Landing on Our Feet at Gilliam Place
It’s hard to believe that a year has passed since we moved into Gilliam Place. We’re happy to share that our members are settled in and thriving in their new apartments and community. Despite the many challenges that COVID has presented, we’re grateful that our proximity allows us to stay connected with daily long walks exploring our new neighborhood and surroundings.
We have enjoyed meeting our neighbors in the building and downstairs at the Arlington Presbyterian Church (APC). Pastor Ashley Goff has become a popular guest on our daily walks.
As we had hoped, full integration into the building has been enhanced by the many opportunities to support our neighbors. Our Stomping Ground is offering virtual tutoring supports with our community and student volunteers as well as supporting a learning pod in partnership with APAH and APC. Seven students meet downstairs in the church space where they are supported by an amazing lead parent teacher and two volunteers from Edu-Futuro. We are currently in discussion about expanding to a second pod and have opened up a waitlist to the delight of many families in the building.
When we look at the hard months of lockdown ahead of us, we are particularly grateful for our two reading/discussion groups that we started this fall. Tuesdays we meet with a student volunteer to read Utopia Avenue by David Mitchell and Thursdays we are reading an amazing book about the great migration, The Warmth of Other Suns by Isabel Wilkerson. It is not too late to catch up with us and join the weekly discussions.
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Utopia Avenue is a story that follows the fictional rock band of the same name during 1967 in Soho, London. Along the way this story progresses, some Rock icons make appearances, such as David Bowie. The story details the rise of the band from not-so-humble beginnings to absolute stardom, and shows how one can make something out of nothing.
“The book itself is captivating. Honestly I love the character development as it stands out the most. The book club itself is great too, honestly I wouldn’t be kidding if I told you that this was the first book club I’ve ever joined.”
– Max Loftis, Our Stomping Ground member
We hope to meet more of you on Zoom this winter. Please let us know if you are interested in a virtual tour of our building or if you have any questions for our current members/residents. And if any of the above interests you and you want to be more involved, please contact us. This is inclusive housing at its very best!