Rebuilding livelihoods from Ferguson’s ashes

I don’t know Jeniece Andrews or Natalie DuBose, but I do feel for these two women whose livelihoods were upended in the aftermath of the grand jury’s decision not to indict police officer Darren Wilson in the death of Michael Brown.

I was first drawn to Andrews’ story because she owned an antiques shop, something that’s dear to my heart. But then I read other stories like hers, of people who had stepped out on faith to realize a dream of owning something that was theirs, and then to just see it go poof! or get damaged.

I understand the frustration of the black folks in Ferguson; police have always seemed like a foreign army in urban neighborhoods, never really blending in or understanding the people who live there despite years of what the departments have called community policing. None of those policies seemed to have pushed past the image that law enforcement has for black people, especially young black men. Fifty years after 1960s riots, much has changed and much hasn’t, and we still are burning down our own neighborhoods as victims and not as victors capable of taking actions that bring about permanent change.

The rioting that took place two days before Thanksgiving in Ferguson changed one thing: the lives of Andrews, DuBose and others who are now left to rebuild. Some had insurance – maybe not enough – and I’m sure others did not. The St. Louis Regional Chamber guessed that about 60 businesses were affected in Ferguson, including 12 that were destroyed (1,400 jobs were presumably lost, too). The chamber is offering low-interest loans to the owners, but Andrews is reluctant to take one because, she says, she’s already in debt and doesn’t want to take on more. She’d like to see grants offered to small businesses.

“We’re not saying that someone owes us something,” she told a St. Louis Public Radio reporter. “But you know, we were put in this state because of civil unrest. I would just appreciate it on behalf of not just myself, but the businesses that are suffering.”

The Small Business Administration is also offering loans but so far has only approved one of the 20 applicants, citing problems with credit and other issues.

Those who lost their livelihoods – or much of it – have reached out to friends and strangers on the internet for help. When I was a journalist, we wrote stories about people down on their luck or a kid who needed a helping hand, and offers of donations poured in. The internet and social media have changed that, making it easier for people to seek help on their own.

Several Ferguson business people have set up GoFundMe and other crowdfunding accounts in hopes that good people around the country and the world will help them. And those people are donating, as well as offering heartfelt comments of support.

Andrews, 47, is hoping to raise $50,000 on her GoFundMe page to rebuild her Hidden Treasures antiques and jewelry shop. She has a video of the shop on YouTube with images of a bright and cheery place and the burned-out shell. Andrews said that she was at home on the night of the rioting when someone telephoned that the motion sensor inside the shop had tripped.

“I came and parked across the street, and I just broke down,” she told a Wall Street Journal reporter. “I couldn’t believe it. Everything I work for for three years with my husband was gone.”

Andrews, a collector who studied art in college, sold stuff on eBay and ran estate sales, but always wanted her own shop, she said in an interview at the shop’s opening in January 2012. She sold antiques and collectibles, artwork and jewelry. She says she did not take an income for 2 ½ years and put her income back into the business.

She has insurance on the shop, she said, but it didn’t cover civil unrest, and her insurance company is covering only 10 percent of the company’s worth, she told a USA Today reporter.

DuBose, 32, had the grand opening of her Natalie’s Cakes & More bakery in June, a few months before shooting. A woman who loves to bake, she started her business by selling her own cakes at flea markets and saving up money to open her own bakery, she says on her GoFundMe page. Even as she was writing copy for the page, she was mixing batter, she said. She was that busy.

Her bakery was not burned down – the windows were shattered, damaging supplies – so she was able to continue baking and fulfilling her orders for the Thanksgiving holidays. A single mother with two children, she was asking for $20,000 in donations on her GoFundMe page and the amount is now well over $250,000. A few commenters were not so nice about the amount of her donations, but she has gotten much support.

On her Facebook page, she has listed other Ferguson businesses with GoFundMe accounts.