan."

Violence concerns

Henson said her children are nervous to possibly attend a new school where they wouldn't know anyone or that moving them to a new community could put them at risk.

When Henson meets with HACA officials, she plans to ask them to move her somewhere else than the Robinwood Community.

Henson's elder son, an 18-year-old who attends Annapolis High School could be put in danger by moving to the neighborhood, she said. On her phone, Henson has a video of him getting jumped last year by two other students. One was from Robinwood, she said.

Even her younger children know about the situation. "They know what's going on, at a young age at that, and that's the sad thing," she said. "This is a special need like my son could be in harm's way."

Conflicts among public housing residents are generational and ever-changing, said Deonte Ward, who runs the Black Wall Street Mentoring program, a group that focuses on youth gun and gang violence.

At Monday's City Council meeting, Ward, a former Newtowne 20 resident, called on city and community leaders to address the issue.

There are plans to hold a forum to discuss community safety in "late March, early April" once all residents have moved to their new units and city police are actively involved, Maddox-Evans said in an email Friday. She asked residents to reach out to Anne Arundel Conflict Resolution Center if they need help and urged them to be specific.

These types of planned events are not new. HACA officials and members of its board of directors have been discussing how to deal with inter-community violence stemming from the Newtowne 20 move since at least June 2018.

"We can't wait for the construction to be completed to start thinking about this," former HACA director Beverly Wilbourn said of potential violence, according to minutes taken from a June 26, 2018 HACA board meeting. "This is complicated by the reality that our youth at Newtowne will be relocated to other HACA properties ... We are working with the City of Annapolis to have events to bring youth together in social situations."

Two months later, on Aug. 28, 2018, then-board chairperson Sandra Chapman took a much different tone, according to meeting minutes: "With respect to potential for territorial disputes that might come from relocating residents as part of the redevelopment efforts, HACA cannot be expected to be parents," she said. "HACA will work with parents but parents need to do their part."

The relocation process has been without incident, Maddox-Evans said in an email Friday.

"We will continue to work with any families that are experiencing problems or are in fear of their safety," she wrote. "To date, there are no specific incidents or threats of violence just a generalized fear of it from historical issues."

HACA officials will be reaching to Henson and Downs directly about their concerns, Maddox-Evans said, adding that HACA officials have been working with Henson and Downs for some time to find a unit that suits their needs.

"If a family has asked not to be moved to a specific community we have accommodated them as units are available," she said.

On top of concerns about violence, the move comes at an inconvenient time for Henson and other parents, she said - in the middle of the school year with no clear explanation about whether their children will be able to stay at their current school or if transportation will be provided from their new home.

Alderman DaJuan Gay, D-Ward 6, who represents public housing communities Harbour House, Eastport Terrace and Robinwood, shares Henson's frustration about communication.

Since it was announced that Newtowne residents would be evacuated, residents have been "left in the dark," Gay said.

Residents have tried to raise their concerns with officials at community meetings but the meetings have not led to a better understanding of what's to come, Henson said.

"They hear us but they don't hear us," she said.

Caption: James Weston, 6, gets help with his jacket from his mother, Cherdi Henson, as they walk to the bus stop to go to his first grade classes at Mills Parole Elementary School.

Paul W. Gillespie/Capital Gazette