Neighborhood Resource Center expands efforts into Eastern Henrico

As the rising cost of living causes displacement from Richmond into Eastern Henrico, the Neighborhood Resource Center is fostering growth and community change through grassroots community organizing.

The NRC is a nonprofit organization that aims to build relationships, share resources and develop skills to enhance lives in Greater Fulton and Eastern Henrico County, according to its website. Although its bylaws previously restricted it geographically to Greater Fulton, it expanded its reach into Eastern Henrico near the end of last year.

At a Henrico Board of Supervisors work session last month, NRC Executive Director Breanne Armbrust explained the work the NRC does and described ways she believes the county could provide more support for community members in Eastern Henrico.

Armbrust recommended that Henrico engage with developers and landlords to help people obtain or keep housing and offered the NRC’s services for assistance. She also recommended that the county increase support for formerly incarcerated people (the NRC uses a 18-month model for re-entry, while most programs in the county only provide full support for six months).

The presentation touched on providing what the NRC calls “healing-centered support,” which addresses various forms of grief – from events like loss of housing to financial trouble – and offers opportunities for joy.

“We lifted this up to really encourage the county to think a little bit differently about how grief shows up and find more opportunities to create joy in the county,” Armbrust said.

Armbrust also brought up concerns about access to public transit, suggesting that creation of a GRTC transit connection down Williamsburg Road from Seven Pines to Greater Fulton would provide an economic boom for residents whose job availability is limited because of transportation limitations.

The NRC currently serves about 500 families each month through its programs, Armbrust said. It went from serving about 150 families each month before the COVID-19 pandemic to 300 families in the months leading up to the expansion. The expansion into Eastern Henrico came because of displacement related to the rise of the cost of housing.

“Everything that we do is informed by the community,” Armbrust said.  “We heard from community [members] that they were ending up in apartments or houses in Eastern Henrico.”

Historically, when displacement occurs, people move from urban areas to suburbs like Eastern Henrico, Armbrust said. Despite the county’s efforts to build the community in its eastern half, some residents of the Montrose area are facing the same type of economic challenges as the Greater Fulton residents that NRC serves, she said.

The NRC recently saw increased demand in its NRC Works program, which provides free financial coaching, employment coaching and income supports to community members affected by economic forces like inflation and the rising cost of housing, Armbrust said.

Its financial opportunity center is only one way the NRC provides support; its other core programs are education, nutrition and community organizing. The NRC has a garden, a meals program, and provides transactional services like faxing and copying notary services, Armbrust said.

The NRC also has witnessed an increase in the number of people between the ages of 45 and 62 reaching out for services, and during her presentation to the board, she expressed concern for career-switchers (people who are not at retirement age but who are looking for new jobs because they can no longer have physically-taxing jobs).

The NRC receives its funding through grants and donations, which it uses to pay its staff and provide direct services to community members, Armbrust said. It has plans to deepen its work with partners and grow further this year, with hopes of expanding services to Seven Pines by August.

The organization welcomes support from the community through donations. Community members can mail checks to 1519 Williamsburg Road, Richmond 23213 or visit the NRC’s online donation page. The NRC team also welcomes volunteers for the organization’s garden and food pantry, which is Richmond’s only food pantry delivery program, Armbrust said.

“Our motto is, ‘we are all connected,’” Armbrust said. “We really look at our relationships with donors as being supporters and sustainers of our work, not as a transactional relationship.”