Consortium aims to improve life in Youngstown

By LEE MURRAY

TheNewsOutlet.org

YOUNGSTOWN

The Northeast Ohio Sustainable Communities Consortium released a report that discussed its successes and presented ideas on how to improve life in the city.

The report came out Wednesday.

The NEOSCC met in April at the Overture restaurant at the DeYor Performing Arts Center on West Federal Street. The attendees, composed of young local professionals and entrepreneurs, sat in groups and revealed the issues that mattered to them the most, submitting their ideas and suggestions about what they would like to see happen in Youngstown. The results of these discussions are shown in the report.

Nick Avila, who runs a small urban farm on the North Side, attended the meeting. He said it was not a typical business mixer.

“There are some different people in there, all with the same focus of trying to improve this place,” Avila said.

He thinks young, engaged people are essential to the future of Youngstown. “In my opinion, entrepreneurship is what’s going to save this city,” he said.

Among the perceived successes in Youngstown were the growth of local small businesses, downtown development and collaboration.

To improve the city, the group suggested more drug-rehabilitation programs as a priority. They also wanted to encourage community networking and creating more opportunities for urban agriculture.

“There were a number of commonalities with the suggestions that people were putting out. That was pretty cool,” Avila said.

The consortium organized similar meetings in Akron, Lorain, Canton and Cleveland during April and May. The results of those sessions also were detailed in the report.

“The young people of Northeast Ohio are bright and creative, and they care about the region’s future,” said Jeff Anderle of NEOSCC.

The consortium was established in January 2011 as a three-year program to bring community leaders, young professionals and consultants together to discuss future projects in Northeast Ohio. It is funded by a combination of federal grants and member pledges.

To find out more about the consortium and its ongoing efforts, go to www.neoscc.org. The consortium’s next board meeting will be from 1 to 3 p.m. June 26 at the Covelli Centre on Front Street.

The NewsOutlet is a joint media venture by student and professional journalists and is a collaboration of Youngstown State University, WYSU radio and The Vindicator.