Thirteen Avondale residents on Saturday became the founding members of the Avondale Block Leaders, a group of residents who volunteered to keep their neighbors informed and involved in neighborhood and city-wide activities. These individuals will also serve as the liaison between the residents and the Avondale Neighborhood Association.
Avondale lies in the heart of the 37406 zip code and is one of the oldest neighborhoods in the city of Chattanooga. Officials said blight, along with high crime rates, in recent years has created an environment where many residents do not feel safe but still have a strong love for their community. These residents are taking a stand block-by-block to take back their streets and improve their neighborhood.
Dr. Everlena Holmes, a resident of Glenwood, formed a similar group in Glenwood in 2008. She recently received a $2500 Causeway grant to design a model to build neighborhood capacity, in order to better connect neighborhoods to the city of Chattanooga and successfully fulfill their mission. This template, hopefully, can be used by other Chattanooga neighborhoods to build neighborhood capacity, officials said.
The Avondale Block Leaders will be promoting:
· Physical revitalization of their block through reporting code violations including overgrowth and promoting neighborhood cleanup events.
· Neighborhood safety by reporting and monitoring vacant houses, streets and suspicious activity.
· Social revitalization through welcoming new residents and connecting neighbors to each other at block parties and other social events.
· Community empowerment by informing residents of events, community meetings and organizing voices for area concerns.
The founding members are just the beginning of the Avondale Block Leaders. Dr. Holmes along with college and high school students have canvased only 9 of the 52 streets in the Avondale Neighborhood. This fall, she and the students will continue to canvas other streets to get the names and contact information of every one who lives and does business in Avondale, in order, to publish an Avondale Neighborhood Directory. They will also recruit more volunteer Block Leaders. If residents and other Chattanooga neighborhoods are interested in learning more about the program, they can reach Dr. Everlena Holmes at emholmes@epbfi.com or call 423 622-0974.