Progress because of community effort!

Because of the hard work of people like Sylvia Baylor, Wyshina Harris, Sheila Oliver, Dana Arnick, June Mason, Mayella Lopez, Monique Dawson, Lori Cullom, Linda Haynes, and several others the 10:15 p.m. bus is back!!!! (Click on the dates underneath each picture to see video "then" and video "now") If you look at the first picture (below), you can also see that back then there also weren't any street lights...but there are now...thanks to those same people!

At this point, the 10:15 p.m. bus is not permanent. They are testing it out to see if it is safe for the bus drivers. Please help us keep the bus there! If anyone you know does something to hurt a bus or bus driver, please immediately call 9-1-1. If you see kids messing up the new swings, please stop them! If you see people shooting out the street lights, please call 9-1-1. Let's work together to keep our community safe, well-lit, and full of opportunities for the children and ourselves.


Turner Courts, December 7, 2007


Turner Courts, May 9, 2008

After some broken promises, DART comes through

I got a phone call from my friend, Mike Davis, this evening.

"Can you get some people together? DART (Dallas Area Rapid Transit) is reinstating their route through Turner Courts."

I immediately called Lori and Evette, who were at our Saturday Town Hall meeting with DART and had done their best to explain why bus service was needed through the apartments after 8:00. DART had promised that service would be reinstated by March 15, but didn't follow through on their promise. Their representative talked about statistics and dangerous conditions. Evette, Sheila, Lori, and Sylvia tried to help them understand the situation of people who get off work late and don't want to walk through a dark field at 10:00 at night; they told of people who take jobs based on bus service; Ms. Dana Arnette, with the Dallas Housing Authority, commented that she sometimes struggles to lease apartments because transportation is a concern for incoming residents.

Lori, Evette, Dana, Mike, and I met at Turner Courts at 10:00 this evening to anxiously await the bus's 10:15 arrival. A little after 10:15, we saw an older lady come out of the shadows from the end of Bexar Street, shuffling her feet, running as fast as she could. "The bus must be coming," someone observed. Sure enough, you could see it in the distance getting closer to the JBC corner store, which has been the last pick up/drop off point (after 8:00 p.m.) for the last several years.

Mike told the lady not to worry and assured her the bus would wait for her.

She kept shuffling as fast as she could, trying to get to the store.

We told her she could slow down because the bus was going to stop right here.

She kept shuffling and explained, "No, the bus doesn't stop here! It stops at the store up there."

We all began trying to convince her, "No, it's changed. The bus will stop here from now on."

She stopped running, but tried to explain to us, "See the sign. It says right there...No service after 8:00." (I wish I'd have taken a picture of the DART sign from the other side so you could see it).

We assured her tonight that was changing and the bus would now run through Turner Courts after 8:00 on a regular basis.

You should've seen her face. Though my pictures didn't turn out very well in the dark, she was somewhat older, had dress shoes on, and was coming from the church, I believe. The look on her face and her comments were absolutely priceless. "Really?? It's going to stop here from now on?? Oh, thank you Jesus!!" She seemed so relieved, surprised, skeptical, but thrilled. Her excitement nearly brought tears to my eyes.


As the bus pulled up and stopped, Dwaine Caraway, our city council person, stepped off along with about 3 Turner Courts residents who were coming home for the evening. One young adult getting off of the bus was just as shocked as the older lady. "I never thought I'd see the day that these buses actually go through the apartments at night."

Though we planned our little gathering of meeting the bus and witnessing the outcome of the community's efforts to speak out, we couldn't have planned the older lady running for the bus and expressing such relief and genuine appreciation.

Customer service. Valuing the community. It's important.

Sometimes it's important to go the extra mile...or in this case the extra block...to demonstrate commitment, show value, and let everyone in and outside of the community know we're all in this together and we're going to do what it takes to make this community safer and more appealing for the neighbors who currently live there, the children, store owners, bus drivers, and visitors. By working together as a community, inclusive of pro-active city services, we can make this a more pleasant place to live now and a more pleasant area that will attract other businesses and services in the future.

The power of community

Our "community" is growing!!

I had just gotten home from work and my phone rang telling me I had a text message:

8:19 I HAVE A WITNESS THAT THEY ARE BACK SELLING SINGLE CIGARETTES

Despite Evette going back to work and being unable to be at some of our meetings, she's making sure the community is staying on track!

After exchanging a few texts, Evette said she could be at the next community meeting to prepare us for the Town Hall meeting. PLUS, she said, she's bringing a friend!!

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This afternoon the kids were at the After-School Academy having a "tye-dye party" as a part of their Spring Break activities. Mayrea walked in and hung out, helping out where needed.

Mayrea came to the last Town Hall meeting. After we left the meeting, she and I talked for a little bit. She was excited about how the meeting had turned out and said she wanted to make sure and come to the next one.

She and her 13-year old son have begun volunteering at the After-School Academy. She agreed to help out with our new idea to do a Community Clean-up project this summer.

She also told us of some good news...but I'll let her blog that herself!

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Ms. Lori came to prepare lunch for the kids today. Lori has become an amazing force in the community.

Lori's neighbor, Rochelle, had come to check on her two boys in the After-School Academy. When she walked in, Sylvia and Lori immediately started asking her about attending the next community meeting.

As Rochelle hesitated and tried to come up with excuses, Lori explained to her that she just needs to take the first step and it would be easier after that. Lori went on explaining that her own reason for getting involved was because she "didn't have anything better to do" and "might as well." (and we are so glad that has been the case!)

Lori finally told her she may have to just go grab her and drag her out to the next meeting. That seemed an acceptable solution to Rochelle. Sometimes we need a friend, a neighbor to stand alongside us for support...sometimes we need them to "drag" us. That's what COMMUNITY is all about. Community is about support. Community is about holding each other accountable. Community is sometimes pushing people into things they don't think they want to be involved in and can't yet see the benefit.

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After I went back to the office, I heard a loud knock at the door. Mr. Rhodes was just passing by on his way to pick up his wife.

When I answered the door, he simply said, "I can't stay, but I wanted to give you this."

He handed me a complete CD recording of our last Town Hall meeting! "Listen to it. I think you'll find some interesting things to take notes on."

Mr. Rhodes is an asset. He's lived in the community for 60+ years and is often so frustrated with the lack of progress over the years that he has a hard time wanting to get involved again. But he has a desire and a passion to document what happens in South Dallas.

Because of him, we just may have a way to document the little and big successes of the residents of Rochester Park!

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Of course, the previous entry told about Ms. Haynes helping Mr. Williams learn how to use the computer. Both have been a part of our Town Hall meetings and utilize the Educational Outreach Center's computer lab now on a regular basis.

People are coming together! People are beginning to see the value in each other! People are beginning to see how they can effect change in the community...OUR community....ROCHESTER PARK!

Let's keep talking...let's keep working toward solutions! You guys are awesome!

Next community meeting...

Thursday, March 27, 2008
12:00-1:30 p.m.
Turner Courts' Community Room

Childrens' feelings

"What feelings do you have when you think of Turner Courts?" I asked the question of 9 kids in the After-School Academy.

Dangerous.

Happy.

Sad.

Afraid.

Embarrassed.

Disappointed.

I've heard some of the adults in Turner Courts say some of the same things. You can see pictures below that kids and adults in Turner Courts have taken to illustrate their feelings.

From talking with some of you, I know those are not feelings you want to have in the place you call "HOME."

So what can we do?

We take our neighborhood back from the people who are making the decisions about what they think we should and shouldn't have!

How do we do that?

We speak up.

The reality is, the people who are making the decisions about Rochester Park do not live in Rochester Park. They are not around when the sun goes down. They do not know what you know. So, we need your voice to help them understand. Though some of you have told me your situation and story, I can't represent it like you can.

Come join us today (Wednesday, February 20) at 12:00 to voice your opinions and help us decide what we want the city to hear from us when we meet in our Town Hall meeting on Saturday, March 1 at 10:00.

WE NEED YOUR VOICE!!!

Community Togetherness

I was really pleased at how the meeting went on Saturday. I know that alot of the residents did not show up but that's ok! We still have alot of work that needs to be done. I feel very strongly about the outcome of these meetings. Once the residents see that they have someone to trust in they will come. It may not be the entire community, but their are people that will. I am on it!! Their will be more people invloved I just know it, I feel it in my soul. We will gain the trust of the people. I know also that I will not happen overnight, but a change is about to come. This is the year of change!!!

Council meeting

Hey everybody, i just wanted to enlighten everyone who wasn't at the meeting about the meeting that was held today. The meeting was a huge success and i feel that we accomplished alot and i felt that we brought alot of the important issues to the table. We even had residents come out which i had already expected (lol Janet). The important thing is that people showed up. I am really glad i came.

~Steven (Checo) Roberts

Town Hall Meeting...THIS SATURDAY!! (1/5/08)

The Town Hall meeting will be this Saturday, in the Educational Outreach Center (Community Room/Rent office) at 6601 Bexar St. Below is an agenda based on what several people in Turner Courts have noticed and are concerned about. The meeting will start at 10:00 a.m. and should be over by 11:30.

We plan to present the issues as a community, let the city respond to how they can/will address those issues, we will ask any questions of the city, and, finally, the city will present next steps for them and let us know how we can work with them to make sure those things are accomplished.

I. Welcome and introductions
II. Why are we here?
III. Presentation of the issues Rochester Park community
a. Crime (Monique and Wyshina Harris)
i. Police patrol
1. How often can we expect police to be patrolling? Should they patrol or park?
2. What is the expected response time?
3. How do reported statistics (i.e. calling in for shots, robberies, vandalism, etc.) contribute to more police presence?
4. Homeless men sleeping on playgrounds in the mornings (in Turner Courts)
5. Open drug deals around the play grounds (in Turner Courts)
ii. Lighting
1. Present list of street lights that are out or dim
b. Transportation (Lori Cullom)
i. DART
1. Doesn’t run through Turner Courts after 7:51
a. People have late jobs
b. Bus stops are provided so we would like to utilize them
2. What can we do to help and make sure buses continue to run?
3. Hours residents need bus service
ii. Street signs
1. No directional signs/highway signs telling how to get to 45, 175, etc.
c. Code enforcement (Sylvia Baylor)
i. Cracked sidewalks
d. Housing (Sylvia Baylor)
i. DHA
1. Playgrounds
a. Broken glass in playground areas
b. Lack of wood chips for children’s safety
c. Homeless men sleeping in playgrounds
d. Open drug deals
2. Apartments
a. Slow or limited maintenance
e. City Park—Rochester (Monique)
i. Lots of bugs (needs to be exterminated)
ii. Wires sticking out on playground equipment
f. Economic development
i. Lack of businesses (i.e. grocery stores)
g. Schools (Wyshina Harris)
h. Communication (Dana Arnick)
i. Will phone booths be taken out of the neighborhood or will pay phones still be available for those without cell phones?
IV. City addresses the issues presented
V. Next steps
a. City
b. Community

Making changes

Thank you to Wyshina, Ms. Haynes, Monique, Sylvia, Bernard, Lori, and Dana coming out to the meeting with Dwaine Caraway today! I hope everyone felt like they got to voice their concerns...and I hope you were satisfied with the response. (I hate that I forgot to take pictures!!)

Though Dwaine said he was going to get right on those issues, we need to make sure we get our part done so the city is unable to make excuses for the repairs they are responsible for. We want the city to see that we want our neighborhood to be better and we are willing to do our part to make it happen as long as we have their support…even if we’ve tried before (as I know many of you have made calls before).

We have tentatively planned a
Town Hall meeting
January 5, 2008
10:00 a.m.
Location: After-School Academy

Please write this down and plan on attending!

Before that meeting, there are several things we need to accomplish…
1) Writing down the specific address of EVERY street light that is out—Who wants to be responsible for that?
2) Ms. Haynes calling about the DHA change in paying rent
3) Getting the word out about the Jan. 5 meeting—inviting friends, neighbors, etc. We want to begin showing the city that we will show up…but we also can’t get discouraged when people don’t. We just need to persevere. People will start coming out when they see that things are actually happening.
4) Visit the churches across the street and find out what community efforts they have…and just get to know them in general…begin building a relationship with them (maybe invite them to visit the ASA or the EOC)—Who wants to be responsible for that?
5) Begin our own meetings/conversations.

We need a Resident Council here at Turner Courts. But, we don't have enough people to make it work--President, Vice President, Treasurer, Chaplain, Sergeant at Arms, and 2 alternates. I suggest that we just start having lunch/community conversations and begin talking about the issues and working on them. As we attract more people and create leadership within our own group, we can advocate for a resident council.

Wyshina had a great idea I think would be great for us to start working on…I am going to look into getting us all trained and deputized to be people who can register voters. If we can do that, we will probably do it during our ASA staff development meeting (anyone can attend though). I’ll let you know when we get the person to train us.

I want to hear your comments about the meeting. Make comments below. (Ask Sylvia if you need help doing this)

Thanks again for coming today! I look forward to the possibilities!!

Addressing community issues

I mentioned in a previous post (Dark Streets and No Transportation) that I was interested in getting a bunch of you together to find out what issues are important to you so all of us can talk and figure out the best solutions to those issues...and figure out how to get the city involved, if needed.

Well, the time has come! :)

We will be meeting:
Tuesday, December 4
10:00 a.m.
Educational Outreach Center
(6601 Bexar St)

This meeting will be in preparation for our meeting with our city council person, Dwaine Carroway, on December 18.

Please join us Tuesday! We need to hear from you!