1736 Magazine - Fall 2018

TURNING BACK
THE BLOCK
Nonprofit takes methodical
approach to revitalizing Harrisburg
By Damon Cline
PHOTO BY DAMON CLINE
Marty Rose is turning
his life – and
his neighborhood –
around one day at a
time.
The once homeless
and drug-addicted Pennsylvania native
keeps his body and his home on Metclaf
Street clean, becoming an exemplar
of virtuous living in the heart of
Harrisburg, a community with a reputation
for vice.
The 58-year-old registered nurse,
one of 10 Turn Back
the Block homebuyers,
preaches the dignity
of homeownership in
a neighborhood where
nearly 80 percent of his
neighbors are renters.
“It’s not just a home,”
Rose said. “It allows you
to become a productive
citizen again who feels
worthwhile. It’s a renewal
of life.”
Rose’s second chance at life is precisely
the outcome Turn Back the Block
is looking to achieve in Harrisburg.
The faith-based nonprofit is revitalizing
the historic neighborhood by rehabilitating
dilapidated or vacant properties,
which it then makes available to
people who ordinarily wouldn’t qualify
for a mortgage.
It’s not just a
home.
Marty Rose
The once stable and working-class
neighborhood of Harrisburg fell into
disrepair with the demise of the city’s
textile industry, where many residents
were employed. The nearly decade-old
Turn Back the Block was created to
restore the district’s luster one block
at a time.
“We’re about creating pride in
homeownership and promoting that
neighborhood concept,” Executive
Director Lauren Dallas said. “It’s that
‘I’m going to mow my lawn because
my neighbor mows his’
sort of thing.”
It’s a simple concept
that appears to be working
on the blocks where
the organization has
focused. Rose’s house,
which sits next to a family
cemetery plot, was a
hangout for prostitutes
before his home and the
two next door were rehabilitated.
The organization operates largely
on donated money, labor and building
materials, which enables them to
complete about two homes per year.
Dallas declined to disclose the number
of properties the organization has purchased,
but said it is in the “dozens.”
She brushes aside concerns of gentrification
because most of the homes
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