"Love Your Block" fixes up East Jackson Neighborhood
JACKSON, TENN (WNBJ)-
Love your block is in east Jackson today doing some home repairs and cleaning up the street to improve a neighborhood
“Oh, my gosh it feels so good," said Jameson Colbert, "After months and months of planning in the office finally getting out and meeting with the homeowners on their property, o them seeing the work that we're embarking on and seeing the joy on their faces, just, you know, there's nothing like it.”
"Love Your Block" is a program that provides "mini-grants" to help citizens fix up neighborhoods.
Today, Jackson city employees, people from the neighborhood and volunteers worked on homes on Gate street.
They replaced a door, added columns to a house, painted, pressure washed, picked up trash, and did landscaping on the street.
“At the end of the day, we want to empower people to make changes in their neighborhoods. To feel like their neighborhoods, have value and to feel like they can make a difference,” said Chief Innovation Officer for the city of Jackson Lauren Kirk.
Co-coordinator of love your block Abby Palmer believes that these small projects can have a big impact, “The premise of Love Your Block is that small projects add up. So we want to come in and do what the residents have seen as a challenge for them…it helps the homeowner feel more proud of their home. And it makes the whole neighborhood want to take care of the street better and take care of the community.”
Jameson Colbert loves to see people working together to improve their neighborhoods, "We embarked on this with the goal of bringing the community together to help tackle issues that they see every day. And so to see so many participants coming out and volunteering their, you know, sweat equity. And it's a joy that, you know, we, we just can't even describe.”
Love Your Block worked on Cartmell street last week, “Last week I was so inspired to see two neighbors talking over the fence to each other, admiring each other's homes. And that's what we want to do," Kirk said.
But Love Your Block isn't stopping here. They've got more projects planned in Jackson.
