Inter-Community Council (ICC)
In 1971, a Chavis Heights resident named Mrs. Jessie H. Copeland had a vision of improving the interaction between residents and the Housing Authority. Her idea was to form an organization that would advocate for residents and improve communication between RHA and the residents. One of the first steps was to recruit and train resident leaders from each public housing complex to articulate the needs of the low-income families. Once this core group of leaders was in place, Mrs. Copeland’s vision expanded to a tax-exempt organization that could speak for all public housing residents in the city. The group was incorporated by the state as a 501(c)3 non-profit. The organization was originally known as the Inter-Project Council, Inc. However, the term “project” conjured up negative images and Mrs. Copeland came to detest the use of the term “project” to describe public housing communities. She insisted that the name be changed. In early 1990 the organization changed its name to the Inter-Community Council, Inc. (“ICC”) which it retains today.
There have been numerous leaders of the ICC. Two of the longest serving leaders are Mrs. Jessie Copeland and Ms. Lottie Moore. Mrs. Copeland brought the organization from infancy to maturity in her 30 years of involvement. She was known as the Mayor of Chavis Heights due to her unending efforts to improve public housing with a focus on Chavis Heights. She focused on education and The Inter-Community Council (“ICC”) believed it to be the one thing that could move a child or family out of poverty. In that regard she was instrumental in getting the City of Raleigh and RHA to work together to address crime and poor academic performance of public housing students. She was able to get Shaw University and St. Augustine’s College to provide scholarships to public housing children who graduated high school. Once she realized that few public housing children were graduating, her focus shifted to after-school and stay in school programs and later to providing scholarships. Over the years, these programs have evolved and have been absorbed into another non-profit, Communities in Schools of Wake County, which continues to provide after-school programs, free of charge, in four RHA public housing communities.
Jessie Copeland
1971-1993
William Crowder
1993-1994
Denise Anderson
1994-1995
Josephine McCullers
1995-2001
Lottie Moore
2001-2023
Jaqueline Williams
2023-Present
The ICC continues to seek community partnerships that enhance the quality of life for residents. This includes programs related to job training, improving curb appeal, promoting healthy lifestyles, and spiritual programs.