In the Farmway area of Brightmoor, in Detroit, generation-long exposure to blight and ugliness has dulled the sense of beauty and order. Like much of Brightmoor, there is a 60% vacancy rate in Farmway, very poor housing stock and a low-income population. Vacant houses are often vandalized, contributing to a narrative of destruction and hopelessness in the community. This project will make the neighborhood a safe and healthy place to live by boarding up at least 15 dangerous vacant houses. Volunteer artists will paint artistically on the boards with the help of local youth and residents as well as clean up the lots around them.
Beyond making the neighborhood safer, and just as important, the project will ignite creativity and encourage self-help within the community. Residents will be equipped to take control of their environment and be proactive by making the neighborhood a pleasure to live in, inspiring hope for the future of Detroit.
This funds for this project will cover the boarding up of 15 houses with primed OSB Boards which will then be painted by local artists.
150 OSB Boards: $1200
Paint and paint supplies: $350
Cordless drill and 4-inch deck screws: $450
In the last year the Brightmoor Alliance has boarded up many vacant houses and cleaned up the lots around them. They have put art on many of the homes and it has greatly impacted the moral of the neighbors. While regular boarded-up houses are often vandalized, the past year has shown that once the art is on the houses, they are left alone. Not only does the vandalism cease, but the littering around the houses diminishes drastically. The artful boarding up of the 15 houses will increase the resident's sense of self-help, create beauty for residents young and old, and form a positive alternative to passively watching dilapidation and neglect while waiting for the city to demolish the properties.
Volunteer artists will paint artistically on the boards with the help of local youth and residents. At the same time of the board-up the yard around it will be cleaned up and landscaped.
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