AMANI RESIDENT SPOTLIGHT
‘This is Home & I’m Not Going Anywhere’ Amani resident works with DC to install cameras and improve safety on her block
Ms. Helena Ivory has lived in Amani for more than 50 years and she has seen the community through many changes. She ac- knowledged the challenges of the neighborhood at the time, but she had three young children, and she was determined to see them grow up in a community. So she took a chance. “This was an opportunity for me,” she said. “But I went for it. I said, ‘I’m going to stay here and see if I can make a difference.’” Helena talked about how the neighborhood has changed over the years. She recalled when her block had more houses and many families lived there with children the same ages as her own. She had a beautiful deck built in her backyard so she could entertain and her family could enjoy the yard together, but it became so beloved that the neighborhood used it as a place to gather as well. “My neighbor wanted to throw a surprise party for his wife in my yard, and of course I said yes. Then later my grandson got a
projector and the kids would have movie night out there. You need to build community, and that is what I’ve always done,” she said. “This yard is community.” “We had block parties, where the corner store owner would donate hotdogs, and another resident would bring ponies for the kids to ride. Now there’s only three houses on the block, they have all been torn down.” She said that the last few years have been the most challenging. “My kids, especially my youngest daughter, want me to move,” said Helena. “But why would I leave? This is home and I’m not going anywhere.” A house on her block recently created a problem when it be- came home to illegal activity and eventually a murder. Helena said she has always tried to reach young people in the community, including the young men coming in and out of the problem house. “I always say, ‘you’re not here to stay, so do something while you’re here and build a legacy.’ If kids see
a community, they can build one too.” So even though she knew dangerous things were happening in the problem house, she still took the time to talk with a young man from the house and asked him to have respect for neighbors on the block, keep the noise down and be part of the community. “Young people aren’t bad, they just need guidance,” she said. Shortly after their conversations, the young man was killed. From that point, Helena did every- thing she could to get help with the problem house. She wrote the landlord (who conveniently lives in Florida), she talked to police regularly, she called her alderman and participated in community walks hoping to draw attention to the problem house. She even wrote a letter to the mayor, but nothing seemed to help. While on an aldermanic walk hosted by Dominican Center, Helena met DC Community Organizer Jerusa Johnson, who – since the mo- ment they met – was determined
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