Safe, affordable, decent.

When these words are typed into Google, the search engine spits back nearly 2.6 million related entries. The first one – titled National Housing Goals – lists excerpts from various housing laws passed since 1949. In eight pages of text, safe is used seven times, affordable 14 times, and decent 13 times.

As words, safe, affordable, and decent are easily written. But for a Google of reasons, realizing them as conditions for residents of public housing is tougher.

Sometimes, it’s a matter of degrees; sometimes it’s not. Philadelphia Housing Authority staff and residents of Raymond Rosen Manor faced the second scenario – in this case, the temporary absence of safety – on July 25 when PHA employee Rodney Barnes was shot while on duty. Barnes, a 46-year-old carpenter who also worked as a minister, passed away on August 5. An arrest was made in the case on September 1. Investigators are calling the murder a case of mistaken identity in a street dispute.

The shock felt by residents of Raymond Rosen Manor and Philadelphia Housing Authority employees was widespread.

“There are kids here,” one resident said. “People work here. If we can’t let the kids play and if people can’t go to work without getting shot, that’s a problem that needs to be fixed”

The call was answered. To ease the community’s suffering and worry, the Philadelphia Housing Authority acted locally. And, to its credit, the community responded. First, the housing authority, a local carpenters’ union, and the Citizens Crime Commission announced a $10,000 reward for information that led to an arrest. Then, a rally was planned at the site of the crime. By August 21, the day of the rally, the amount pledged for the reward had grown to $60,000.

“The community rally was organized to support the Barnes family, educate the community, mobilize the media on PHA’s efforts to bring Rodney’s killer to justice, and support the thousands of residents, community leaders and PHA employees who were personally touched and outraged by this senseless tragedy,” Philadelphia Housing Authority Executive Director Carl Greene said.

“We wanted the Barnes family and the entire city to know that Rodney’s death would inspire PHA to continue our efforts to drive down violent crime in public housing and encourage our more than 80,000 residents to band together and hold back a national tide of violence that threatens to undermine some of the significant progress we have made in Philadelphia.”

23rd and Diamond

Philadelphia Police Department presence was everywhere – in the streets, among the crowd, and on stage. Cruisers were parked at every block to keep cars from the march, which began when residents, Philadelphia Housing Authority employees, and community activists gathered at the Raymond Rosen Manor Community Center and walked to 24th and Norris, site of shooting and the rally.

As the crowd migrated, it grew. People were pulled off porch rockers and living room couches to see and hear what would and could be done to make the neighborhood safer. By the time the crowd reached the rally site, it had grown to roughly 1,000 people, including the entire Philadelphia Housing Authority staff.

“I’m not surprised by this at all,” PHA Scattered Sites Manager Juanita Maiga said. “Good people live here. They care about the community.”

Nature did attendees no favors. Temperatures were in the 90’s, humidity was high, and the occasional breeze offered little solace. At times, the event resembled a middle school dance – a few brave souls in the (sunny) center with many more on the (shaded) periphery.

Still, they marched and listened

24th and Norris

Greene quickly established the afternoon’s theme.

“We gather on this day to band together in unison with the community, the residents, the professionals who work here, and people who come here to play and visit,” Greene said, “to recognize the efforts of the city and talk about, encourage, and promote safety.

“We want to say to you, public housing residents of Philadelphia and those visiting these communities, that everyone has a right to safety. We will continue to work to give people an opportunity to live, work, and play with the reasonable expectation of safety.”

Speakers, including Congressman Robert Brady, PHA Commissioner Jannie Blackwell, Deputy Police Commissioner Richard Ross, and several others, offered variations on Greene’s theme. Pledges to find more crime-fighting resources – such as the Drug Elimination Grants that were once part of the Federal budget – were made. Repeated pleas for help in solving the crime were made.

“We have a right to go to work, make a living for our family, and go home,” said Brady, who, coincidentally, had spoken to Barnes on the phone last year.

“I’m sad to be here. But I’m proud to stand here with you and to tell you we’ll work with people to stop senseless killing. We will do what we can to stop it, to take Philly back for the people.”

If the atmosphere at the rally is any indication, residents of Rosen Manor and other Philadelphia Housing Authority properties are eager to see this day come. They were saddened to see an innocent man gunned down. The anger was palpable.

Yet, there was reason for optimism. When a community unites, that’s usually reason to celebrate. Rally attendees were peaceful and respectful. Philadelphia Housing Authority staff showed genuine commitment to helping their residents. And, the powers-that-be made the right promises.

“Hundreds of PHA residents, employees, elected officials and community leaders turned out to support the Barnes family while adding their voices to our call for justice,” Greene said. “And, when the crowds dispersed, we left with a stronger sense of neighborhood pride, renewed in spirit and confident that we would not allow the desperate, criminal acts of a few tear at the resilient fabric of our community.

“While nothing we do can bring back Rodney Barnes, the rally was an effective way to remind PHA residents, employees, and stakeholders that we must continue to work together as a community to drive down crime until the Federal government understands and addresses the dire need for funding and a national crime fighting strategy in public housing.”

On this, consensus will lead to victory. And, at the rally, it was agreed: Everyone deserves safe, affordable, decent housing.