Greetings AmeriCorps friends and family! My name is Stephanie Mae Howells and I am a proud member of the AmeriCorps Urban Safety Project (AMUS) at Wayne State University’s Center for Urban Studies. Our program, which is just over a year old, aims to increase neighborhood guardianship, decrease victim attractiveness and susceptibility, and provide free basic computer/internet training, allowing residents to strengthen their community through technology. The AMUS project accomplishes these goals by supporting and empowering residents to create block clubs, assisting with neighborhood clean up initiatives, boarding up vacant homes, and teaching the Connect Your Community computer classes in partnership with Focus:HOPE.
Like many of our fellow AmeriCorps comrades, AMUS members were hard at work for Dr. King on a cold Monday in January. In collaboration with the national “Safe Routes to School” initiative, AmeriCorps members served along side United Way volunteers and community residents to board up four vacant homes on 14th street in Detroit’s Historic Virginia Park neighborhood, near Thirkell Elementary School.
Open vacant houses pose an obvious threat to the safety of school children – these structures are a magnet for illegal dumping, arson, squatters, drugs and
other criminal activity. Another potential hazard is the natural curiosity of children to explore their environment, which is extremely dangerous if abandoned properties are part of their everyday landscape. One vacant house, closest to the school, was particularly disturbing. Every inch of the interior walls were covered with sexually explicit vulgarities. It was clear what needed to be done.
Orchestrating a multiple house board- and clean-up, was no simple task. Each of the four houses were supervised by an AMUS member who lead the volunteers in an 
extensive clean up effort. The amount of waste collected filled an entire 30 cubic yard dumpster to the brim! Volunteers also picked up trash around the school premises. The remaining AMUS members formed a board-up team, rotating from house to house. It was a board-up round-robin of sorts. All together the volunteers put in an 8-hour day!
The boards were painted a sleek slate gray, adding contrast to the final transformation. Several of the boards were colorfully decorating by local youth. I was charged with facilitating the
painting process, since I have a background working with both art and youth. It was extremely rewarding to see the look in the kids eyes when they realized their art would be on display for the entire neighborhood to see. I encouraged them to think about the messages they wanted to convey. “Peaceful Swag” was one - it is now my personal mantra!
The event was a testament to the power a group of determined individuals has to effect positive change within their community. Recently, I rode my bike through the area to check how the boards were holding up. Seeing the houses, a month later, still securely boarded and now the most colorful objects on the street, evoked an even stronger emotion in me than I had felt on that chilly January Monday. It’s hard to describe, but it felt serenely invigorating.
*Photo credit: First photo was taken by Mike Glinski, a student at the College for Creative Studies.
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