A Religious Commitment to Affordable Housing: First Presbyterian Church’s Land Development Initiative

Bethlehem First Presbyterian Church is a community attentive to the lack of affordable housing in our city. Church leaders are exploring the use of their property to address this problem. Late last year, Church leaders shared their idea to develop approximately 32 acres of land owned by the church to create housing at a variety…

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CADB’s Façade Program: Supporting Residents Over Time

A program provided by Community Action Development Bethlehem (CADB) aims to support homeowners in maintaining their building’s exteriors. For low-income residents, it may be difficult to find funds to repair the facade of their homes and to ensure the safety of their residences. CADB’s Residential Façade Program offers residents in targeted neighborhoods the resources to…

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A Brief History of Police Brutality: A Workshop by Linda Wiggins-Chavis

This summer Bethlehem Area Public Library (BAPL) hosted a variety of anti-racist educational programing to bring depth and specificity to Bethlehem’s conversations about race and anti-racism. One such program was a series of workshops on theories and histories of race and racial justice, facilitated by teacher, activist, and writer, Linda Wiggins-Chavis. Though the workshops are…

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South Side Housing Struggles: Mold, Absentee Landlords, and Lack of Contractors

Rain and severe weather have a significant impact on the South Side’s aging housing stock, according to Anna Smith, the Director of the Community Action Development Corporation of Bethlehem (CADCB) and Emily Folenta, Senior Planner of the Community Action Committee of the Lehigh Valley. This issue coupled with absentee landlords failing to respond and fix…

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