An Inside Look at An Inside Look at Our CommunityOur Community

The Ashland Youth Leadership Council presents:

Things We Like Things We Like in Our Neighborhood andin Our Neighborhood andthat Keep People Healthythat Keep People Healthy

In our neighborhood, there are several things we really like and that help keep us healthy…

People in the Neighborhood:Family

• Family is important for youth in a community, and for creating a healthy community in general.

• Family can help make youth feel cared about, loved, safe and watched out for.

A family looking very happy together

A mother who is active in the community

A woman standing by her nephew

Friends

• Friends help each other find things to do. They can cheer each other up if they’re down. Friends can trust each other and talk about what’s really going on.

• Friends can help each other make their community healthy.

Two youth playing around together

Two girls having a fun time outside

Residents who Take Care of the Neighborhood

• Community residents who take the time to care for the neighborhood make the area much healthier.

• If everyone just took care of their areas, children, and other stuff, our entire community would be clean and healthy.

• The YLC is doing what we can to help.

A maintenance man that cares for the apartment complex

A member of the Youth Leadership Council who is working to improve her community

Another member of the Youth Leadership Council enjoying her day outside

Flowers and Plants

• It’s important to have a community decorated by flowers and plants because it makes the whole area look nice.

• When people have pride in their community, they will treat it better. It’s easier to have pride when the whole place looks good.

Flowers planted by one of the residentsto make the neighborhood look pretty

Little flowers right by the front gate

A lot of flowers planted outside someone’s house

Pets

• When people have dogs, it forces them to go for walks in the community, and that helps make our neighborhood feel like a community.

• Some people are scared of dogs. But when they’re cute, it can help people be nicer to each other and talk with each other more.

Two young kids playing with a friendly dog in the neighborhood

A young boy walking his pet down the street

Neighbors walking their dogs together

Outdoor Activities

• Outdoor events help to bring people together for a good cause.

• When there are activities, like basketball tournaments and farmers markets, people from the community come out of their homes to do healthy things together.

People having fun playing basketball

A local basketball tournament

Weekly outdoor market at Bayfair

Homes Being Built and Rebuilt

• New homes make neighborhoods look nicer and cleaner. If they are affordable, people can buy and settle down in them.

• When people fix up their homes, they can live in nicer conditions. They also help improve the area and make it more appealing for everyone.

New condos are for sale – they could be nice homes for residents, but may not be affordable to many

People fixing a house to make it look better

Jobs

• People need jobs to support themselves and their families.

• When people have jobs, they are less likely to get in trouble or do things that are unhealthy.

• When new construction happens in our neighborhood, more jobs become available for people.

New buildings being built in the community make more construction jobs

This man got a job helping to sell new condos

Schools

• Schools are a very important part of a healthy community. Youth need a good education to get anywhere in life.

• When youth get involved in their schools, it is more likely that they will become healthy community members.

Kids learning at their school

Kids having fun at school

Police

• Police try to make the community a safer and healthier place to live.

• Police can save you from crimes happening in the neighborhood.

Police can stop crime from happening

Things I Do Not Like Things I Do Not Like in My Neighborhood andin My Neighborhood and

that Make People Unhealthythat Make People Unhealthy

In our neighborhood, there are other things we do not like that make us unhealthy…

Litter

• In our neighborhood, you often see trash, junk, papers, and other things on the ground.

• Litter makes our community look dirty and like a bad place to live. It makes it look like we don’t care about our community or the environment.

An overfilled trash can and dumpster, so people littered around them

Broken objects, fast food cups, dirt, and paper thrown on the ground

People threw unwanted newspapers on the ground

Graffiti

• In our neighborhood, you can find graffiti on the walls, streets, and other places.

• Graffiti can have a negative influence on the hearts and minds of residents, including young kids.

• Gangs can use graffiti to mark their space, and this can cause turf wars.

This is NOT an art class or art paper

The street should not be made into a canvas for childish people!

This street sign is NOT a piece of art

Other Kinds of Blight

• Other blight we see in our neighborhood are empty buildings and broken windows.

• Seeing these kinds of things all the time makes us feel like nobody cares about our community.

• Youth may also come to feel that blight is okay. Blight can influence crime and violence too.

For the past seven years, this building has looked like this. It was just torn down.

I don’t think 165th avenue is a Safeway parking lot!

Either violence or carelessness caused for this window to be broken.

Youth Street Culture

• In our community, youth often have nothing to do.

• If youth are bored and have no other options, they can get into trouble, do negative things, and sometimes get involved in gangs.

• Young kids in the community learn from older youth.

Since there is nothing for kids to do, they make up games like this one called “Tether Bottle.”

Youth in the community making signs to show where they’re from

A 4-year old holding up a sign he learned.

Youth street culture, along with the media, can teach violence at an early age.

Liquor and Cigarette Stores

• There are lots of liquor and cigarette stores in our community. Sometimes these are the only places you can go to get something to eat.

• Young people watch adults going into these stores to buy beer, cigarettes, and dirty magazines. This can have a bad influence on kids.

This liquor store is open almost 24 hours a day.

The refrigerator for the beer is RIGHT next to the soda refrigerator, where kids always shop

Cigarettes are sold for cheap so more people will choose to buy them.

On top of this cigarette stand are stuffed animals that kids love – not the right place for them!

Building and Street Maintenance

• Buildings and streets in our neighborhood are not always well kept.

• We often see broken pipes, chipped paint, dirty buildings, and fallen street signs.

• Some of these conditions are dangerous and could make you sick.

Broken pipes need to be fixed – this can’t be healthy for kids that pass it every single day

Look out – cement chunks falling off of the building

These doors need a good washing…

Broken speed hump sign needs to be put back up

Police

• While police are supposed to keep the peace, but many residents do not trust them.

• Youth worry about police misusing their power, misjudging what people are doing, and discriminating against them.

Some people feel that the police are discriminatory or disrespectful to residents