A Year to Go Home: A Story of Fighting Deep Disinvestment

Abstract

This paper presents a collaboration between Anetha Perry, who conducted dissertation research in Camden, NJ, and Stephen Danley, her faculty advisor, who is also deeply engaged in that city, which has suffered from severe disinvestment. Perry's contribution is drawn from her year-long effort to return to her childhood home, Perry House, which had served as a Black settlement house during her parents' lifetimes. Danley adds perspectives as a community-engaged scholar, overseeing and supporting this home-going effort. Their observations underscore the obstacles that confront those trying to invest in a deeply disinvested neighbourhood. They also point out the bene fits of settlement houses, like the Perry House, which have a true 'insider's view' of the struggles to achieve rootedness in the face of many displacing processes. They underscore the potential of such efforts to aid in the creation of policies that stop disinvestment and pivot towards urban restoration.