At the foundation of any healthy city, healthy families must abound. People living in relative peace on safe streets in affordable housing make healthy neighborhoods,communities, and a healthy city. The Shalom Project also believes the core of any healthy neighborhood must be a healthy neighborhood church that reaches the hearts and serves the needs of residents from a holistic approach.

Good and affordable housing does not assure a good home. A home is a house where there are caring people loving each other. Good housing, however, does afford an enhanced opportunity to create good homes.

Unfortunately, a high inventory of poor housing in the core city sustains many intractable problems and intensely challenges the development of a comprehensive solution. For example, Shelby County Government has more than 15,000 parcels currently tax-delinquent and another 1,500
parcels government-owned from tax foreclosures. The numbers are staggering. These denigrating circumstances have developed over a long period of decline. Many neighborhoods are facing devastating factors such as a 15 to 30% loss of population, abandoned properties,absentee landlords, predatory lending practices, blighted multifamily complexes, lack of code enforcement, and neglected and crumbling public infrastructure.

Despite these problems, committed and zealous people are working daily to restore signs of hope and encouragement in pockets across the urban landscape. As an example, a South Memphis Revitalization Plan (SoMe RAP) is well underway to address an area containing 140 city blocks,
1,800 lots, 21 churches, 5 schools, and a city park—all home to more than 6,800 residents. At the center of this initiative is a collaborative comprised of hundreds of area residents, St. Andrews AME Church, The Works CDC, Self Tucker Architects, the Consilience Group, The University of Memphis, the Hyde Family Foundations, and the City of Memphis. Based on a grassroots, resident-driven agenda,the SoMe Rap has adopted an asset-based community redevelopment model. SoMe Rap has developed its improvement goals and has short-term initiatives as well as long-term goals to create momentum for transforming the neighborhood. This is but one example of several publicprivate initiatives now underway across the landscape of Memphis.