Culmore and Lake Barcroft: A study in contrasts
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| A food donation program in Culmore. |
The Center on Society and Health at Virginia Commonwealth
University released a report Nov. 28 that highlights the large disparity between the
adjacent Culmore and Lake Barcroft communities.
University released a report Nov. 28 that highlights the large disparity between the
adjacent Culmore and Lake Barcroft communities.
Culmore is one of 15 “islands of disadvantage” in Northern
Virginia, the report states, “where people face multiple, serious challenges interspersed among the
region’s wealthy communities.”
Virginia, the report states, “where people face multiple, serious challenges interspersed among the
region’s wealthy communities.”
Getting Ahead: The Uneven Opportunity Landscape in Northern
Virginia, commissioned by the Northern Virginia Health Foundation, describes
neighborhoods where residents struggle with poverty, poor housing, and other
challenges that are just blocks away from affluent communities.
State vital
statistics show that the estimated life expectancy of newborns in Northern
Virginia can vary by as much as 18 years, depending on the census tract in
which a child is born. Although the quality of life in Northern Virginia is
generally good, the report shows that the opportunity landscape to “get ahead”
varies dramatically across the region and even more distinctly across small
geographic areas.
statistics show that the estimated life expectancy of newborns in Northern
Virginia can vary by as much as 18 years, depending on the census tract in
which a child is born. Although the quality of life in Northern Virginia is
generally good, the report shows that the opportunity landscape to “get ahead”
varies dramatically across the region and even more distinctly across small
geographic areas.
One largely
Hispanic census tract (4516.01) in the Culmore area of Bailey’s Crossroads is
among the region’s most disadvantaged communities, the report states.
Hispanic census tract (4516.01) in the Culmore area of Bailey’s Crossroads is
among the region’s most disadvantaged communities, the report states.
One-third of the
children in that tract live in poverty, and only 14 percent of adults had
completed college. Few people own homes. The median rent was $1,374 per month,
and 30 percent of renters spent more than half their incomes on rent. More than
half the residents lack health insurance. Only 28 percent had a vehicle and 35
percent relied on public transit to commute to work.
children in that tract live in poverty, and only 14 percent of adults had
completed college. Few people own homes. The median rent was $1,374 per month,
and 30 percent of renters spent more than half their incomes on rent. More than
half the residents lack health insurance. Only 28 percent had a vehicle and 35
percent relied on public transit to commute to work.
That community is
adjacent to Lake Barcroft (census tract 4511), where no child lives in poverty, and 78 percent of adults have a bachelor’s degree or higher. The median income in
Lake Barcroft is $192,750, compared to $47,214 in Culmore.
adjacent to Lake Barcroft (census tract 4511), where no child lives in poverty, and 78 percent of adults have a bachelor’s degree or higher. The median income in
Lake Barcroft is $192,750, compared to $47,214 in Culmore.
The report calls
for policymakers to think more strategically and holistically about how to create opportunities
for everyone, especially the most vulnerable. Social and economic factors have
significant impacts on residents’ health, which means addressing inequities
should focus on education, workforce, training, housing, transportation, and
other needs, as well as healthcare.
They needed a study to tell us this? Seriously? Talk about an agenda to promote class warfare.
People like to forget that we have poverty in NoVA and Fairfax County. They call us a "rich" county all the time, yet they look over areas like culmore or the mt vernon area that have a lot of people that are barely getting by.
Even in our own county, the areas that have been insulated from poverty have been whining about extra resources that the county spends to help give these residents – whether it be in the schools or otherwise. Just last year, Shultz (Springfield district board member) made a successful push to make a targeted cut from the schools with the highest poverty.
So, yes… class warfare is alive and well.
– what are the crime stats in both neighborhoods?
– how many speak fluent english?
– how many are trying to learn english or encouraging their children to?
– how many receive government assistance?
– how many save money each month?
– how many carry credit card balances?
– how much does each family spend on phone plans compared to what they earn?
– how many have bank accounts or are encouraged to save money?
– what efforts are made to keep houses in decent condition in these neighborhoods?
– many people in the dc area rely on public transportation and dont have their own cars.
– many people in the dc area spend more than half their income on either rent or a mortgage– it's not uncommon.
– for those without health insurance, there is medicaid/obamacare.
Some of your questions don't make sense. If someone is receiving government assistance, they're probably not allowed to have a savings account. If they don't earn enough to live on each month, they're probably carrying a credit card balance just to pay for food. If they live in Culmore, they don't own a house and the landlord keeps those apartments in crappy condition.
"they're probably not allowed to have a savings account" This statement makes no sense. How would someone not be allowed to have a savings account?
I don't know what the tie in to gvt assistance is, however considering many savings accounts require you to have a minimum balance to avoid fees, and folks in culmore probably can't meet those minimum balances.
It's expensive to be poor.
There are asset limits in order to receive government assistance. If you have savings in a bank account and disclose it when applying, you might not qualify. If you don't disclose it, you're committing welfare fraud.
Its a damn disgrace and Sharon Bulova and Penny Gross have perpetuated Mason's decline. They wont be happy until there is not a middle class person left in the district.
What I gather from this report is that it provides objective and substantiated proof the antiquated attitudes and approaches of the leadership of Fairfax County and a good portion of the county’s population simply do not work. Further, the study erodes any support to the claims that turning a blind eye to the federal government’s laws on immigration does not negatively impact the standard of living or the expenditure of resources for the betterment of the county’s population as a whole. For those who have been warning of the study’s findings, they could easily now say, “We told you so. Thanks for providing a study to prove our point.”
In reading the report, the “Root Causes” section reads more like a list of symptoms compared to the causes of the conditions. Nowhere in the report does it cite the county’s policies and approaches as a cause of wage stagnation from illegal immigration, school overcrowding, the lack of assimilation, cultural attitudes toward education and assimilation, lack of county enforcement of laws and codes (e.g., overcrowding of homes and apartments), as contributing, if not causal, factors. I would, however, suggest that the report unfairly and incorrectly places the blame on Fairfax County and its residents. The real perpetrators behind these conditions are the governments and populations of the native countries of the people who live in these disadvantaged islands for failing to address their citizens’ needs at the source. Why is it that Fairfax County has to consider all these changes, when, if they were realized at the point of origin, the problem(s) would not exist here? By continuing to allow and enable the current situation and not demanding better from the leaders in the countries of origin, this cycle will never correct itself.
I would also argue if those in Lake Barcroft have worked hard and earned their homes, wages, etc., they should not feel guilty in the least. Nor should anyone one in the study or on this blog somehow shame them into feeling guilty. The shame should be placed on those who continually try to wage class warfare by making people feel guilty if they’ve worked hard and achieved the American Dream. While I will not deny there are those who truly are in need, it seems, at times, the “shamers” possess just as much jealously and greed as those against whom they rail. We should not try to make someone else’s life better at the expense of those who have come by their standard of living as a result of honesty and hard work. Shame on anyone who would try to do so.
I also read this report as an indictment of the leadership within Fairfax County and Mason District, with Ms Bulova having served almost 30 years as a district supervisor and BoS Chairman and Ms Gross having served for over 22 years as Mason District Supervisor. How can you be in the county government that long and have allowed and even enabled most, if not all, of this? How can you not look around Mason District, see the remnants of a once vibrant district, and not wonder how Ms Gross has enabled the district to lag so significantly behind the rest of Fairfax County and the region as a whole. How many reports do we need to say she has been asleep at the wheel until she is voted out of office? To me, it borders on the verge of incompetence and dereliction. It seems as though they, Ms Bulova and Ms Gross, have ignored the problem to the point that they would seem like heroes if they fix it. Perhaps that is their political strategy to retain their stronghold on county politics and their positions and salaries. Maybe one policy Fairfax County needs to consider to fix the situation is term limits on the BoS Chairman and district supervisors.
Looks like a slum to me.
Yet residents of Culmore, at least those who can vote, support the exact same leaders who have created these conditions. Does the voting behavior of these residents suggest they desire their conditions improve? Or that they are content?
I would wager that 95% of Culmore residents do not vote. From what I see when I drive past the neighborhood every day, most of the residents are either immigrants or first generation Americans. Many do not speak English or have had an education. Some may be illegal, but I think many are legal, but are here on visas, asylum, DACA or are resident aliens, which of course cannot vote. The Mason leaders who have created these conditions are kept in place by more affluent voters with misguided and idealistic views of what this community needs.
Good leadership should have an aura of persuasion that can bridge the differences between opposing agendas. Unfortunately in the current political environment we have Trumpism and Pennyism and nothing in between.
Long-time Mason District residents don't seem happy with the current state of the district, but it seems like they'd feel better if other districts were also trashed, or didn't complain about some of the burdens they have to incur, such as unrenovated schools and larger school class sizes, because the county keeps shoveling extra resources into Mason. The policies favored by Penny Gross negatively affect the entire county, not just Mason District.