In 2016 Northwest Bible Church built a center to help assist the Vickery Meadow community six days a week.
In 2013 we wrote about the art project Trans.lation in Vickery Meadow, brainchild of Rick Lowe, famous for helping to transform, through art, violence-ridden, neglected neighborhoods into inviting urban villages. With backing from Nashar Sculpture Center and artistic altruists, pop-up Trans.lation exhibits featuring work by Vickery Meadow residents began in October that year. Now in its third year, Trans.lation has evolved from a series of pop-up markets to a permanent storefront that hosts art classes, community meetings, dance rehearsals and pop-up exhibitions celebrating the international arts and culture of refugees.
In 2011, we covered drastic changes to the area, which remains one of the most densely populated, ethnically diverse and lowest-income areas of Dallas, according to statistics provided by the Vickery Meadow Improvement District, which formed in 1993 in an effort to curb crime.
Of course, with improvements comes increases in rent. Some who lived there in 2011 cannot afford to live there now. Some have been evicted, and, we know now, from a story just published by D’s Peter Simek, that as a result at least a few have been evicted and have remained, homeless, in the only American neighborhood they know.
On the evening of Jan. 15, a young man named Mohammad Adam, a homeless Sudanese refugee nicknamed “Turkey” by his friends, crawled into one of Trans.lation’s white cubed sculptures, curled up, and died in his sleep.
“Adam was found by his friend and fellow Sudanese refugee, David Mbusa,” notes a Trans.lation announcement. “According to Mbusa, Adam died peacefully in his sleep. He was known as a quiet man to his friends. Adam suffered from mental health challenges, most likely related to trauma suffered as a refugee. Prior to becoming homeless, a head injury severely affected his ability to maintain stable work and housing.”
In its statement, Trans.lation vows to continue to work to strengthen community resources in Vickery Meadow through free and public cultural programming. The foundation also calls on community leaders to continue to stand up for refugees who have been through untold trauma before finding a home here.
“Trans.lation Vickery Meadow calls upon Councilwoman Jennifer Staubach-Gates, Mayor Rawlings, Judge Jenkins, and the City of Dallas to stand by their statements welcoming refugees from Latin America, Southeast Asia, the Middle East, and Africa; strengthening tenant protections; and supporting local community-based organizations that provide myriad support services for those in need. We call upon Councilwoman Jennifer Staubach-Gates and Vickery Meadow Improvement District to immediately assemble a task force to increase availability of affordable housing and support services for refugees.”
The locally based organizations offering assistance to refugees are numerous, but so are the problems refugees face.
“The effects of trauma often include secondary violence, where you see destructiveness like alcoholism. Crime can be a byproduct of trauma,” the founder of SEEK the Peace, Jason Clarke, told us last year. “Healing benefits the refugee, the neighborhood they live in, and, ultimately, the world beyond that.” He and his wife and other team members work with individuals or small groups to empower them to become leaders in their communities, Jason explained. For example, his wife Tess leads an “identity/worth-building” program for women and teens.
SEEK offices out of the Ivy Apartments, which is where Adam lived prior to his eviction. It’s also the location that became famous following the Ebola-related death of Eric Duncan (our award-winning post-Ebola story offers a unique glimpse into the community and the efforts of the VMID).
A vigil is scheduled for Saturday Feb 11 from 4:30-6:30 p.m. From 4:30-5:30 attendees will have an opportunity to create artwork in Adam’s honor. Remarks will fill the 5:30-6:30 slot.
“This is a community centered event,” organizers note, “so we ask for no cameras and for community voices to be centered and uplifted during this challenging time.”
