Community Engagement
Columbia/Boone County Community Partnership
Community Engagement Report
February 2002
The Worley Street Project
In January 2001 a call for community support to help improve living conditions in the Central West Area of the City of Columbia came from the Progressive Task Force. The Columbia/Boone County Partnership Executive Director and the West Area (Caring Communities) Coordinator met with Task Force to assist the them in creating strategies to engage community members in making a difference in their neighborhood and develop positive relationships with the City of Columbia .
The goal of the Worley Street Project is to decrease the number of city health and safety violations and increase the value of the Worley Street Area. The Worley Street Project worked to beautify 14 to 16 homes in the Central West Area of Columbia Missouri between March 2001 to September 2001.
Target Areas: (2000-2001) West Worley, Oak, McBaine, Ridgeway, Banks, Dean, and Cook
Strategies
1.Bring homeowners, renters, landlords, volunteers, businesses, neighborhood associations, civic groups, city officials, and church groups together to finance and implement the neighborhood beautification project: cleaning up yards that have debris and assisting with responding to city code violations in this area.
2. Develop a working relationship between the Central West Area community members and the City of Columbia.
3. In this central area of Columbia the mobility rate for the schools is extremely high compared to other areas. The Worley Street Project strives to enhance neighborhood stability and reduce mobility rates by connecting community residents to housing resources.
Results
Thirty-one (31) homes in the central area received service from the Worley Street Project along with 26 Columbia Housing Authority Units. Of the 31 homes 8 (14%) had received City Code Violations. Six (75%) of the 8 City Code Violations were brought into compliance with help from the Worley Street Project. Two of the eight (25%) City Code Violations were homes that are owned by Senior Citizens.
The Worley Street Project was able facilitate a collaboration between the City of Columbia, the Division of Aging, and the Boone County Council on Aging to address the needs for the seniors. This work resulted in one home being painted and three homes having gutters replaced by Worley Street Project Volunteers. Additionally, two homes were identified as having asbestos removal concerns.
Funding/Return on Investment
Local Community Investments: $9,471.38
Volunteer Investment: $37,172.58
Caring Communities: $1,508.40
Noteworthy
Four area schools in Central West Columbia have extremely high mobility rates compared to other school attendance areas in the Columbia Public School district. The Worley Street Project will partner with the City of Columbia for “Home Day” in March 2002. As part of Home Day, residents in these school attendance areas will receive information on affordable home financing programs to encourage residents to purchase homes in the neighborhood.
