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As the President & CEO of STEPS, I had decided not to engage in a “point counter point” with citizens who were attempting to slander our reputation as a nonprofit that exists to “move lives forward.”  As we enter 2025, I feel it is time the community hears from me.    

In prior letters to the editor, STEPS was accused of not having the organizational strength to keep Madeline’s House open.  However, as I trust most folks in our region are aware, Madeline’s House was formerly operated by another organization, Southside Center for Violence Prevention.  When they closed their doors on November 22, 2023, STEPS homeless services staff received calls asking us to provide emergency housing to the women and children they were evicting.  We willingly did so to maintain the safety of the women and children recovering from domestic violence.  

We immediately began to form a coalition that would work to re-establish sexual assault and domestic violence services in our region.  Ultimately, STEPS was asked to take those services under our umbrella and with support from local, state, and federal governments, private citizens, local businesses, civic clubs, and the faith community, STEPS purchased the former domestic violence shelter building.  We successfully raised the funds necessary to renovate, furnish, and reopen the doors to Madeline’s House in less than one year.  This work took a “village” and we are grateful to be part of such a caring community.  

The STEPS property in Farmville

While continuing to work to reopen Madeline’s House, the STEPS Homeless Housing Task Force also continued to work toward identifying property so we could collaborate with other development partners to bring housing options to friends and neighbors at all income levels to our region.  With the identification of 48.6 acres on the western part of the Town of Farmville, it seemed we had found our answer.  This property has access to municipal water/sewer, access to public transportation, and access to regional agencies such as the Social Security Administration, and DMV. Being in Farmville, with its strong business community, would also facilitate job training/employment opportunities not currently present in any other town in our region.  

Another reason this property was of interest was the Israel Hill connection.  We are committed to ensuring that the legacy of the Israel Hill residents will be preserved.  We continue to engage in conversations with descendants of the previously enslaved individuals and families.  Recognizing there was a second cemetery that was partly on our property and partly on an adjoining piece of property, we purchased an additional two acres to ensure we had total control of that cemetery.  An archeological study is planned.  Private donations and private grant funds were used to purchase the 50 acres.  Once again, the community stepped forward to support the mission of housing that would be affordable at all income levels.  The hope is that folks who work in Farmville will be able to eventually afford to live in Farmville.  

The residential development on Israel Hill will not serve as an emergency shelter for those experiencing homelessness.  We will continue to use hotel rooms for that emergent need.  Each resident/family residing in the new development will have a lease and support services will be available when needed.  

A case of NIMBY

Once we made public our intent to purchase the 48.6 acres of property, we experienced NIMBY (not in my back yard.)  Under guidance from legal counsel, we were told to not engage until we owned the property.  Once we closed on the original 48.6 acres, we attempted to identify a date/time to meet with concerned citizens.  It took a while to identify a date that worked for the citizens and STEPS.  STEPS leadership, in addition to several STEPS Board members and members of the Homeless Housing Task Force, met with the neighbors.  

The intent of the meeting was to address transparently the questions that had been previously submitted.  It was not our intent to provide written answers to the questions, but rather to have a dialogue around those questions.  It became apparent that the plan would not be sufficient, so we immediately provided electronic copies of the talking points we intended to share.  Frustration set in when we could not answer all the questions with the specificity being requested, but we could not answer questions that we do not yet have the answers to.  We answered truthfully and completely the questions for which we knew the answers.  The accusation of not being prepared is simply not true.  This is a long-term project that will have multiple phases.  STEPS owns the property and we are proactively partnering with experienced nonprofit developers who have demonstrated success and whose missions are aligned with ours.  

STEPS is open for conversation 

The recent letter stated that I hoped to retire before construction begins.  This completely misrepresented what I said. While trying to explain that residential development is a slow and tedious process, I acknowledged that I will most likely retire before this critically needed residential development is fully built out.  No one wants to see this residential development come to fruition more than me. Again, while trying to be honest and transparent, my words were used to allege some nefarious purpose. Nothing could be further from the truth.  

I have spent over 35 years at STEPS and I hope that my reputation for being transparent and honest will speak for itself.  STEPS is blessed with a dedicated Board of Directors, committed Leadership Team, caring group of employees and faithful volunteers.  Despite the work being hard and often met with resistance, we have a long history of providing services to benefit our community.  We are all committed to our mission, “STEPS leads, coordinates, creates and delivers quality opportunities to impact self-sufficiency and reduce poverty throughout our region.” 

If anyone has any questions, please feel free to reach out to me directly.  I welcome the opportunity to listen to suggestions and invite local citizens to become part of our “village” doing this critically important work.  

SHARON HARRUP serves as the President and CEO of STEPS, Inc. STEPS’ corporate offices are located at 225 Industrial Park Road in Farmville. For more information on this initiative or any STEPS program, contact STEPS at (434) 315-5909.