Dropping Anchor In The Neighborhood

People's Homesteading Group, "a 20-year-old nonprofit that converts vacant houses into homes for low- and moderate-income families," recently launched a campaign to clean up a block of 22 abandoned houses in Baltimore. Like the city's government, the Group believes that "piecemeal rehab strategy [is] ineffective in helping turn around neighborhoods." They hope that the concentrated effort, in addition to raising funds for future rehabilitation, will "bring a stabilizing effect to the area," enlivening the neighborhood's appeal to potential homeowners. This project "is part of a larger effort called 'Anchors of Hope' in an approximately 20-square-block area that includes greening, a proposed small commercial development and spot rehabs of another dozen units."