$200M: The next decade of hope for Washington Shores

ORLANDO, Fla. — Editor’s note: This story is available as a result of a content partnership between WFTV and the Orlando Business Journal.

For the past 20 years, I’ve been fighting the status quo in Washington Shores. And through the Hope Center West community development initiative, we’ve come a long way in bringing transformation and hope to the disenfranchised neighborhood I grew up in.

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To many Central Florida residents, the name “Washington Shores” is a blanket term for several historically Black neighborhoods in southwest Orlando. Since its initial development in the 1940s, many of the area’s residents have struggled to thrive in the face of entrenched challenges like underdeveloped infrastructure, lack of affordable and attainable housing, and an overstressed educational system.

I’ve lived here for much of my life, and I’ve experienced the impact of those inequities firsthand. But it wasn’t until I began ministering to my neighbors as a church leader that I realized how many families and children were living in substandard housing in deplorable conditions. This compelled me to act.

Click here to read the full story on the Orlando Business Journal’s website.

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