Written by Georgia Pressley

On a sunny weekend day, South Union Street was abuzz with activity. Cars and bicyclists zipped by. People sipped drinks at a coffee shop. A few boys played outside on the East End greenspace.

“They love it," said Angel Sergent, the mother of the four boys who played outside. "They love living here.”

Sergent lives in a housing complex adjacent to the greenspace called Charlotte Square on the Loop.

When the city removed the Inner Loop Highway in 2017 many housing complexes were built in its place. Charlotte Square on the Loop opened in late 2019, and she was the first person to move in. “It was weird. It was beautiful. It was so exciting,” she said.

Since moving in, Sergent has watched a community begin to form between neighbors within her own housing complex and other buildings on the street.

Neighbors have come together to tell the city what kind of developments they want to see. Recently, neighbors created and signed a petition to get the city to make what used to be a gravel parcel into a grassy lot. Sergent said that because of this collaboration she has been seeing more of her neighbors out and engaging in the neighborhood.

But the sense of community is specifically strong within her building. "I love it. We all really look out for each other. I think we've gotten close in this building.”

While the greenspace is an achievement for the community, there is more that Angel Sergent wants to see.

She wants to see more places where her boys can play, more easily accessible health services and a grocery store. “Just someplace where you don't have to go and spend $50 in food stamps to buy snacks for your kids,” Sergent hoped. She dreams of a downtown that has everything one needs: “A real downtown. Where people can live there, eat there, work there.”

Living on the Loop in Rochester

Charlotte Square on the Loop is just one of many housing complexes on South Union Street. The square has 50 affordable apartments, and most of the apartments are affordable to people living below or at 60% of the area's median income. Some of the apartments are reserved for households that receive supportive services from Spiritus Christi Prison Outreach, a nonprofit that focuses on “residential re-entry program for individuals that are homeless and justice-involved."

Sergent’s family is one of those families receiving support from the nonprofit. 

Prior to moving to Charlotte Square on the Loop, she lived all over Rochester and during some of that time she was unhoused.

"You're always on edge, you're always in that fight or flight, like, you never know what's gonna come next,” Sergent said. Without a stable environment, it was harder to get necessities like access to healthcare. “You can’t do anything without a house.” 

Having this stable housing has changed her and her family’s life. Now, Sergent is able to access health care, she goes to school and she recently finished her CRPA training.

“Your shelter allows you to grow in life in other areas,” she said.  

The outside of Sergent's townhome is adorned with mementos of the family's adventures; rocks and shells that her boys have collected line the windows. Sergent says that it’s these little personal things that make it feel like home. “Housing is a vital resource that we don't always think about as a luxury and sometimes we can take it for granted,” she said. “It's a necessity that is of the utmost importance.”