The Event Turning The Tables to Benefit Hard Bargain Mt. Hope Redevelopment By J.L. Bibb “Your people will rebuild the ancient ruins and will raise up the age-old foundations; you will be called repairer of broken walls, restorer of streets with dwellings.” – Isaiah 58:12 Two very different lives. One unifying purpose. For Franklin pastors Scott Roley and Denny Denson, life couldn’t have been more different growing up. All Roley wanted to do was become a rock star. He had the hair, the scruff and the stylish clothes to prove it. For his part, Denson wanted equality and fairness, a level playing field. He had the stern face, tough attitude and steely eyes suited for such a stance. So while Roley traveled across America in a bus, Denson joined the Black Panthers in urban Chicago. Both men, in their own ways, opposed the establishment and disagreed with the status quo. But their means of expression were dramatically different, which of course, makes this latest chapter in their lives so intriguing. Somewhere along the way, both heard a similar calling. In fact, by their late 20s, Roley and Denson had committed their lives to Christ, and each would become a minister. “It was a God thing,” Denson explains. “For me, it was just something that happened. I wasn’t looking for anything. I was content with the life that I had – but I had a Pauline experience, met Jesus on the Damascus road. I had an encounter with Christ that I was not looking for.” WORKING TOGETHER IN FRANKLIN Both Roley and Denson say they feel a calling on their hearts to serve the poor. And while neither grew up in Tennessee, both wound up here, living and working in the Natchez and Hard Bargain neighborhoods of Franklin. The two met each other after Roley’s church, Christ Community, began to bring outreach opportunities to the youth in the Natchez neighborhood, where many of Denson’s First Missionary Baptist Church congregation lived. “After Christ Community started working in my congregation’s neighborhood, I realized they were doing some things right and some wrong,” Denson says. “They were able to engage the kids and involve them in feel-good activities without really becoming a part of their lives. But you see, life only changes when we become mentors.” Roley, who had moved his family into Hard Bargain several years earlier, says he understood what Denson meant, and he helped re-shape his church’s approach. As time went on, the two men began to work together more frequently, and eventually they became friends. Out of that initial relationship grew the Empty Hands Fellowship, a group of men committed to knowing each other and serving one another, as they grow in their relationships with Christ. The group seeks to bridge racial, social, denominational and financial boundaries while encouraging authenticity and respect. From the group’s commitment to community grew the creation of the Hard Bargain Mt. Hope Redevelopment (HBMHR) initiative. With the participation of the entire Empty Hands Fellowship group and the leadership of Denson and Roley, the group formed a nonprofit organization and began to implement its vision – to help revitalize some of Franklin’s oldest, and predominantly African-American, neighborhoods. All who are involved are quick to recognize that none of what they have done would be possible but for the generous contributions of many. A DREAM REALIZED THROUGH BLOOD, SWEAT, PRAYERS AND BENEVOLENCE “This entire project has been funded by private donations so far,” explains Chris Ude, president of HBMHR’s board. “Hard Bargain Mt Hope Redevelopment, Inc. is a 501(c)(3) not-for-profit with aneffective date of November 2004, so all donations are tax-deductible. We have received donated cash, stock, an automobile, materials and services. One hundred percent of donations go right back into the work of the organization. In fact, all of the board members and staff are unpaid volunteers.” Over the last six years, the group has purchased four lots and finished construction of its first house in March of this year. It is the chief aim of HBMHR to revitalize a specific area, while keeping its residents intact. As HBMHR representatives explain, the vision is seen as pure community service, to provide affordable homes for purchase, thus transforming a 100-year-old neighborhood into a vibrant community. HBMHR places authenticity at a premium, reaching for periodsensitive home design intended for current neighborhood residents. The group utilizes the skills of top-notch architects, financial experts and other business professionals. As Ude explains, this can only happen because an entire community is coming together to help. “HBMHR has been blessed by amazing people and organizations, and we consider it pure joy to pass those blessings along to the neighborhood and the cityof Franklin through affordable homes that enhance this piece of Franklin’s history,” Ude says. “David Crane with Crane Builders is providing construction expertise, while John Murphy is overseeing site work. David Green and Brant Bousquet are providing ongoing guidance with running a not-for-profit as well as fundraising. Stacey Watson, our first female board member, has worked to promote HBMHR and associate us with many different community organizations and leaders. Emily Brown, who is the official neighborhood spokesperson, has been very active in helping and promoting this cause. James Jackson provides an invaluable connection to the neighborhood and reminds us and the current residents that HBMHR is not a group of dogooders swarming in to fix a perceived problem, but instead a group of brothers and sisters in Christ who are coming alongside the neighborhood to provide the expertise and effort required to fulfill the neighborhood’s vision. “Lisa Frazier works tirelessly as secretary and treasurer to tie up all the loose ends and keep track of everything we do. Mort Stein provides planning and real estate expertise as well as a thorough understanding of affordable housing initiatives in Williamson County and the city of Franklin codes and ordinances. Freddie Haddox is helping re-create the community gardens. Teresa Burns and GAP Community Development Resources are training our homebuyers and counseling them to prepare them for home ownership. Steve Murray and Community Housing Partnership of Williamson County are working with our buyers to get the best financing and down-payment assistance possible, as well as guiding us toward future growth as an organization through applications for Federal and State grant money. And Brian Wright and TPUDC are guiding HBMHR and the neighborhood through a day-long workshop to finalize the neighborhood plan and will subsequently take the plan through the city of Franklin’s approval process.” As the redevelopment initiative moves forward, HBMHR representatives say they hope to see their scope expanded and enhanced. “Our primary goal is to complete the six or more houses that we have lots for,” Roley explains. “From there, we hope the city will extend Johnson’s alley and approve our plan to build another 10-15 houses there. There are several other properties we’d like to acquire on either side of the main redevelopment that would extend Hard Bargain another 15 acres. What many people don’t realize is that this area and its surrounding communities comprise seven distinct neighborhoods and represent about 8,000 citizens. The HBMHR initiative really just focuses on somewhere between 15-25 of those acres.” For Roley and Denson, laying the foundation for the first HBMHR house marked the crystallization of a deep-seated vision. The house, which is now completely built at 613 Mt. Hope Street, is the organization’s first affordable house in that historic neighborhood on the west end of downtown Franklin. “The Lord has allowed me to be a part of some tremendous experiences,” Denson says. “But probably the most rewarding thing, outside of my marriage and children, was to be there when we laid the first block of the foundation of the first house we built. I am not a mushy-type guy, but it brought tears to my eyes. It was amazing to be a part of something that provided a high-quality home for someone else – to give them joy and a sound shelter, it’s almost too tough to put into words. You really have to be a part of it to understand.” Roley smiles as he hears those words. “This is a part of what the Gospel does in words and deeds,” he adds. “In our culture in Williamson County, making workforce housing is not at the top of the list. But we are losing places for the working class to live in our area, and as a result our community suffers. Diversity and congregational, not segregational, living are important to the health and vitality of any community. And we are in awe that we get to be a part of a group whose mission is aimed at helping lives and improving the character of a town we all love.”