In the LGBTQ community, faith brings comfort and pain. Six Pittsburghers reflect on feeling rejected for who they are.
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Members of the LGBTQ community reflect on their relationship with faith after facing rejection from religion.
DEVELOP PGH
‘Milking’: How some absentee property owners contribute to blight in the Pittsburgh region
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Urban design expert Alan Mallach believes owner Prasad Margabandhu was trying to “milk” the failed property by attempting to eke out rent revenue while spending as little as possible on repairs or taxes.
DEVELOP PGH
Owner of troubled Valmar Gardens apartments has record of problem properties, unpaid taxes and ‘shell games’
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Property owner Prasad Margabandhu’s practices serve as a prime example of the challenges municipalities and tenants face when trying to hold landlords accountable for failed properties and dangerous conditions.
Aftermath: Synagogue attack
Tree of Life trauma victims may find allies in neighborhoods experiencing chronic gun violence
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Experts in trauma care differentiate between sudden violent events, such as the Tree of Life shooting, and chronic forms of violence, such as war zones or ongoing gun violence within neighborhoods. In Pittsburgh, chronic gun violence occurs in some neighborhoods, but not others, and that trauma is disproportionately carried by the city's black communities.
Aftermath: Synagogue attack
Treating trauma and society’s ‘collective illness’: Mental health experts rally to provide long-lasting care after Tree of Life shooting
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Some public health researchers believe we need to address a “collective illness” that allows such hate to thrive in the first place
DEVELOP PGH
What’s even more alarming than gentrification? One researcher urges cities like Pittsburgh to take a broader view.
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Community development guru Alan Mallach points to the rise of “eds and meds” and the influx of young, educated professionals into urban areas as major trends that have transformed Pittsburgh and other American cities over the last two decades, bringing investment and jobs to many declining neighborhoods. “Taken as a whole, American cities, particularly older cities, are doing better than at any point really since the 1960s,” he said at a lecture Tuesday evening at Carnegie Mellon University. “This is an amazing revival, and it’s worth celebrating.”
He’s quick to note, though, that such progress is only half the story: “At the same time, for people who live in those cities, more of them are living in poverty, more of them are living in substandard housing and in neighborhoods that do not provide a decent quality of life. At the same time that our cities are drawing thousands of jobs and billions in new investment, more people live in these cities who lack jobs and opportunities.”
In Pittsburgh, young professionals are moving into such neighborhoods as Lawrenceville, East Liberty and the South Side, driving a surge in development, while long-time residents are leaving. Fewer people are living in predominantly white working-class and black neighborhoods, such as Homewood and the Hill District, and those who do are, on average, lower income and older.
“Absolutely and unabashedly welcoming”: How some Pittsburgh faith communities embrace LGBT worshippers
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After former public defender Turahn Jenkins announced in early July that he would challenge Stephen A. Zappala Jr. in a bid to become Allegheny County’s next district attorney, Jenkins quickly came under fire for his views on sexuality and gender identity. He is affiliated with the Bible Chapel, a church that teaches that homosexuality is sinful, a view that Jenkins reportedly said he shares. Because of his stance, many community members, including leaders from the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender [LGBT] community,* were not satisfied with Jenkins’ stated commitment to inclusive and unbiased law enforcement. They asked Jenkins to end his campaign, but he’s chosen to remain in the race. The election is scheduled for 2019.
IN-DEPTH
Former parishioners are trying to save an Allentown church building closed by the Catholic Diocese of Pittsburgh
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“Nothing resembles an old church. You don’t get that back. Once it’s gone, it’s gone.”
IN-DEPTH
As the Catholic Diocese of Pittsburgh announces mergers, here’s what it means for parishioners and church buildings left behind
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In September 2017, the diocese’s On Mission Commission announced initial recommendations for whittling the number of parishes down to 48. On Thursday, April 26, Zubik will share final plans for consolidations with priests and deacons before holding a press conference on April 28 to make the decisions public. Groupings will also be shared at weekend Masses and made available online. But how are parishioners affected when the diocese closes their home churches? And what happens to church buildings once their parishioners migrate and they’re left empty?
DEVELOP PGH
Instead of preparing for an unwanted move, this Bethesda-Homewood resident prepared a federal lawsuit
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Peering through glasses, 52-year-old Tyrone Goodwin reread the first lines of a letter from his apartment management company, Aishel Real Estate. “As you are aware, effective November 1, HUD is discontinuing subsidy to the property. This means that they are no longer paying the rent for your unit.”
The letter was dated Oct. 27, 2017, just four days before the subsidy for his one-bedroom apartment in Homewood was to end. And this was the first he’d heard from the landlord of his Bethesda-Homewood property about it.
