Better Neighborhoods, Better Living

It is easy to say that some neighborhoods or communities in the Phoenix area are not looking as good as they did a few years back. Communities end up in certain bad states due to negligence because of what happens around them, for example, one community may have too much violence while another one may live near a pollution creating environment. With our states population growing more and more each year, construction has begun all over the valley to build new ones. And since new ones are being built, what happens to the “old” neighborhoods that are left in a state that many people do not wish to live in? Some of them are torn down and some of them are left just the way there are or left to mother nature to take care of, but some communities take action and face this situation with a different approach. “The ideals of green communities have become more salient in contemporary debates about community futures”(Phillip 393). That approach is by volunteering to do clean-ups, provide trash cans for recyclable use, and by getting schools with other organizations involved also to better their own community. One of the many reasons why community involvement exist is to stop violence, keep our children safe, provide better living accommodations, show community pride, and set an example for the next generation to come.
As stated before, there are many reasons to why some neighborhoods are the way they are now. And one of the major ones is violence and drugs that is happening every now and than in some communities. According to Bette Midler’s interview on what she
did in New York a few months back, a police officer said “…violence has decreased 5% ever since Ms. Midler finished her clean-up project”(Le Pour 3). This indicates that maybe community clean-ups decrease violence in areas and promote unity between one another in neighborhoods. Getting schools and police involved also decrease not only violence but also drug use and trafficking in and out of the Phoenix area. Drug economies also play a major role in why communities take action against harmful sustenance’s in order to prevent future problems. Since crime and drugs are both related in very similar ways, if drugs were to be taken care of than violence wouldn’t happen as much as it does now. “…a person on drugs is dangerous and out of control and thus capable of robbing his own family and friends and turning violently”(Anderson 78), one good way how these two subjects are related to each other. I believe that is why community involvement can help make a big difference in helping people feel safer and a better place to live in.
My proposal on this situation is to first get volunteerism out in the open to the public to get them informed on how important it is for neighborhoods. Next step is to set up a meeting at a local school and provide information on an upcoming community clean-up event and what goals we plan to achieve. We will also provide food and beverages, prizes as well, and transportation to those who need it in order to arrive on time for the meeting. We will also be discussing about the equipment we will have at out disposal and if there is anyone that would like to help out in donating equipment also. Third step will be discussing where, when, and how the clean-up will be started, the importance of setting up groups before we depart, and lastly the areas that are going to be covered. And the final step will be to track down our progress at the end of the clean-up and have a big celebration party at the end of the event, to congratulate everyone on a job well done and for their participation. “People want to make a difference; they want to help and be asked for help by others, and to be respected for it”(McGuckin vii).
I believe that this solution will solve the community problem in many ways such as better neighborhood living, decrease in violence, and more importantly community involvement. By first addressing the issue we have already started phase one which was to inform the people about volunteerism and a community clean-up event. “A very good way to reach people to get involved is by asking them what they think needs to be done”(Juliano, Personal Interview). If we are to take action against violence, we have to first pin point what is causing violence in our area. One of the main factors would be drug use and trafficking and so by stopping that we narrow our research on where it’s happening the most in our neighborhood. We go around door to door asking people for help, call to see if the police will join us in this event, and inform everyone on what we are trying to do to stop this plague. By taking out the drugs we end up decreasing the violence therefore making ourselves feel less tension between one another and better living for all. The clean-up is to make the community take pride in what it’s done, to make it look safer and better distinguished.
Sometimes community volunteerism doesn’t come for free since there are things that need to be paid for like gas transportation, equipment rental or sales, food and beverages, and money for prizes to be raffled off also. Since the clean-up will be around the neighborhood I don’t believe that gas will be more than one hundred dollars since it’s only on a one mile radius or less. Equipment rental and sales may be a bit expensive since there may be a lot of people involved in this event, so by working in groups we can limit that cost by providing limited items to a group but also having just enough to get the job done. As for food and beverages, shopping at big local retailers such as Costco or Wal-Mart may reduce the cost also since food and beverages come in big packages and at a good price. If that doesn’t work, we may also approach them in a way as to helping us out in donating beverages only and just having to pay for the food itself, either way making it simple enough to get things going and affordable with the event. The prizes for the raffle could be things that schools don’t need anymore such as computers, cash certificates or gift cards, or maybe even scholarship money for college. All this can be done is about a month I believe, it’s just a matter of how fast someone can reach the public and inform them on the event that is going to happen. As for the total cost of everything, I would estimate that the total would be no more than five hundred dollars which I feel is more than enough to start the whole event.
Some people may not feel that they need to participate in events such as this or that they have nothing to do with it at all. There is going to be some resistance and so we will try to keep that to a minimal stance as possible to make everything run smoother with less trouble and problems. Those that don’t want to volunteer will not be forced or looked downed up since this event is based solely on free will and liberty of that person who chooses to help or not. For example, some people may think that these type of events are a waste of time or that the results are never really major and may seem pointless to them. We are trying to get those that don’t want to volunteer see a new aspect of this service and try something new that they probably never tried before. We do this by explaining to them that community volunteerism can pay off in the long run, how it can make a difference, try to persuade them into getting involved. “The definition of a successful life should always include voluntary service”(McGuckin 31).
This method along with so many other approaches’ in cleaning up the community will truly make a difference in some parts of the valley. It really isn’t that much of a financial burden, it’s fun, and builds communication with others. If this proposal is passed it will help keep our streets clean, children will be safer, less violence, and lead as an example for future community events to come. We want this generation to live long and prosperous as much as possible, so by doing this we can ensure that by even just a little that may go a long way. Now on the other hand, if nothing is done about this situation and how some communities are now, violence and drugs will keep growing and growing. Children will be at a higher risk of getting involved with drugs, make poor decisions in their life, and never get to see of what may be in the future. Everyone is the way they are due to the environment they grew up in, environment influences people in so many ways and by having a clean community we set forth a good level of comfort to ourselves.

Works Cited

Juliano, Dr. Jane. Personal Interview. 7 Nov. 2008.

Berke, Philip R. "The Evolution of Green Community Planning, Scholarship, and Practice: An Introduction to the Special Issue." Journal of the American Planning Association 74.4 (Sep. 2008): 393-407. Academic Search Premier. EBSCO. GateWay Community College Library, Phoenix, AZ. 8 Nov. 2008 .

Le Poer Trench, Brooke. “Bette Midler Comes Clean.” Mind Food 05 June 2008. <http://www.mindfood.com/at-m-bette-midler-coming-clean.seo>

McGuckin, Frank, ed. Volunteerism. New York: The H. W. Wilson Company, 1998.

Anderson, Elijah. Street Wise. The University of Chicago Press: Chicago, 1990.