A Year to Go Home A Story of Fighting Deep Disinvestment

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 suff ered from severe disinvestment. Perry’s contribution is drawn from her year-long eff ort to return to her childhood home, Perry House, which had served as a Black sett lement house during her parents’ lifetimes. Danley adds perspectives as a community-engaged scholar, overseeing and supporting this home-going eff ort. Their observations underscore the obstacles that confront those trying to invest in a deeply disinvested neighbourhood. They also point out the benefi ts of sett lement 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 eff orts to aid in the creation of policies that stop disinvestment and pivot towards urban restoration.