Bio: Anything you want to know just ask. I'm a wife, mother, writer, and community focused citizen (c) Copyright 2013 The Civic Commons http://theciviccommons.com/user/dawn-arrington https://graph.facebook.com/1061603059/picture http://theciviccommons.com/user/dawn-arrington en-us Sun, 19 May 2013 09:09:55 -0400 Sun, 19 May 2013 09:09:55 -0400 http://theciviccommons.com/conversations/crime-stoppers http://theciviccommons.com/conversations/crime-stoppers Trying to figure out ways and means that other neighborhoods where able to reverse or halt crime trends. My home has been broken into twice and so has a neighbor. We are sick of it! Fri, 30 Mar 2012 01:58:12 +0000 http://theciviccommons.com/conversations/grassroots-grantmaking#node-4317 http://theciviccommons.com/conversations/grassroots-grantmaking#node-4317 I have been toying with idea of planting a garden in a portion of my back yard and setting up a weekend produce table to sell the extra items. Because we have rabbits and skunks that roam our street and two young children who will need a portion of our yard as play space this idea will cost us more than i had initially thought (due the need to repair old and/or install new fencing) However I think your idea may be one that could catch on. I know there is a weekend farmers market at Shaker Square for example but is your idea an everyday thing? Thu, 14 Apr 2011 14:15:22 +0000 http://theciviccommons.com/conversations/grassroots-grantmaking#node-4315 http://theciviccommons.com/conversations/grassroots-grantmaking#node-4315 I think one of the ways you can get more "ordinary" people involved is to approach them. Many times ordinary neighborhood people haven't a clue as to the power they have in controlling what happens in thier own neighboorhoods. A great example would be someone like my mom, when she was living in the Garden Valley Projects off Kinsman the closest store to her only sold junk food, beer, soda, and highly processed lunch meats. She simply walked into the store and asked the gentleman behind the counter to bring in some fresh vegitables, he did and he gained a loyal customer (actually he gained a few more). But that small change only took someone saying that she was tired of getting on the bus to go shopping for carrots and lettuce to effect change. The key in my opinion is to have the same action take place in the reverse. I as a resident have to reach out to my local CDC and community organizations but I also think the same has to be done to me. Do some door knocking, canvass the streets, sell the residents on the idea that they have more power and influence than what they may have believed. There are retired and not so retired people just on my street who love to garden (you can tell by thier flower beds) stop by thier homes and encourage them to put that past time to use in thier nieghborhoods. Thu, 14 Apr 2011 14:08:07 +0000 http://theciviccommons.com/conversations/luxury-accommodations-for-drug-addicts#node-4128 http://theciviccommons.com/conversations/luxury-accommodations-for-drug-addicts#node-4128 Can anyone shed some light on the process in which structures get condemned and torn down? Wed, 23 Mar 2011 16:44:11 +0000 http://theciviccommons.com/conversations/luxury-accommodations-for-drug-addicts#node-4127 http://theciviccommons.com/conversations/luxury-accommodations-for-drug-addicts#node-4127 Saying something isn't always enough and block clubs do help but many times the people who need to be involved are not. I have a family member who is a police officer in Cleveland for the 4th district. I asked him about the abandoned homes and he said that they are a real big problem for him to get his job done. I'm not sure what the solution is outside of tearing them down and many municipalities do not have the budget to cover the expense. My next step is to contact my councilman and inquire what exactly is his strategic plan for the numerous abandoned homes. I would like to see some type of street by street effort (at this time I don't know if that is happening) Wed, 23 Mar 2011 16:43:20 +0000 http://theciviccommons.com/conversations/public-transit-a-viable-option#node-4110 http://theciviccommons.com/conversations/public-transit-a-viable-option#node-4110 Jason, I was recently in Detroit and they have a People Mover. An unmanned (no driver on board) above ground rapid style train that circles the downtown/central Detroit area and when we told the security personelle that we were from Cleveland they were actually envious of our transit system. I used to be an avid bus rider until they cut services in the inner city and raised prices. It got to the point that I wasn't saving money to ride the bus. I think an all day pass on the bus cost more than a gallon of gas. Not sure if transferring on two or three buses/rapids in harsh winter weather and schlepping my kids who are very young is worth the hassle Tue, 22 Mar 2011 19:26:45 +0000 http://theciviccommons.com/conversations/luxury-accommodations-for-drug-addicts http://theciviccommons.com/conversations/luxury-accommodations-for-drug-addicts On a drive home my husband and I turned up Mt. Auburn a side street on Cleveland's East Side. What did we see? Abandoned and condemned house after abandoned and condemned house and structure. I immediately called a friend who has more knowledge on the sub Tue, 22 Mar 2011 17:19:46 +0000 http://theciviccommons.com/conversations/luxury-accommodations-for-drug-addicts#node-4106 http://theciviccommons.com/conversations/luxury-accommodations-for-drug-addicts#node-4106 What are your suggestions to solving the problem? Many of the homes are condemned and are in a state of disrepair. The issue is allocation of resources and figuring out a strategy to improve some of the hardest hit areas. Tue, 22 Mar 2011 17:19:46 +0000