It was a day Erica Walker was looking forward to when she logged on to join the housing choice voucher waitlist.

But problem after problem, she found herself once again not being able to get her name onto one of the waitlists thousands of fellow low-income local households are also on.

In Hampton, the window to apply for a HCV was from the morning of May 11 to the end of May 13. All those applications would then be put into a lottery and 5,000 of the applicants would be randomly chosen to actually join the waitlist, according to the HRHA website. At least 95% of those randomly chosen were local, according to the website.

Roughly 11,000 people applied to Virginia Beach’s HCV waitlist which was open for twelve hours on Nov. 9, 2021 for the first time since 2012. There are still roughly 11,000 people on the waitlist since there were still people on the waitlist from 2012 when it opened in 2021, according to Virginia Beach staff.

Read more in the Sunday Main News section

Faith Jones graduated college in 2020 into a world that stood still.

She wanted to forge a career on the strength of her powerful voice and was well aware that it is hard to become a professional singer even without a global pandemic forcing show closures and choking purse strings in the entertainment industry. Still, Jones’ ambition exceeded doubt.

Now, the Newport News native has a leading role in one of Broadway’s most iconic rock operas, “Jesus Christ Superstar.” She stars as Mary Magdelene in the national 50th anniversary tour that hits Chrysler Hall on Tuesday.

Jones performs four of the production’s best-known songs with others in the cast, but she is on full display while soloing “I Don’t Know How to Love Him,” which became a 1973 pop hit after the show’s original run.

Read more in the Sunday Break section

The road to adulthood begins for most when they graduate from high school and move on to a first job or college, to paying bills and living on their own. But for people with cognitive disabilities or autism, leaving high school is a more monumental step, one that will transform their relation to their families and the community that supports them.

That monumental step has been on the minds of Andrew and Barb Baxter, both 57, of Charlottesville, for years. Their 24-year-old son, Pete, is on the autism spectrum and has an intellectual disability.

Read how to contribute in the Sunday Break section

Karen Dutro, executive director of NetworkPeninsula, had a dream.

She said she dreamed of developing a hub — a shared office and meeting space for other local nonprofits — since she founded the nonprofit organization in 2007. That dream finally came true when its hub space opened earlier this year.

“Finding affordable and accessible office space for a small nonprofit is challenging, particularly when many of their resources are dedicated to providing programming,” Dutro said.

Even when a space is found, it is typically only a small office with no room for meetings, she said.

Read more in the Sunday Work & Money section

Note To Readers:  A reminder that Parade magazine is now only found along with your e-edition of either The Virginian-Pilot or Daily Press each Sunday morning.  Print copies of Parade magazine ceased after the November 13th issue.