| Monday, 03 August 2009 | |
Working hard to transform Jacksonville's Eastsidestory via Jacksonville.com In recent years, the historic Eastside of Jacksonville has become known as one of the most crime-ridden and impoverished areas in town, but residents like Janice Love are working to restore the economy and security of the neighborhood.PHOTO: Janice Love (center) hands out flyers to Eastside residents Feb. 26 about available job training and other programs in their neighborhood with Jacksonville Sheriff John Rutherford (right) during an anti-crime walk. "I grew up on the Eastside and moved back when I retired after 30 years at Blue Cross Blue Shield of Florida," said Love, who remembers when Eastside neighbors looked out for one another, took pride in their surroundings and didn't feel the need to lock their front doors when they went out for a stroll. In March of last year, Love was elected co-chair (with Shareef Haleem) of the new Eastside Neighborhood Association, an organization helping to transform East Jacksonville from a neighborhood in disarray back into a cohesive community. "FreshMinistries was the catalyst for the ENA," said Love. "FreshMinistries partnered with several churches and other groups to start the East Jacksonville Neighborhood Resource Center where our association now meets monthly." Among her many duties as co-chair of the ENA, Love joins in anti-crime walks with Jacksonville Sheriff John Rutherford and neighborhood officers, representatives from FreshMinistries and other local organizations. She hands out flyers and information about local resources and encourages residents to get involved in neighborhood trash cleanups. She also selects and assigns speakers for the monthly meetings, attends leadership training seminars, creates a monthly neighborhood mailer with a circulation of more than 1,200 people, and has recently helped develop a community garden. "Janice Love sets the standard for taking responsibility for the well-being of her own neighborhood," said Beverly Toney, Director of FreshMinistries' 6-Point Community Initiative (building hope and changing lives through education, economic development, health, strengthening families, safety and affordable housing). Love notes that she and fellow ENA member Michael Wicker are excited to be on the steering committee of the 6-Point Community Initiative that is moving forward on the Eastside with the active support of several strong community leaders, including Robert V. Lee III of FreshMinistries, Jim Burt of Volunteers in Medicine, Duval County Public Schools Superintendent Ed Pratt-Dannals, Rutherford, Wayne Weaver, Carlton Jones, Rick Ferrin, Ed Burr, Steve Wallace, Brother Pete Jackson and Councilman Johnny Gaffney. "It is empowering to be part of a community effort that is really working," said Love, noting that it is teamwork and networking making the difference daily. "We have 40-plus in attendance at every meeting, and I've learned so much from Beverly Toney. Beverly's the backbone for our neighborhood association. She worked in Chicago and brought that spirit here." Determination, spirit and hard work are beginning to yield positive results. "We've seen a real decrease in crime since we began the walks with the sheriff," said Love. "The residents have become more responsive. They're familiar with the sheriff's office and less afraid to call and report a crime." From a new community garden with fruit, vegetables, herbs and flowers, and soon, a nutrition and cooking class at the Resource Center, to crime reduction, new job training programs, educational opportunities and neighborhood trash cleanups, Jacksonville's Eastside neighborhood is improving day by day. "Ms. Love sets a shining example in the community of what a neighbor can and should be," said Toney. "Her dedication is catching on. More and more residents are beginning to participate in important community decisions and events. They're taking their neighborhood back."           |
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