Arlington County, Courthouse Metro, affordable housing. All of these things seem so distant from Foggy Bottom and the collegiate experience, but for Kimberly Painter, these two different worlds blended together into an intricate balance.
Painter, 23, has been working part-time at Arlington Partnership for Affordable Housing, a nonprofit that works closely with the Arlington County government. After her internship supervisor resigned last year, Painter took on a part-time job as relocations coordinator. Next year she will continue working for APAH full-time.
She became the main point person for relocation during her 25-hour work week this year. She handled all the relocation services for a renovation project taking place at Courthouse Crossings, a five-building apartment complex that is being renovated and redesigned to accommodate 112 affordable apartments. Painter went out into the community and hand delivered notices to residents. She reassured residents of the process, helped them through step-by-step, and became a vital thread in this blanket of urban redevelopment. If they were confused, Painter became their guide. If they were scared, she became their beacon of information.
Looking back on her life, Painter said everything just seemed to fall into place. One thing led to another and she naturally became dedicated to city planning and social justice. Before coming to GW, she volunteered for a year in Chicago at Bethel Christian School, a private school in the inner city where most students had already been kicked out of public school. Then in her sophomore year at GW, she took an American studies honors course called “Affordable Housing and Development in Washington, D.C.”
“After the first day I called my mom right away and told her that this was one of those life changing classes,” Painter said. “I had always known I wanted to go into city development and social justice, but this really sparked my interest in affordable housing.”
Painter spent part of her junior year studying in Cape Town, South Africa. She said she wanted to gain a new perspective on race relations and urban development. In Cape Town, she visited the townships every day and experienced firsthand the inequality. She saw shacks with undeveloped resources and saw how drastically different life in the townships was from life in the city. She volunteered at an orphanage for children with cerebral palsy. It was called Golden Girls orphanage, as a tribute to the four women who founded it and to the 1980s television show. Being in South Africa reaffirmed her desire to work within the affordable housing field and be a positive force in promoting social justice.
“I gave up the idea that I would save the world a long time ago,” she said. “A lot of people are doing good things. I’m just one of them.”
