HomeMy WebLinkAboutSP202100014 Correspondence 2021-09-29 (10)From: Brooke Lehmann <brooke@capitolworksllc.com>
Sent: Tuesday, September 7, 2021 9:43 PM
To: Mariah Gleason
Cc: Bettina Stevens
Subject: Reclaimed Hope: The Farm Retreat
Follow Up Flag: Follow up
Flag Status: Flagged
CAUTION: This message originated outside the County of Albemarle email system. DO NOT CLICK on
links or open attachments unless you are sure the content is safe.
Dear Ms. Gleason,
Let me begin by thanking you for offering the community the opportunity to speak in support of the
Reclaimed Hope Initiative’s Farm Retreat (RHI). Regrettably, I was unable to attend the meeting due to a
lack of cell services at the time however, I would like to take this opportunity to express my
unconditional support for RHI’s special permit request.
My family and I are residents of Albemarle County. My husband and I are a biracial couple who have
three children, two of whom struggle with mental illness, one of whom is adopted from Haiti, and all of
whom have been discriminated against due to their race and the color of their skin. Therefore I have a
deeply personal understanding of what it is like to raise children who have been traumatized and who
struggle daily with the emotional consequences of those experiences.
By professional training, I am a clinical social worker who has provided mental health and social services
to vulnerable populations of children-many within the child welfare system-for over twenty years, an
attorney who has worked with children and families in the special education system, a federal lobbyist
who advocates for increased access to health and mental health services for marginalized populations of
children and families, and a professor at UVA’s Batten School for Leadership and Public Policy where I
teach US Social and Mental Health policy. Thus my entire career has focused on the unique needs of
children and families who are marginalized due to a variety of factors including the special needs of their
children whether these needs are organically or environmentally based.
I had the pleasure of meeting Bettina Stevens nearly three years ago through a mutual friend who
believed that we would find various commonalities to explore. She was not wrong! I was immediately
impressed by the commitment and passion that Bettina and her husband, through RHI, demonstrated
for a very unique and needy population of children and families far too often overlooked and/or
forgotten. I still find it hard to comprehend how quickly RHI has integrated into the community, served
the number of families that it has, created programs like Camp Hope which until RHI never existed, as
well as develop and execute plans for The Farm Retreat. I am proud and honored to be a member of
RHI’s board of directors and I look forward to furthering RHI’s mission as the organization develops yet
another way to provide services and respite to parents of children with special health care needs.
When I first visited the property RHI now hopes to turn into a respite retreat, I knew immediately that
the site offered tremendous opportunities not only for our families but for the community at large, that
would not be found on other comparable sites. The properties proximity to town is perhaps one of its
greatest assets. For families who have children with special needs, traveling any distance from home,
even just the grocery store down the road, can be an undertaking that few can appreciate. Therefore,
the fact that The Farm would be located on a major thoroughfare, with easy access to town, makes it an
ideal location for RHI’s families. Additionally, the sites proximity to the UVA health system where many
families receive care is another aspect that makes this location so unique. Many of RHI’s families are
served by the UVA health system so to be able to come to The Farm and know that medical care that
their children might need is only up the road will offer these parents a tremendous sense of ease and
allow them to take advantage of all that The Farm will offer them including piece of mind.
The many other aspects that make this property so well suited for RHI’s vision and mission for The Farm
is the desire of the family to see their homeland used for the greater good versus to become yet another
housing complex. The multiple buildings are already well suited for the various needs of RHI and The
Farm including all ready established homes for the families, buildings for child care, appropriate places
for privacy for counseling and therapy, spaces for the children to play and explore, and room for the
staff and equipment that this unique population of children require.
In sum, there could not be a more ideal setting for such a place as The Farm that will offer the services,
support, respite, friendship, and care that families within our own community so desperately need. As a
board member it has been my duty to assess the viability of RHI’s plan for The Farm including not only
the fiduciary aspects but also the literally physical location and plans for this vision. Having completed a
thorough analysis of the opportunity before RHI, I endorse the purchase of this property for its said use
without hesitation and hope that the County will do the same.
Please feel free to contact me with any additional questions or concerns.
Sincerely,
Brooke Lehmann
Brooke Lehmann, MSW, J.D.
202-841-4341
brooke@capitolworksllc.com
www.capitolworksllc.com