There is a feeling that those who run for office are a bit privileged, since it often takes means to do so. A recent tweet by Geena Pham is a reminder that it is not always so.
Geena is 28 and came in second last October for state senator fromProvidence’s East Side, but she just posted she won’t be able to run again because she can no longer afford to live in the district she sought to represent.
A former elementary school teacher who now works for a nonprofit,Geena reflects an issue too common in Rhode Island — the struggle to find “affordable housing.”
“I think people hear that phrase as a political slogan,” she says. “But it’s real, and it affects not just the poor. It’s affecting the middle class.”
Geena was home at her small East Side apartment last February when her landlord called to tell her they had plans to renovate. She would have to leave by May 1, when her lease was up.
Hers was a rare East Side place renting for under $1,000. She had looked long and hard for it, and had planned to stay.
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But suddenly, she had to move. Geena had no idea where she would go. The call left her so emotional that she began to cry.
Longing for a place to call her own
Geena Pham grew up in Arlington, Massachusetts, went to UMass Boston and, in time, was teaching seventh-grade English at Easton Middle School, halfway between Boston and Providence.
Over the previous years, she’d been living either with family or roommates in suburban towns like Waltham, Newton and Canton.
By late 2019, Geena decided it was time for an apartment of her own. She also wanted to be in a city.
But Boston rents were beyond reach. The most affordable one-bedrooms in safe neighborhoods were over $1,600, many far higher.
That’s when she began to look around in Providence, soon focusing on the East Side. She loved its green-lawned blocks that were within walking distance of shops, restaurants and downtown.
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The rents were better than in Boston but still pricey. Even studios started around $1,200, usually without utilities. That was above her budget.
Geena knows many folks who are financially struggling, and she’ll tell you that with her $58,000 teacher’s salary at the time, she wasn't one of them.
But neither does she have a trust fund — far from it, Geena says. She fully supports herself, carries $26,000 in student debt, knows she needs to build savings and faces the usual fixed costs of utilities, internet, phone, health plan and car insurance, in her casefor a Corolla with 150,000 miles.
That left her rent budget under $1,000 a month, uncommon on the East Side.
But Geena got lucky — she found a place for $970. It was a tiny studio of only 300 square feet at basem*nt level. But she loved the price — and the neighborhood, too, on Angell Street, an easy stroll to both Wayland Square and Thayer Street. She soon settled into her new home.
Both of Geena’s parents were born in Vietnam, coming to the States in the 1980s to leave behind poverty and seek a better life. Geena and her younger brother were mostly raised by their mom, who opened a nail salon in Lynn, Massachusetts.
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An activist for progressive causesbecomes a candidate
Geena's background left her aware of social-justice issues — another reason that drew herto Providence, with its progressive movement. She wanted to be part of that, fighting for things like improved education, single-payer health care, the Green New Deal and affordable housing.
At first, her activism was as a citizen, volunteering for local causessmall and large — including community litter cleanups. One day, after a string of national bigotry incidents, she went to a “Stop Asian Hate” rally at the State House. Geena was inspired by a speaker named Linda Ujifusa, an Asian American on the Portsmouth Town Council.
From the podium, Councilwoman Ujifusa said that if change were to happen, more women of color needed to run for office. That spoke to Geena.
Around that time, the East Side’s District 3 Senate seat opened after incumbent Gayle Goldin left it for a job with the Biden administration.
Geena decided to run.
She knew that one of her key issues — affordable housing — had its challenges. Even on the liberal East Side, many balk at solutions, like seeing subsidized or high-density units nearby.
But the answer, she felt, was for people like her, living the middle-class squeeze, to join the fight.
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Although a newcomer to politics, Geena ran well, coming in second out of five, behind Sam Zurier, longtime Providence councilman.
It raised her profile in Rhode Island progressive circles. After the election, Geena made it clear she’d be back.
“I’m not going anywhere,” she said.
Frustrating search for a new place to live
But around two weeks ago, she posted news on Twitter.
“FYI folks,” said Geena, “if it wasn't obvious, I'm not running again ... I don't even live on the East Side anymore! My landlord wanted to renovate my apartment, and I literally could not find a new one that I could afford on my middle-class income.”
She added: “PVD needs affordable housing.”
With her May 1 move-out date approaching, Geena looked hard but found nothing on the East Side.
She was aware of the irony — a onetime candidate raising the alarm about unaffordable housing suddenly displaced by that herself.
Geena had no choice but to look beyond the East Side, in her case to the West End, Federal Hill, Washington Park, Pawtucket and as far as Cranston, Johnston and Warwick.
Finally, on Craigslist, she found something — a one bedroom on Parade Street in the West End near the Cranston Street Armory in a building with five units.
The rent: $1,000.
“It was a miracle,” she said.
Geena likes her new community’s vibe, and living there feels safe.
Recently, her political journey prompted her to switch careers from teaching to nonprofit work. She’s now working remotely for Women’s Money Matters, which helps low-income women, especially of color, with budgeting, credit repair and financial literacy.
But she’s still not going anywhere.
“I love Providence,” she says. “I love Rhode Island. I found my forever home. I don’t plan on leaving, honestly, ever.”
Perhaps we will see Geena Pham back in politics.
But at least for the time being, it won’t be from her onetime base on the East Side, because this advocate for affordable housing can no longer afford the housing in her own former district.
mpatinki@providencejournal.com
