At the end of 2020, Uptown Consortium, Inc. (UCI) convened community stakeholders to address growing safety concerns in Avondale, especially around parts of Burnet Avenue. Beth Robinson, President and CEO of UCI, reached out to Cincinnati City Councilmember Jan-Michele Kearney to help lead this effort. Community members, business owners, residents and stakeholders readily joined, and a group was formed to develop creative ways to engage one another and decrease violence in the neighborhood,
In addition to UCI and Kearney, committee members include the Avondale Community Council (ACC), Avondale Development Corporation (ADC), Cincinnati Police Department District 4, Preservation of Affordable Housing (POAH), the Cincinnati Zoo & Botanical Garden, WEB Ventures LLC, New Beginnings Church of the Living God, and community residents Ozie Davis and Jennifer Foster. The group meets virtually to receive safety updates and brainstorm interventions to support neighborhood residents.
“Our goal is to help connect all of the different partners in the neighborhood and the city who can help make a meaningful impact on the community by engaging residents, listening to their needs, and implementing thoughtful and creative solutions,” said Robinson.
According to Robinson, convening a group of stakeholders and residents to engage, listen and share has already yielded great ideas that are making a difference. “We know we cannot individually solve problems, but collectively we can,” she said. “Each person on the committee is bringing a unique voice and meaningful ideas to the table.”
In response to an uptick in criminal activity in the area, UCI installed a fence to block off a vacant parcel of land at Burnet Avenue and Forest Avenue. The committee wanted to bring something positive for the community at the site and decided to decorate the fence and surrounding area for the holidays. The Cincinnati Zoo provided lights—powered by solar panels on the site—to help with decoration efforts. Committee members and community residents gathered—while wearing masks and observing social distancing guidelines—to decorate the fencing with lights, wreaths, a Christmas tree and other festive ornaments purchased by residents with funding from UCI. In addition, UCI provided pizza for community members who helped with the effort.
“It’s really about community engagement,” said Councilmember Kearney in an article in The Cincinnati Herald recapping the event. “Community engagement, cleaning up and beautifying are just steps toward reducing violence and moving toward the type of community that everyone wants: a safe, beautiful place where there are opportunities for everyone. Gun violence and crime have no place here or anywhere else.”
Following the successful decorating event, committee members and the Cincinnati Police Department hosted a small holiday gift giveaway on the site before Christmas.
UCI is continuing to work with the committee to utilize the site for different community engagement efforts, with many creative ideas under discussion. For example, the committee is considering creating programming to use the fence for a community art installation in 2021 and has already reached out to several local arts organizations.
Robinson believes that convening the committee with this focus on solving community issues is a step in the right direction and the members are hopeful that the efforts will make a meaningful impact. “I’m so grateful to the residents and stakeholders who have committed to participating and sharing ideas,” she said. “This type of community engagement is vital to decreasing violence in the neighborhood.”
Read more about the new committee and its recent safety initiatives in The Cincinnati Herald.