NYC woman speaks candidly about what it was like to grow up in public housing: ‘I want others to know that the inside of these homes are carefully curated’
A New York City native is drawing back the curtain on the truth about growing up in public housing.
On May 27, Jayah Arnett (@jayah.a), a direct marketing specialist for Nike, shared a heartfelt video that delves into the carefully curated lifestyles of public housing residents and their capacity “to create a lot from a little.”
“Growing up in public housing was a different experience. I remember the day that my mom first got her apartment. She was excited to call something her own,” Arnett says. “Despite the stereotypes placed on people, I want others to know that the inside of these homes are usually carefully curated from their kitchen to the living room with their random figurines out that reflect our spiritual beliefs, cases of pictures with memories from childhood.”
Arnett advocates for the residents in public housing and the fact that they are just like the rest of us — they are people who have real stories and real experiences.
“To some, the projects may just be the hood but for others this is the best experience they’ve had because it’s better than what they’ve known,” she says.
“I love this! I’m a project baby too. Everyday my parents would give a gentle reminder that we can still have the world, this is a launching pad,” @animawehlcsw commented on Arnett’s video.
“I remember when my grandmother got her first public housing apartment,” @destmercadoo also replied. “She loved it so much and decorated it with so much love.”
“It’s a sense of community not everyone gets to have,” @uhhuhbby wrote.
Arnett also curated Community Matriarchs of NYCHA, which is a New York City public housing exhibition.
Founded in 1935, the New York City Housing Authority (NYCHA) is recognized as the “largest public housing authority in North America.” NYCHA’s mission is to provide affordable housing accommodations for low- to -moderate-income New York residents.
“NYCHA is home to 1 in 17 New Yorkers, providing affordable housing to 528,105 authorized residents through public housing and Permanent Affordability Commitment Together (PACT) programs as well as Section 8 housing,” says a statement on the NYC Housing Authority website. “NYCHA has 177,569 apartments in 2,411 buildings across 335 conventional public housing and PACT developments. In addition, NYCHA connects residents to critical programs and services from external and internal partners, with a focus on economic opportunity, youth, seniors, and social services.”
The videos promote the #FeelingAtHome campaign, which is partnership between the National Public Housing Museum and My Projects Runway, the latter of which was founded by Arnett.
“My Projects Runway was created in the [midst] of the pandemic trying to figure out a way to be impactful in a small but mighty way,” Arnett told In The Know by Yahoo via Instagram. “Right now My Projects Runway is on a mission to inspire and collect as many NYCHA [residents’] archives and stories that go along with it. Currently, my goal is to destigmatize the current narratives people have about public housing residents. Some include that they are welfare recipients, ‘dirty,’ criminals, and so much more.”
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