A brighter view for Greater Fulton

Today, that same space has brightly colored walls, engaging artwork and a beautiful mosaic leading to the commercial kitchen etched with the mantra “We are all connected” signaling a sense of community for the once-isolated neighborhood.

The Neighborhood Resource Center of Greater Fulton is the result of hundreds of neighborhood and non-neighborhood volunteers working together to create a place that can help break the cycle of poverty in the community.

The neighborhood has a complex history. Once a vibrant African American community, Fulton fell victim to urban renewal programs in the 1970s that resulted in demolition of houses and buildings, the displacement of hundreds of families, and the loss of community and culture.

With no school, library, adult education or health center to serve Greater Fulton’s residents, citizens began to to advocate for their needs.

In 2002, neighborhood resident Mary Lou Decossaux expressed plans to transform the vacant post office into a much needed community resource hub for the residents of the Fulton Hill neighborhood providing an array of classes, programs and activities to build back the culture of the neighborhood.

Decossaux envisioned residents lounging in a reading area, residents preparing wholesome meals while passing on their culinary skills to apprentices and residents taking GED courses, or classes in music, art, dance, nutrition and yoga.

The building officially reopened as The Neighborhood Resource Center of Greater Fulton in 2005.

Before her passing in 2011, Decossaux helped to build a beacon of light for the Fulton community.

“We try to be a resource in the community and have greater access to things that currently don’t exist here in the neighborhood,” said NRC of Greater Fulton Executive Director Breanne Armbrust. “What we’re focused on, organizationally, is to help nurture the skills and dreams of the community that we serve.”

According to the 2020 U.S. Census, it’s estimated that 40% of the residents in Greater Fulton are considered to be living below the poverty line. The area is a food desert as designated by the U.S. Department of Agriculture. There is no grocery store, bank, library, post office or efficient bus route.

Through the efforts of The Neighborhood Resource Center of Greater Fulton, residents are able to gain access to education, health, employment and financial resources and other opportunities.

The center provides an after-school and summer camp program for youth ages 6-13, including cooking classes in the commercial kitchen, gardening classes in the learning garden, programs that teach healthy lifestyle skills and eating habits, exercise classes and a free summer youth lunch program.

“I make great nutritious meals for after school programs in the Fulton area and we deliver those hot meals for these after school programs Monday through Thursday,” Keonne Lomax, the nonprofit’s food and outreach program director, said. “Each kid gets a chance to have a five component meal, which is a protein, vegetable, whole grain, fruit and a dairy.”

The NRC of Greater Fulton works with Feed More to get some shelf-stable items, but many of the ingredients used in the kitchen and offered to the public through the Food Pantry are grown in the garden right outside of the building.

Lomax also assists with the nutrition education courses which teaches kids about healthy eating and maintaining a healthy lifestyle.

“A lot of people don’t know about healthy eating, so when we offer those nutrition education classes here, it gives them a chance to try produce that they can’t get into stores and try for themselves, whether that’s organic or just regular produce. So we just try to teach them different ways on how to eat healthy, as they come here, because a lot of people don’t know about healthy eating or how to make produce into a good meal,” Lomax said.

Adult members have access to employment placement and career improvement services, financial education and coaching, free tax services, and access to public benefits or income supports.

Julie Brown-Hill, 72, has lived in the Fulton area for 32 years after moving from Church Hill. She raised her two sons in Fulton and says the neighbors look out for one another. Hill lost her sight in 1992 and the neighborhood’s lack of curbs and sidewalks make getting around difficult, but the the NRC of Greater Fulton has been “a blessing.”

“I’ve been coming here for any kind of paperwork I need read to me,” Hill said. “They have just been a blessing here with the food program and all of the other programs.”

Hill said the center also assisted her with learning the importance of creating a will.

Today, Fulton is experiencing revitalization. It was named as a “Best Up-and-Coming Neighborhoods in Richmond” in 2023, and groups such as Innovate Fulton, headed by executive director, Chuck D’Aprix, are bringing in community events like Fulton Fest that celebrate the area’s history and culture.

“We’re not trying to save the world,” Armbrust said. “But we try to work with community members and see them go from being unhoused to being in an apartment and having a car and getting their credit score established or increased. Those are huge game changers.”

“For most of the folks that we serve, there are many reasons to not believe that things can be different. So we just try to create a space where they can believe and that whatever it is that they dream of can happen in their lifetime.”