Lifting the Neighborhood

By Cindy Hadish/The Gazette

CEDAR RAPIDS - Volunteers taking to the streets in the Oak Hill Jackson Neighborhood do more than pick up trash.

Twice-monthly litter walks started this spring not only to beautify the flood-damaged area for this summer's RAGBRAI ride, but to build community, says Dawn Stephens, resource coordinator for the Oak Hill Jackson Resource Center.

“This neighborhood has been dealing with a lot,” says Stephens, 43, who started in the new position in March.

In the Resource Center at the St. Wenceslaus Gym Building, Stephens points to a map showing blocks wiped out by the Flood of 2008 and others that rebounded.

Oak Hill Jackson stretches from the Cedar River to 10th Street SE, and Mount Vernon Road to 19th Street SE. Technically, the neighborhood is bounded by Third Avenue SE, though most see the cutoff point at Eighth Avenue SE.

Stephens is familiar with the area from her childhood since she spent weekends at her grandmother's home on Eighth Street SE.

The once homogeneous neighborhood now has a mix of upscale condominiums on New Bohemia's Third Street SE to the very poor, she notes.

Stephens scheduled the litter walks, which happen the second and fourth Wednesday of the month, including tonight, in part because RAGBRAI cyclists will ride through the area in late July.

“Right now, (motorists) think of it as a trash can,” she says, noting that drivers discard cigarette butts and other trash, especially along major streets. “That degrades the neighborhood and the people. When it looks better, you feel better.”

Stephens also sees the litter walks as an opportunity for outreach.

On the April 25 walk, more than 15 people gathered to clean up the neighborhood along 12th Avenue SE and Americus Drive. With bright vests, gloves and trash bags, children and adults made their way carefully along sidewalks, scooping up broken plastic, fast-food containers, candy wrappers and more.

Stephens passes out leaflets with Resource Center information as she encounters residents.

Cally Wright, 7, helped by pulling a water cooler on a cart. The Grant Wood first-grader says she volunteers “because the neighborhood needs to be clean.”

Her mother, Rhonda Wright, 51, previously lived in the neighborhood and wanted to return to help with the efforts.

“I want it to be a nice, clean, safe place for the residents,” she says.

Jennifer Hakes-Coleman, 48, also returned to her childhood neighborhood to help.

“It's kind of coming back to when we were younger,” she says.

Lynette Richards, president of the Oak Hill Jackson Neighborhood Association, says Stephens has been instrumental in bringing neighbors together. The group meets after the litter walks at Parlor City Pub and Eatery, 1125 Third St. SE, where owner Jon Jelinek provides free pop for the volunteers.

“(Stephens) relates well to so many people,” Richards says. “Everyone gets to know one another.”

Stephens plans free movie nights for residents; started a weekly “do something together” hour for adults and children for outdoor activities; and soon will be planting a community garden.

She also is recruiting block captains, ranging from a 19-years-old to retirees, as she delivers newsletters door-to-door.

“They're the eyes and ears of the neighborhood,” Stephens says.

The efforts don't go unnoticed by residents.

“It makes our neighborhood look better,” says Lester Kane, 56, who stopped to chat with Stephens as the group walked along Americus Drive. “It gives our neighborhood a lift.”

FYI

The next litter walk is at 6 tonight (May 9), starting at the Oak Hill Jackson Resource Center in the St. Wenceslaus Gym Building, 1230 Fifth St. SE.

For more information, call the center at (319) 364-3721 or email Dawn Stephens at oakhillna@gmail.com