Let’s Be Neighbors, Not NIMBYs
A perspective from Kim Sykes
My name is Kim. I am the full time charge specialist for UNC Healthcare’s operating rooms. My son Keon and I live in the Northside neighborhood. And we can’t wait to meet our new neighbors in the proposed affordable apartments on Jay Street.
We have lived in our affordable home, which we purchased through Community Home Trust, since 2019, and our neighborhood has been a dream come true. My son can be in this community as a black kid with dreds and I don’t feel like I have to worry every time he leaves the house. We have neighbors who don’t speak English, but we have become friends anyway through sharing food and smiles. Our neighbors across the street have become like family over this past year, and we do so much together as a family: dinners, celebrations, repairs, careers, laugh, cry, drink, sports, live life! This is what a neighborhood is made of. Keon sees families around here that I encourage him to become. It’s teaching my son family.
And I know there are so many more people who could benefit from access to a community like the one we have in our neighborhood. People like me, who serve the community in Chapel Hill but don’t make enough money to afford skyrocketing rents and mortgage payments here. That’s why I’m so happy to know that the Town has decided to build apartments that will be within reach for more families like mine.
To those who say, “We need more affordable housing, but not in my backyard,” I say, YES! In MY backyard! Bring more families, more essential workers, more people with diverse backgrounds, more community workers to my neighborhood, to join my son and me in this beautiful community.
I can’t wait to meet my new neighbors.
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