Example #1: The Urban Pioneers Service Project
Motor City Blight Busters (MCBB) has been working to alleviate blight within the city since 1988. The MCBB tears down blighted structures, clears trash, and brings lots to code. Since 2005, the Fertile Ground Collective (FGC) has been an integral part of the MCBB. Once the MCBB has cleared the land, the FGC helps residents in the neighborhood surrounding the lot establish community gardens. In this way, the cleared lots become vital spaces utilized by the community. The goals of the FGC are fourfold: reclaim the dilapidated land, so that it may become fruitful again; repurpose the land from dangerous eyesore to a source of food and enjoyment; training community members in urban agriculture, so that they may grow their own food, thereby helping to bring fresh food to needy people; and connecting the community through the communal act of growing and sharing food. Read more in our Community Story.
Example #2: Monrovia Community Partnership Restores Peace In Troubled Neighborhoods
Incidents on Sherman Avenue prompted the City of Monrovia to develop a Neighborhood Strategy Team (NST) with key staff representing all City services. The purpose of the NST was to review issues, elicit input from the community and apply their expertise toward resolving them. The NST developed the Monrovia Area Partnership (MAP) as a comprehensive approach to address the Sherman Avenue crisis. MAP’s goals are to eliminate crime and blight while empowering neighborhoods by fostering citizen activism, volunteerism and community pride. Police and City staff walked throughout Sherman Avenue and the surrounding neighborhoods speaking with residents and determining their needs. A comprehensive enforcement process was instituted and a gang injunction enacted to suppress crime. MAP home improvement grants were offered to residents to arrest blight. A series of Leadership Empowerment classes were presented to the community. Arrests were made, homes were improved, neighborhood leaders emerged and the community began rebuilding. Read more in our Community Story.
Example #3: Mending Fences Program
Mending Fences Program is a FREE service for qualified homeowners (low-income, senior, vet, disabled) living in houses that need minor repairs, replacements and renovations necessary for home safety. This program is about revitalizing our city and eliminating blight with a community of volunteers, skilled craftspersons, and generous donors through collaboration, partnerships and teamwork, focusing on providing home improvements to provide residents who are in dire need to remain safe, comfortable, and habitable in their own homes. Read more in our Community Story.