Bike & Build riders outside of King Emmanuel Baptist Church.
On May 8, 2021, Jubilee Housing hosted a tour with Bike & Build (B&B)—a non-profit organization that engages young adults in service-oriented bicycling experiences and volunteer programs to advocate and raise awareness for affordable housing and to empower young adults to commit to a lifetime of service and civic engagement.
Jubilee was connected to Bike & Build through the Coalition for Non-Profit Housing & Economic Development’s Director of Advocacy and Communications Halley Holmes. Holmes said in a statement that “Jubilee Housing is a CNHED member that is engaged in almost every aspect of housing and equity, participating actively in high level policy discussions through our working groups, looking at the numbers, and providing insight so that the DC Council is more informed in budgeting and these issues at hand.” Thus, Jubilee Housing was connected as a host site for Bike & Build’s first ever Community Ride.
According to Bike & Build Director of Outreach and Communications Lauren Hamilton, this particular audience of Bike & Build riders were graduates of the program’s core curriculum, who “responded to a call to action to restart rides safely and locally.”
DC Ride Co-Coordinator Celete Kato exclaimed that she was “thrilled to have the opportunity to jump in and help lead” here in DC. “It was a great opportunity to learn more about this community I live in and to have tangible next steps for how to engage in the future.”
Bike & Build participants met Jubilee Housing staff Vice President of Institutional Advancement Rebecca Ely and Vice President of External Affairs Martin Mellett at our King Emmanuel Baptist Church & Ontario sites in Adams Morgan—two of Jubilee’s newly acquired properties, which are slated for renovation and construction to be completed by 2024.
Jubilee was the first stop on Bike & Build’s greater DC Community Ride, which progressed thereafter to non-profits Housing Up and Washington Legal Clinic for the Homeless. Bike & Build Program Director Erik Wright commented that “Bike & Build prioritized Jubilee Housing as a Ride Partner because of their unique position in DC’s housing landscape, including the significant impact that they have on the housing market in providing 3- and 4-bedroom family units to deserving residents; and in providing groundbreaking transitional housing reinforced by an innovative aquaponics facility, commercial kitchen, and holistic workforce development model.”
“This was our first tour since the pandemic,” said Director Hamilton in a recent interview. “Our rides usually take place cross-country, lasting anywhere from 3 weeks to 3 months at a time. Those rides ceased due to coronavirus, but as alumni have become vaccinated, there was an outpouring of support from DC residents to get back to the work on raising awareness surrounding the growing national need for affordable housing.”
Riding over from Meridian Hill Park with masks tightly on faces, Jubilee Housing staff welcomed the socially distant group of 20 riders, providing them with an overview of Jubilee’s history, mission, youth education, comprehensive family services, and reentry efforts for citizens who have exited incarceration. The group was joined by Wright, who drove down from Pennsylvania to be a part of the event, with lunch in tow for the group in a large bike basket.
“My hope is for these local community rides to continue year-round with the next Community Rides taking place in Knoxville, Tennessee on May 22nd; Chicago, Illinois on June 26th; and Detroit, Michigan on June 26th,” said Wright in his yellow bike helmet. “As we bring back our cross country and regional bike ride trips, we look forward to working with advocates like Jubilee Housing alongside community centers and local faith groups to house our riders as they work to grow capacity for deserving non-profits.”
The DC Community Ride was organized Bike & Build alumnae Ride Coordinators Caroline Herre and Celete Kato. Kato responded that her experience with Jubilee was enlightening! “As a DC resident, I’m aware of some of the inequalities that exist in this city. However, the conversation with Jubilee helped me contextualize the difficulties for families with even more compounding factors, such as having a previously incarcerated family member, or those who have been priced out and displaced by the drastic change in development throughout the city. I especially appreciated Jubilee’s focus on helping DC residents remain in the heart of DC and in communities where they have access to every resource and amenity that they could need. In a city that is growing increasingly inequitable, this work is essential, and I look forward to supporting them and advocating for communities like this in each ward throughout DC.”
Article & Photos by Chris Bulbulia.