Linda and the Love Boat

Linda Thompson is quick to cite experience as the founder and CEO of LOVESHIP as a qualification to hold the office of Mayor.  Apart from sitting on City Council, that appears to be the sum of her experience.  Plus some internships.

But her Big Accomplishment (prior to presiding over City Council) was Founder and CEO of LOVESHIP, Inc.  But what exactly is LOVESHIP anyway?  What is the mission?  What's the track record?   

An Internet search quickly pointed to LOVESHIP's webpage. According to the  website, the nonprofit sprang into being on April 14, 2000 after Ms. Thompson had a series of divine revelations. The website also has a section dedicated to touting the "Success Stories" of Ms. Thompson's nonprofit.  Oddly, there was only one posted -- a story from the Patriot-News published exactly two years ago today.  

Seven and a half years after the doors opened we have one success story?  The Patriot-News story appears below and sharp eyed readers will note that although Thompson is attempting to characterize the article as a success story, it's really only reports her plan which is vague at best.

Success Stories:

Agency leaves family feeling right at home

By Jim Lewis of The Patriot-News

October 17, 2007

Her dream house is an abandoned, beaten-up row home with boarded-up windows, a leaky roof and graffiti scrawled on its brick facade. But Rashelle Davis can't beat the price — it's free — and sees potential beyond the blight.

Once the vacant house at 2308 Jefferson St. is renovated, Davis will move into — and eventually own — the home she dreamed about for herself and her husband, Rasheen, and the couple's three children.

The Davises were awarded the house by a Harrisburg nonprofit agency that, for the first time, acquired a vacant home to give to a low- or moderate-income family that can't get a conventional mortgage from a bank.

The goal of the agency, Loveship, is to provide home ownership while reducing the number of vacant houses and renters in the city's uptown section, said Linda Thompson, City Council member and the president and chief executive officer of Loveship.

The Davises were one of 100 families that applied with Loveship for a chance at the free house.

It will cost tens of thousands of dollars to renovate the four-bedroom house, and will take about 90 days of labor, estimated James McKamey, a representative of Reynolds Construction Management, a local firm that will oversee the work.

As the Davises, who currently live an apartment got their first glimpse of the house, Rashelle imagined how nice it will be. "I have so many ideas, I can't wait," she said.

Loveship has coached low-income families on buying their first homes and getting mortgages. The agency decided last year to acquire a house on its own and give it to a family that would have struggled to get a mortgage, according to Thompson.

She hopes to award a house to a family every year, if she can find the money to afford such a giveaway. About 27 percent of Harrisburg's housing units are vacant, and more than half of the inhabited homes — about 57 percent — are occupied by renters, Thompson said.

Loveship bought the house from the Harrisburg Redevelopment Authority, which acquired it, for $1, and with help from the city, Wachovia Bank, the Pennsylvania Housing Finance Agency and others it launched the competition at the Greater Harrisburg Annual Home Ownership Expo that Thompson's agency has held every year.

Loveship will own the house for the next 10 years, and the Davises will live there mortgage-free. The house could become theirs if they meet several requirements over the years.

The Davises must put money into a savings account, maintained by Loveship, to pay for the maintenance, and live there for the next 10 years, Thompson said. The Davises must pay for the utilities and must attend homeowner counseling sessions provided by Loveship.

The initiative is a "creative" way to bring urban renewal to blighted neighborhoods while giving renters their own home, she said.

"It's about teaching the family about home ownership and wealth accumulation," she said.

Ironically it's been two years to the day the article appeared or perhaps it's divine providence.  Time to pay a visit to Jefferson St. to see the results.  Too bad Ms. Thompson didn't feel it necessary to post progress reports or a followup.

OMG!!! Nice job, Linda!

We have returned from our little field trip to Jefferson Street to see the results of LOVESHIP's success story for ourselves and we are stunned.  Just. Stunned.

Here is a picture of the exterior of 2308 Jefferson Street taken minutes ago:

Small wonder Linda didn't update her LOVESHIP website.  Although one wonders how careless, or stupid she is to still be claiming 2308 Jefferson as a  "Success Story" on her website.  But she has a degree in communications so she must know what she's doing.

Flash forward to Sunday, October 18, 2009 when Linda was quoted in the Patriot news on her plan to reduce crime. Here's, in part, what she had to say:

"Investments in the structural integrity of our neighborhoods make them less likely to be breeding grounds for criminal activity. Eliminating abandoned/blighted homes (which can house criminal activity) and creating neighborhood-based economies (which encourages community support and buy-in) will transform areas of our city that are plagued by human misery into vibrant neighborhoods ripe with opportunity for human prosperity."

Easy to talk the talk isn't it Linda?  Not so easy to walk the walk.