COMMUNITY TASK FORCES GIVE UPDATES ON PROGRESS AT QUALITY OF LIFE PLANNING MEETING

A quarterly meeting was recently held to give updates on the work that is being done as a result of the Englewood Quality of Life Plan. Photo Credit: Teamwork Englewood
A quarterly meeting was recently held to give updates on the work that is being done as a result of the Englewood Quality of Life Plan. Photo Credit: Teamwork Englewood

Community Task Forces Give Updates On Progress At Quality of Life Planning Meeting

BY KATHERINE NEWMAN

Teamwork Englewood, a local nonprofit organization, recently held a quarterly meeting to give residents and community stakeholders an update on the work that is being done in the neighborhood as a result of the Englewood Quality of Life Plan.

The Englewood Quality of Life Plan was first created in 2005 and in 2016, the community reconvened to create an updated Quality of Life Plan that would benefit the community and preserve its history.

Five task forces were created to address the major issues that were most important to the residents and each task force developed it’s own goals and strategies to address the issue that they are responsible for resolving.

“The Englewood Quality of Life Plan allowed for residents to lead a long term visioning process around the issue areas that impact them,” said Cecile DeMello, Englewood Quality of Life Plan program manager at Teamwork Englewood.

The five task forces that are operating as part of the Englewood Quality of Life Plan are the education and youth task force, the health and wellness task force, the housing and public spaces task force, the jobs and economic development task force, and the public safety task force.

During the recent meeting, each task force was invited to share their goals, accomplishments, and current projects with the community.

“Our health and wellness task force is starting to hire outreach teams in the community to do door-to-door organizing around getting people information about common health ailments and supporting them in getting to a local hospital or clinic for ongoing care,” said DeMello.

The public safety task force shared that they have three major projects that they are working on in 2019.

“One of the public safety projects is a mental health awareness campaign in the community where they are reaching out to as many residents as possible to notify them about trauma and it’s impact in the community and then connecting them with local resources,” said DeMello.

The housing and public spaces task force announced that they have been working with legislators to find a solution to what DeMello called “zombie properties.” Zombie properties are vacant homes or businesses that can’t be repurposed because it isn’t clear who owns the property. These types of properties have a negative impact on property values and can increase violence and crime, according to DeMello.

Aside from simply resolving community issues, the Englewood Quality of Life Plan is meant to build up community organizations and leaders to create a sustainable and long-lasting impact on the neighborhood.

“We are developing leadership with residents and supporting organizations in Englewood to become stronger so that the work that we are doing is sustainable. You can create programs and you can change policy but if you don’t have residents and groups who are able to ensure the implementation is effective and really addressing the issues around the community then you just tend to have a lot of false starts,” said DeMello.

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