JHA hosts block party; ideas sought from residents to make neighborhood improvements
JOHNSTOWN, Pa. – Coopersdale Homes residents came together Wednesday to share some camaraderie during the West End Block Party and to also learn more about the community's ongoing Choice Neighborhoods planning grant program.
The Johnstown Housing Authority received $500,000 in U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development funding last September to develop a plan for stabilizing and revitalizing the public housing complex and surrounding area.
JHA has 30 months from the time of receiving the award to complete the plan.
It is currently soliciting input from residents, city officials, nonprofits and businesses regarding what improvements could be made.
'It's important to hear from the people what they need in their units, in their neighborhood because you can't, as an outsider, tell someone else what they need, so it's just best to gather input from people,' Jaden Bennett, manager for JHA's Choice Neighborhoods project, said.
Bennett has noticed some common concerns among residents.
'One thing that really stood out to us was there was mention that there isn't enough lighting for individuals that are walking to (local supermarkets) Giant Eagle or Save A Lot from Coopersdale,' Bennett said. 'There was a big emphasis on getting better lighting so that in the nighttime it's easier to see people, pedestrians that are walking to those places to get essentials. Also, transportation is a big barrier for a lot of individuals.'
Shaqueena Murphy, a project ambassador and Coopersdale Homes resident, also mentioned the transportation barrier.
'We don't have any stores to go to around here,' Murphy said. 'You have to go all the way to Richland. Everybody don't have cars to travel, to get around, so it's like kind of hard to like get around to do anything.'
After the authority's plan is developed, it will attempt to acquire federal money for implementation of its ideas. But even if that economic support does not materialize, JHA and the city will have an outline to use when possibly pursuing funding from other sources.
'To have that in place means really everything because now we'll know what people want and what people need,' Bennett said. 'No matter what the outcome is, we're able to better understand where some of the struggles are as a community, as a whole and really come together to create '
Dave Sutor is a reporter for The Tribune-Democrat.
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