Healthy Communities
Reps. Brownley and Espaillat Step Up For Safety
We congratulate Representatives Julia Brownley (D-CA-26) and Adriano Espaillat (D-NY-13) for introducing the Safe and Friendly for the Environment (SAFE) Streets Act. H.R. 3040 would help make sure that federal safety funds are directed towards projects that make walking and rolling safer.
Sustaining Success: Former Crime Magnet is Transformed into a Community Recreational and Green Space
The old tennis courts at Homestead Park in Youngstown, Ohio, secluded from other well-lit parts of the park, started attracting illegal activity in the late afternoons and lasting through the night. With no fence to control access, people would drive over the sidewalk and park on the courts to drink and party, with occasional fights and even shootings breaking out. Residents would often wake up to find broken glass, trash, and drug paraphernalia littered around the courts, including on the sidewalk, which connects the park with two nearby elementary schools and a playground.
A New Look for the Safe Routes Partnership
From our early successes in supporting the establishment of the Safe Routes to School movement to our more recent efforts increasing safe and equitable access to parks through Safe Routes to Parks, we know that our bodies were designed to move, yet many of our communities were created with intentional inequities that limit mobility. We believe change is necessary to achieve a vision of safe, active, equitable, and healthy communities – urban, suburban, and rural – for everyone. We have refreshed our identity, and we remain true to our core mission. We will continue to support you in this work every day.
Grassroots Community Residents Lead the Change for a Safer and Accessible Park
Successful parks are markers of healthy communities; children play, families spend time together, people of all ages exercise and relax, and the environment adds to the beauty, security, and economic value of the neighborhood. On the other hand, neglected, poorly maintained, or badly designed parks have the opposite effect: families and young children stay away, illicit activities proliferate, and the property becomes a threatening or discouraging eyesore.
Announcing Carol Goss as Our New Board Chair
The Safe Routes Partnership is proud to announce Carol Goss as the new Chair of the Board of Directors. Carol steps up to assume the role of Board Chair after serving as a board member for five years and providing a strong force in leading and shaping the organization’s vision for equity and the work of the board.
Thank You to Outgoing Board Chair Risa Wilkerson
Many books have been written about leadership over the years, and yet there are so few examples of great leaders to be found. For the last few years I have been fortunate to work with a great leader, and as she leaves our organization, I am reminded what about what is important in leadership.