Project Summary

We would like to purchase vacant lots in our neighborhood to build several pocket parks to serve a variety of needs. There is no current safet place for children to play or residents to just gather for a picnic or visit. We would like to plant trees, have a small playground and gardens.

About me

I moved into this neighborhhood quite by accident, and discovered quite quickly that the city felt this neighborhood wasn't important enough to warrant attention. I and other neighbors banded together to get the city to hear our concerns and problems. I was appointed to the Planning & Zoning Commission of the City of Abilene, which allows me to give voice to neighborhood concerns. Others attend Board of Building Standards meetings to make housing concerns known, attend Historic Commissions to help us define our neighborhood among other boards and commissions. I come from a criminal justice background and firmly believe in the 'broken windows' theory of crime, that states that one broken window can lead to the eventual decay of a neighborhood. Conversely, repairing, cleaning and reuniting a neighborhood lowers crime, builds community and restores a neighborhood. We are a neighborhood in action with many people involved on different levels. Be it the resident who on cleanup day hauled trash from neighbors yards ALL day, or the elderly lady who brought cookies that day.