Jericho Road believes in relationships. The evolution of a healthier community depends on making and maintaining relationships. By supporting resident-to-resident collaboration, one can see that knowledge gained creates ownership and a newfound responsibility and thus a sense of pride and power is born.

Here are some of the resident empowerment projects we are working on:

Neighborhood Associations

There is power in numbers. A neighborhood association is a group of residents who advocate for or organize activities within a neighborhood. Jericho Road encourages a neighborhood association to be organized to provide recreational opportunities to the community, address municipal issues which affect the community directly and keep community residents up to date on what is happening in the community. Jericho Road serves as just one member of this resident led group, offering support and resources when available.

Community Dinners

Once a month Jericho Road hosts a gathering of community homeowners to share a meal. In addition to being a social opportunity, this is an chance for many first time homeowners to receive information, share concerns and compare notes with other homeowners in the neighborhood.

 

Property Campaign

It is paramount to the revitalization of any neighborhood to return blighted property to commerce. Jericho Road and neighborhood residents work through a series of actions to reduce blight in the community. These actions include composing a housing inventory, letter communication with property owners, regularly reporting to the city and testifying on behalf of the community.

NeighborCircles

The NeighborCircles strategy focuses on building a foundation for residents to engage in collective action to advance the revitalization of the City of New Orleans.

Under the leadership of a resident "host" and trained resident "facilitator", seven to ten neighborhood residents gather three times within a month for dinner and conversation. These meetings provide participants the opportunity to get to know one another, share information about their neighborhood, and brainstorm as a group how they can rebuild their community. New participants can join at any point along the way.

Beautification Projects

The Friends of Faubourg Delassize, Friends of Faubourg Lafayette, Jericho Road Episcopal Housing Initiative, and HandsOn New Orleans have partnered to launch the Beautification Projects in each Faubourg.  The program will provide volunteers to work on beautification projects in your neighborhood.  The goals of the program are to offer minor repair and beautification services to community members, to engage local volunteers in community-building and anti-blight efforts, and to make the community more beautiful.

Brownfield Focus Group

Jericho Road convened a focus group to address concerns and possibilities regarding development of a brownfield in Central City. This group consisted of both old and new community members, a design team and a Jericho Road representative.

The focus group articulated the following issues to be addressed:

• Public safety
• Sustainability of the project
• The broader neighborhood revitalization
• Centerpiece of improvements
• Property values
• Environmental improvements
• Use by diverse groups
• Adequate funding for ongoing maintenance

In facilitating this task force, Jericho Road has witnessed an unconventional coming together of minds. This collaboration has produced a possible plan for the Brownfield.