CommunityScapes

Organization Information:

Organization Name:
Dudley Neighbors Incorporated
City & State:
Roxbury, 
Massachusetts
Organization Website:
http://www.dsni.org/dni
Organization's Mission Statement
To implement the community revitalization plans of the Dudley Street Neighborhood Ini¬tiative (DSNI), which espouses development without displacement and includes affordable housing, economic development, open space and other amenities of the Urban Village.

Submission Information

Impact Essay
Adobe Illustrator and Photoshop are crucial for our organization to effectively advertise events and job opportunities within our community. Many organizations in our neighborhood utilize programs like Microsoft Publisher and create flyers from templates that look identical from one another. However, Adobe Illustrator and Photoshop allows us to create eye catching, one of a kind flyers that stand out in the neighborhood. We use Adobe products everyday. Recently we used Adobe Illustrator and Photoshop to advertise an exciting youth landscaping opportunity in our community. CommunityScape engages neighborhood youth in the maintenance and improvement of open space developments that are the responsibility of the DNI CLT in perpetuity. This is now a year-round youth employment program, where the youth work in teams, 10 hours per week during the fall and winter months and 25 hours per week during the spring and summer, on projects such as weeding, pruning, spreading compost and woodchips, watering, picking up trash, and planting flowers, perennials, shrubs and trees, as well as winter snow removal and community outreach efforts. Through the program’s trainings and meetings, we teach community values to local youth, so that they grow in their sense of ownership of our community’s assets. For team-building, we provide the youth an orientation and a series of four trainings. The work and the team-building experience under CommunityScape is an environment where youth can grow beyond the difficulties they have experienced—they can learn to resolve conflicts and to comply with performance standards we set. They develop an improved work ethic, skills and experience, and an increased sense of responsibility. It also promotes the greening of the neighborhood. Additionally CommunityScapes will help elder or disabled neighbors to keep their sidewalks, steps and driveways clear of snow and debris. During the spring they will participate in the planning and organizing of cleanups and planting days, which will engage local residents and volunteer groups from local businesses. They will also organize events on conserving energy, the importance of recycling, and the effects of pollution on the environment. This builds community pride and an intergenerational sense of responsibility.
Submission Category
Environmental Impact Print/Photo
Supporting Work Files