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IN OCTOBER 2004 METANOIA
WAS AWARDED
ONE OF FOUR “COMMUNITY ACHIEVEMENT AWARDS”
FOR
THE STATE OF
SOUTH CAROLINA
BY THE
SOUTH CAROLINA ASSOCIATION OF COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT CORPORATIONS. 

THANKS TO YOU, WE ARE MAKING A DIFFERENCE.

  

 

Why Chicora/Cherokee?

     Metanoia makes its home with the Chicora/Cherokee neighborhood in N. Charleston, SC. Our neighborhood is one with both significant potential and major challenges. 

To Chicora Photo Gallery

The Potential

  • We have a number of other strong churches in our community. Among these is St. Matthew Baptist church who moved into the former Charleston Heights Baptist Church Building in 2002 (see picture).  Metanoia’s offices are located in St. Matthew and the church is a major partner in our efforts.  Metanoia Co-Directors, Rev. Evelyn Oliveira and Rev. Bill Stanfield, are also associate ministers at St. Matthew. 
  • Our community has a cute shopping district that is waiting for reinvestment (see picture).
  • Our community has a number of strong families who, are working to obtain the best for their children.
  • We have a number of young children performing very well at our local elementary school despite the statistical odds against them.
  • Our community has a significant number of affordable vacant homes and lots that represent potential space for future community homebuyers.

 

The Challenges: 

  • 98% of the students at our local Elementary School are living below the poverty line (Chicora Elementary School).  This is the highest percentage of students of any school in the Charleston County School District.
  • Our neighborhood has the highest crime rates in the city (North Charleston Police Department). Our city’s overall crime rate is 12th highest in the nation (Morgan Quinto Press, Kansas City, Kansas).
  • According to the city of North Charleston, our community is over 85% rental property.  This creates a neighborhood in continual transition.

These factors have created a community where there is such significant turnover of residents that there is a current vacuum of strong leadership within the community.  This vacuum perpetuates existing problems.  At Metanoia we believe that when we invest in the potential of our community we make the challenges in our community decrease. 

 

 

 

Welcome to Chicora

 


A Brief History of Chicora/Cherokee

Chicora/Cherokee is a neighborhood that grew in response to the massive influx of people that World War II brought to the Charleston North Area.  Thousands of people moved through the community in a relatively short number of years. In the 1960s and 1970s our neighborhood transitioned from a primarily middle class community to a low income neighborhood. Many of our homes were built in the forties and fifties and have since been divided into multiple apartments.

The evolution of our neighborhood shopping district (Reynolds Ave.) tells the story of community change.  It was once home to exclusive and busy shops like Bob Evans shoes and Edwards Department Store.  Later it became home to businesses that catered to the former Charleston Naval Base (bars, pawn shops, etc.).  Now there are a number of vacant properties along with storefront churches and a Laundromat.

As Board Member Ida Taylor says, our community is full of tarnished diamonds just waiting to be polished.

 

 

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