Trish King, the Construction Office Manager at Habitat for Humanity of Greater Chattanooga Area talks about her experience working with volunteers and homeowners in the local community.
A public park, a mountain view, colorful homes, and bustling construction sites: these are all things you wouldn’t typically expect to see in a community with subsidized housing, but thanks to the work of the city and Habitat for Humanity of Greater Chattanooga, this is the scene at the Villages of Alton Park.
Construction Office Manager Trish King has seen firsthand the effect that they’ve had fostering a community in the neighborhood.
“We are not building one house for one person in isolation,” said King. “It’s that there are people around here who’ve been through the same process, it’s being part of something bigger.”
Scarlen Valderaz plays with her children in their family’s living room. Sunday, April 14, 2024. (Photo by Bethany Cothran)
In a cold hospital room, Scarlen Valderaz gave birth to her first child in a room full of strangers, enduring the pain of childbirth while tackling every question thrown her way.
Finally seeing her baby boy, she was ecstatic, but she knew that she did not want to have another baby in a hospital.
“We actually didn’t know until my husband and I talked about our first born again that they kept offering me an epidural, and I had to say no because I didn’t want that,” Valderaz said. “…the last thing that you want to do when you’re pushing an entire baby out is having to make good decisions that are going to affect you.”
A couple years went by and Valderaz discovered she was pregnant once again, and this time, things would be different.
Valderaz and her husband researched and interviewed midwife after midwife, not stopping until they found the one they trusted best to deliver their baby.
Trading the cold hospital full of strangers and illnesses for the warmth and comfort of her own home, Valderaz could relax and give herself the space she needed to do what she felt would be best for her and the baby.
“We go with homebirth because now there’s so much that happens in the medical system, especially when it comes to the lady through it,” Valderaz said. “There is a lot of autonomy that gets stripped away from the woman when she’s birthing.”
For Valderaz, there would be no race to the hospital for an on-call OB to deliver the child, she would instead be in the safety of her bedroom surrounded by her husband and trusted midwife. Rather than staring at the foreign furniture of a delivery room for hours with her baby wheeled away to the nursery soon after, she would look to her familiar bedroom walls and know that her baby would always be close to her.
Bailey Cole and Kristiana Mallo, two female entrepreneurs, are set to open the doors of their new lounge, BROADS. BROADS will be the first and only female-focused bar in Chattanooga, serving food and beverages obtained from female-owned and female-led businesses. BROADS will be located in the heart of Downtown Chattanooga to be an inclusive space for all.
After over ten years serving the Chattanooga area with their vegan restaurant endeavor Cashew, Bailey Cole, and Kristiana Mallo are set to open their doors for a new project in the heart of downtown called “BROADS.” Cole and Mallo have dedicated BROADS to being a “Female-Forward” bar.
“I think everybody kind of agrees [broads] had a negative connotation,” Cole said. “To us, [broads] is an empowering word. We’re trying to make it fun; it’s more about a strong woman.”
The inspiration for the name “BROADS” came from one of their friends who frequently uses it in her vocabulary. Overtime, they grew fond of the term in that usage.
“[BROADS] is just something pretty different. I think it’s different even in the country,” Mallo said. “….it’s more of an old-school term, so we want to totally bring it back.”
Bryanna Fuquea from Flintstone, GA discusses her journey in music and her passion for singing and songwriting through local competitions and events.
From the strum of the guitar to the melody her voice carries, 28-year-old Rossville, Ga. local, Bryanna Fuquea writes and produces her own music.
“I just really love doing music,” Fuquea said. “Music speaks to me and to other people in so many ways; people dealing with depression, anxiety, everything.”
To Fuquea, music is a universal love language. No matter the circumstance, situation, or the feelings that come with someone’s day, music speaks to everyone in a thoughtful and vulnerable way.
Throughout her music career, Fuquea has opened up to playing her music on different platforms, such as TikTok, Instagram, and Facebook. By using these platforms, she has created a fun-loving, fan base of nearly 18,000 followers.
According to Fuquea, a fan once told her that listening to her music was like being in their own safe space.
Fuquea is known to sing modernized country, but she also sings rock, R&B, contemporary, and a couple hymns. From there she rose to the challenge of writing her own music and learning how to play various instruments including the guitar.
Darin Wright amongst other women of the New Suffragettes creating new posters for an upcoming march. Tuesday, February 14, 2023. (Photo by William Chen.)
A mere 50 years ago, women celebrated the ruling of Roe V. Wade, but many, like Darin Wright, 58, have lived long enough to witness its overturning. The fight for not only women’s rights, but human rights and equality is a never-ending battle, and Wright is proving that it is never too late to take action.
“We called ourselves the New Suffragettes to honor the women that fought for our rights,” Wright said. “They were our inspiration.”
Lisa Baker is performing at the Barking Legs Theatre with her jazz band, The Knotty Professors. Wednesday, February 8, 2023. (Photo by Kylee Boone)
Lisa Baker’s guitar is an extension of her own body. From the decorative swirls running along its length to the initial “L” sewn on the strap, it’s a tangible display of her love of jazz. And she’s rarely found without it.
“It kind of goes everywhere with me, period,” she laughed. “Going to the beach, take my guitar.”
Baker, a jazz performer and adjunct professor of music at the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga, has had a heart for jazz music ever since she can remember.
Filmed by Jake Redfern and Madison Van Horn. Edited by Jake Redfern.
“Shoulders, ready, up,” calls the coxswain as the team of rowers lifts the boat onto their shoulders.
Kay Hughes and her team were moving their boat to a different dock to prepare for the Head of the Hooch regatta in early November. Even after 10 years of rowing, the thrill has not died for Hughes.
“We had so much fun and people started posting pictures and the camaraderie and the group coming together, it really is truly a team sport,” Hughes mused.
Baylee Rauberts and Meredith Fullbright discuss skating and what it takes to get started. Video by Nessa Parrish.
The sounds of chirping birds and skateboard wheels meeting concrete blend together in a symphony adored by millions of people across the globe, including Meredith Fullbright, a student-teacher that has just recently started her journey with the sport, and Baylee Rauberts, a Chattanooga longboarder, with two years of riding under her belt.
