Volunteers spruce up their neighborhood

By ELISE FRANCO

Volunteers spruce up their neighborhood

Members of the community worked to bring new life to their worn-down Youngstown streets.

YOUNGSTOWN — The scene on Lansing Street, on the city’s East Side, was this: lawn mowers, weed eaters, rakes, trash bags and 20 to 30 community members who are tired of looking out their windows only to see brush, trash and dilapidated houses.

Members of Heart Reach Ministries and Be Encouraged Ministries, both of Youngstown, and Open Door Community Church, of McDonald, gathered Tuesday morning in an effort to clean up brush and trash on the block between Lansing Street and Bank Street.

Pastor Abdul Harris, of Be Encouraged Ministries, has lived on the East Side for more than 50 years. He organized the first cleanup of his neighborhood last year and said continuing the effort is the only way change will happen.

“The city is saying they have no money for this,” he said. “So we can’t get anything done unless we do it ourselves.”

The volunteers weren’t completely without help from the city, however. Harris said Youngstown Litter Control donated garbage bags and gloves, and the street crew took the time to sweep the street and trim weeds and brush — making it easy to mow through.

“It was really nice of them to do that, and we appreciate it,” he said. “Hopefully the city sees that there’s a group here that still cares about their neighborhood.”

Adam Rutushin, of Youngstown, said he fully supports neighborhood cleanup efforts throughout the city.

“I think this is the way things have to be done to get it cleaned up,” he said. “If we had more people like [Harris], we could really do something big.”

Local adults aren’t the only ones participating. Schanvel Wall, 15, of Youngstown, said projects such as this are important because it shows the community that those who care still exist.

“Youngstown didn’t used to be as bad as people say it is now,” she said. “I think if we keep doing this, we can get it back to how it used to be.”

Wall echoed Rutushin’s thoughts in that she doesn’t think change will happen quickly if it’s left up to the city.

“This is our community, so we should all get together and come up with ways to improve it,” she said. “You can’t always rely on the government to get things done.”

Harris said since last year, at least one condemned house has been torn down, and he is working to get the rest taken down as well.

“We want to buy the empty lots and build a jubilee garden and a playground,” he said. “Doing something like this just feels good and makes the neighborhood better.”

Rashida Strozier, 15, of Boardman, said she volunteered at last year’s Lansing Street cleanup. She pointed to an empty property, where a house formerly stood.

“That house was abandoned and junky with wood and glass everywhere, so we mowed and cleaned around it,” she said. “They took it down, and it looks so much better now.”

Harris said the groups worked from about 9:30 to 11:30 a.m., and his wife, Margaret, was on site with hot dogs and frozen treats for volunteers after they finished.

Overall, he said he is impressed by the work that was done during this year’s cleanup, and hopes next year to begin making the plans for a garden and playground a reality.

efranco@vindy.com