AntiBVBL

Valley Girl said on 1 May 2008 at 8:37 am:

A couple of ideas that worked in Loudoun -

1. presentations held at any Spanish language event (i.e. churches, school meetings, Hispanic markets, done with Zoning enforcement officials in Spanish that explains zoning laws in a straightforward, practical way. Assume that the folks that have 10 plus people in their homes will not attend but encourage peer pressure – a “pass the word along” approach, about the zoning laws and the effect that breaking them has on the whole community.

2. Drop off flyers in Spanish (BRIEF and too the point, best with graphics) to the same effect.

3. Create neighborhood groups that include Hispanics and people of other ethnicities, that meet once a month and include a two or three person team that can drop by problem houses (perhaps notifying police in advance) to try to make contact and voice concerns as a first step, with the promise that enforcement will be on the way if the problem is not solved. I encourage training by a group such as Northern Virginia Mediation first. In some cases this training could be free.

4. Approach your zoning department as a neighborhood team, again including neighbors of various ethnicities. A group has more weight and if it is diverse it is hardly controversial.

5. neighborhood picnics and block parties, to establish positive contact and communication.

6. Offer a once a week ESL class in your home. It could be as short as 1 hour, basic level. Teaching ESL is great fun and it is wonderful to expose your kids to volunteerism. You could have a small group of two to five people. You will become a “friendly person” and your concerns about problem houses will be taken more seriously by the Spanish speaking community. A potluck dinner idea works graet and you will get some great food. If not in your own home than in a nearby church, library etc. there are many free ESL teacher training resources.

These steps take some commitment. Getting a group of people together and keeping them together takes time, but it is worth it.

Information only… | May 2nd, 2008 at 7:24 am

PWC has a Neighborhood Services Handbook with common violations, and it’s printed in English and Spanish. These have proven to work in areas they’ve been distributed. They also have a newsletter. Here’s the link to Jan/Feb 2008 addition. It’s very informative.

http://www.pwcgov.org/docLibrary/PDF/007491.pdf

Neiborhood Resource Guide for PWC.
http://www.pwcgov.org/docLibrary/PDF/004111.pdf

12 Things to improve your neighborhood now.
12 Tips to Improve Your Neighborhood Right Now!
Improve Your Neighborhood – 12 Easy Things YOU Can Do

1. Pick up the litter near your home, even if you didn’t put it there. You can help stop the growth of trash in your neighborhood by taking away the existing litter that attracts it. Get others involved through Community Cleanup Campaigns. It’s a great way to get people working toward a common goal. Everyone feels good because they can see the results of their efforts – litter-free common areas and a well-swept appearance. Even children can play a part.

2. Turn your porch light on. Crime tends to decline in neighborhoods that are well lit. Turning on porch lights is a simple way to start this process.

3. Walk around the block. It sounds simple enough, but neighbors benefit over time when more responsible citizens walk about more (particularly those who are comfortable doing it) at night, every night, around their block.

4. Drive slowly on neighborhood streets. You can take the lead in slowing down traffic in your neighborhood and those around you.

5. Report nuisances and other non-criminal problems promptly.

6. Make a list of the names and phone numbers of every neighbor on your block. Unless you know neighbors’ names and numbers, you can’t call them about a concern or let them know about a neighborhood problem.

7. Meet the youth who live on your block and greet them by name. This ensures that each adult is better able to help in an emergency and is better prepared to discuss problems immediately as they arise.

8. Make a list of landlords in your area. As owners of property in the community, landlords are responsible to the neighborhood and most are rightly concerned about the health of the community in which their properties stand.

9. Take away the opportunity for crime. Lock your car and never leave valuables, even for a few minutes, in the car where would-be thieves might see them. Trim bushes or trees on your property that offer too-convenient hiding places. Make your front porch visible and make sure your home looks like someone lives there.

10. Report crime promptly. Neighbors sometimes don’t report criminal activity because they don’t want to bother the police; they assume police are too short-staffed to respond, or they believe that there isn’t much an officer can (or will) do about a given problem anyway. Whether the issue is graffiti, petty vandalism, or something much more serious, police cannot act without first hearing about the problem from citizens.

11. Stay where you are. Stable neighborhoods are built on the commitment of long-term residents who would rather live in a healthy community than move to a bigger house.

12. Help your neighborhood association or similar groups. If leadership isn’t your desire, at least make sure someone in your household attends local neighborhood association meetings. You’ll be kept better informed of the issues facing the neighborhood and how you can help and, perhaps more importantly, you’ll have the chance to shape, guide, and participate in the future of your neighborhood.

Reprinted with permission from Campbell DeLong, Resources, Inc., http://www.cdri.com.
Copyright 1999-2000 @Campbell DeLong Resources, Inc.

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Other Opportunities for Neighborhood Improvement

Adopt-a-Stream (clean up along our waterways): call the Prince William Soil and Water Conservation District at 703-594-3621 to learn how to participate.

Adopt-a-Spot, Adopt-a-School and other community clean up initiatives: call the Prince William Clean Community Council at 703-792-6272 to help in these efforts.

Neighborhood Watch Program

Community Speedwatch Program

Take the lead, and help your neighborhood become a place you are proud to call home!

Here are list of scheduled “Community Clean Ups” through out the county. This is an excellent opportunity to clean up and not have to make a trip to the dump. This is an excellent way to save some money at the gas pump, and improve your neihborhood. This is a “competition” of sorts with some Supervisors in the past. I can’t wait to see which District yielded the most waste. Please, take advantage of this and it’s a great way to meet some neighbors.

County Clean Ups

An important initiative is the County clean up campaign. Almost every month of the year, usually on the first Saturday of the month, the Solid Waste Division of Public Works partners with Neighborhood Services’ Litter Control to sponsor the clean ups. Open-top containers are brought to sites around the County; residents bring trash and refuse items to the site for disposal. Support the campaign to make Prince William the cleanest County in Virginia! Dispose of your unused, unwanted and improperly stored items. Plan for your community clean up using the chart below.

Volunteers are needed to spread the word about the clean ups. Neighborhood Services will provide flyers for volunteers who will take them door-to-door in the communities. Other volunteers are needed to help transport larger items to container sites on County clean up dates. If you have some strength or a pick up truck, you are needed! Contact Neighborhood Services at 703-792-7018.

Community clean ups are held from 8 a.m. until 2 p.m. Hazardous waste will not be accepted, but you can get rid of all the other clutter! If you have questions, please call Neighborhood Services at 703-792-7018.

Dates of First Saturday County Clean Ups in 2008 Locations
April 5 Dale City Boys & Girls Club, 5070 Dale Blvd, Woodbridge VA 22193
April 12** Marumsco Plaza, 13901 Jefferson Davis Hwy, Woodbridge VA 22191
May 3 Irongate/Westgate – 8300 Community Drive, Manassas VA 20109 and near 8000 Community Drive, Manassas VA 20109

June 7 Sudley Elementary School, 9744 Copeland Drive, Manassas VA 20109
June 14** Town of Quantico
July 5 Marumsco Plaza, 13901 Jefferson Davis Hwy, Woodbridge VA 22191
Aug. 2 Dale City Boys & Girls Club, 5070 Dale Blvd, Woodbridge VA 22193
Sept. 6 Yorkshire – Emmanuel Baptist Church, 8006 Centreville Road at Spruce Street, Manassas VA
Oct. 4 Marumsco Plaza, 13901 Jefferson Davis Hwy, Woodbridge VA 22191

**Second Saturday

The Prince William Clean Community Council also provides additional litter cleanup support. It coordinates Adopt-a-Spot and Adopt-a-Highway programs, which are sponsored by the Virginia Department of Transportation (VDOT). Adopt-a-School volunteers help keep school grounds litter-free. Each year more than 500 tons of trash and debris are removed by volunteers participating in these programs. The Council also conducts educational workshops on litter prevention. If you would like to volunteer with the Clean Community Council, call 703-792-6272.

I think all of those solutions are good ones. I like the one about stepping up to hold ESL classes and potlucks. The more we learn about people in our community, the less fear and misunderstanding there is. And that works BOTH ways.

We had a neighborhood coffee over here in 20136, and most people are pretty upset about the extremists on both sides, and feel that the majority are in the middle.

One of the things we talked about is what are the long term solutions, and how can we address them? Just simply advocating another “amnesty” or “path to legalization” for those here illegally does NOT solve the problem. That is what the 1986 amnesty was supposed to do, and all it did was accelerate the problem.

Second…there were many in the group that are opposed to any “reward” for those who entered illegally. I was surprised by the number of people who have sponsored relatives, etc from other countries and have been waiting a long time to enter with permission. They are pretty passionate about the fact that a path to legalization for those here is unfair and discriminatory. I think we all need to acknowledge these as legimitate concerns.

Thirdly…we wanted to talk about policies that would uplift people and policies that allow people to be treated with dignity and respect. Everyone agreed that those who are here illegally (the non-criminals) are hard workers, and we would all do the same for our children if we were in their shoes. HOWEVER, the current state of affairs unworkable, and how do we find solutions that bring Mexico and Latin America up economically?

We have decided to concentrate our efforts on lobbying our churches to stop supporting amnesty and to work on developing partnerships and solutions with home communities in Mexico and Latin America. We all realize that undocumented people come from all over the world, but we have a special responsibility to work with our neighbors to the south, since we share a land mass, and uplifting and supporting them will only help us as well. Maintaining the status quo is selfish…by encouraging people to come here undocumented, we are by admission, supporting the exploitation of people and their misfortune. This is not in keeping with our values. Therefore, we can not support the policies of our local churches who advocate for amnesty or a “path to legalization” since it does nothing to solve the problem at the source, and only serves to further separate families and erode communities in the sending nations. We pledged to do some research and find ways to petition our home churches to partner with communities to work on developing economic opportunities, schools, etc. When we help and support our neighbors on social justice issues, we are also helping ourselves. We are willing to spend billions of dollars to bring stability to Iraq..why are we not willing to expend the same effort and compassion to our neighbors to the south?

Just a few comments from our first meeting. We all agreed that any solutions must work towards uplifting people and creating change in their home countries, especially if that means lobbying our government to not adopt policies that undermine democratic efforts in nations that share borders with us.

Identify problems

Our neighborhoods are going to be facing all sorts of problems that people haven’t thought of yet and haven’t thought of how to pay for their solutions.

We are facing a summer where one third of the houses on some streets are vacant. With over 3,000 foreclosures in the county, we are going to have even more vacancies. Kids will be out of school and will be attracted to empty homes. Empty houses will be homeless shelters. There will be no one to mow so butt high grass. Unmowed properties attract critters so we can expect rats, snakes, bees, hornets, etc. The list goes on.

The police have no idea what houses have been foreclosed on. They don’t know if people are squatting. Fire and rescue could answer a call and no know if a house has people in it or not.

Each and every vacant house becomes a public safety issue. What can neighbors do to alleviate some of this danger? Under whose jurisdiction does vacant house watch fall? The police? Neighborhood services?

A county task force needs to form to come up with the answers to come of these questions real fast.