While I was walking about Downtown Richmond (moreso to acclimate myself to the neighborhood around RPV), I walked into an antique store run by Boaz & Ruth:
It’s a vicious cycle. When someone is released from prison, they generally return to the old neighborhood, desperately hoping for a new life. But a decent job, a safe home and healthy relationships are hard to come by in a community weighed down by the very problems and issues that helped spawn the crime to begin with. You can’t change a life without changing the community as well. That’s what makes Boaz & Ruth so unique.
By planting itself right in the center of Highland Park, one of Richmond, Virginia’s most troubled areas, Boaz & Ruth is tackling systemic issues of prisoner reentry, recidivism, community revitalization and cultural isolation head on.
Now I wasn’t in Highland Park… at least I don’t think I was in Highland Park, but I was somewhere along Main and 3rd. In any event, there were two wonderful people running the antique store yesterday, and a very expensive secretary against the back wall running for $7,000. Other neat items in the store, mostly donations and estate sales.
If you’re in and about Richmond, stop by. Now all I need to do is find a good bookstore nearby…