Meet the Innovator: Bree Jones of Parity
Bree is a member of the Social Innovation Lab’s 2019–20 Cohort. To learn more about SIL and the cohort, click here. Join her at our virtual SIL Impact Forum, available here! Stay tuned: Bree’s pitch will be released at 3:45 on Thursday, May 28th!
SIL: Tell us about Parity. What are you trying to do?
BJ: Parity is an equitable development company that acquires and rehabilitates vacant and abandoned properties in distressed neighborhoods to create affordable home-ownership opportunities.
SIL: Why did you decide to start this? Where did the idea come from?
BJ: We started Parity as a response to the gentrification and displacement we experienced in our hometown. We realized that there are typically two trajectories for historically red-lined neighborhoods. Either the community continues to face disinvestment and deterioration for an indefinite amount of time, or rapid speculative development causes the neighborhood to undergo extreme gentrification and displacement of native residents. Now we’re working to do development without displacement, and create ownership in the process.
SIL: What would you consider success for Parity, and how will the world be different when you’re successful?
BJ: Parity envisions a society in which historically disinvested communities can experience revitalization that is self-directed, equitable, and just. Our initial pilot is targeting the rehabilitation of 96 abandoned buildings, and the creation of 90 new homeowners. Through this process we intend to introduce at least 100 legacy residents to our anti-displacement initiatives. Our goal is to continue to grow and deepen impact within Baltimore. There are anywhere from 16K-60K abandoned buildings and we’d like to be part of the solution towards decreasing this figure. In the long-term we can see Parity replicating its model for comprehensive equitable neighborhood reinvestment in other cities across the US that are struggling with the historic ramifications of redlining and racial-economic disinvestment like Chicago, New Orleans, St. Louis, Detroit, Newark, Philadelphia, Cleveland, and Memphis.
SIL: What were you most excited about learning from the Social Innovation Lab?
BJ: I was most looking forward to getting to know the other social entrepreneurs in SIL and co-ideate and support one another. I was also excited about learning more about human centered design, design thinking, and applying it to my company.
SIL: Tell us about yourself. What got you interested in the issue? Any work or personal experience that informs your work?
BJ: I got started in this work shortly after I graduated college in 2013. My hometown began to experience rapid gentrification when a “master developer” was selected to redevelop the land of a predominately Black and brown community into 2,000 luxury rental apartments. I mobilized and led a group of 300 community members to advocate for equitable development. After 6 years of fighting that battle, I decided to leave my career on Wall Street to start Parity, which I view as an alternative to traditional extractive development. Using my background in finance and my passion for housing justice, I’m working to do “Development without Displacement”, and create home-ownership in the process.
SIL: What’s your favorite place or thing to do in Baltimore?
BJ: My favorite place in Baltimore is my garden plot in the Gardens of Hope community garden in Upton. I’m growing all kinds of amazing things like kale, broccoli, sweet potatoes and more. The garden is also special to me because of the friends and family I’ve made there. My other favorite places in Baltimore are Shake & Bake and Lake Montebello because I’m a blossoming roller skater.
SIL: What advice do you have for aspiring social entrepreneurs thinking about starting a venture?
BJ: A key element that I think is missing from the discourse around social entrepreneurship and the non-profit industry is that our work should always be from the lens of understanding systems of oppression and working to undo those systems in order to impact change, rather than looking at the individual as deficient and needing “fixing”. People are not broken, the systems are.
SIL: What can we do to help? How can we get involved?
BJ: Parity is raising equity investment, seeking philanthropic partners, accepting donations, and looking for people to get involved as volunteers or future homeowners. Reach out if you’d like to learn more about how you can assist us on this journey.
Join Bree and Parity on the web at www.parityhomes.com and through social media on Instagram. You can connect with Bree through SIL’s Impact Forum online, starting May 18th! Details available at this link.
