Box 8, Folder 16, Document 33

Sum-Mec Neighborhood Service Center
Report on Community Improvement Program

November 22, 1966

In April, 1966, several groups in Sum-Mec area organized neighborhood
clean-up groups in scattered sections of the target area. When the Mayor
declared war on slums in May and initiated the Community Improvement Progran,
it seemed a natural for organization of the total community around it so
as to invotve residents in the CIP and form a kind of partnership between
citizens and the City, not to mention the benefits to be derived from a
concentration of city services in the community. To have such a concentration
of services in an area where these had been at such a minimum was indeed
salutary.

The Citizens Neighborhood Advisory Council and the Technical Neighbor-
hood Advisory Committee joined forces in setting up a plan for the entire
area. Committees of the CNAC were assigned responsibilities as liaison
between the community and various city services to work along with the
neighborhood units through block captains. It was hoped that through this
kind of approach it would be possible to maintain continuing interest and
efforts toward community improvement even beyond the Mayor's campaign.

Many areas have shown decided improvements in their "housekeeping."
Most encouraging were clean-up efforts in some of the worst "pockets" in
the area, emergence of some potential new leadership at the “grass roots"
level.

EQOA gave full cooperation, and, in the latter stages, even provided
some tools for residents to use on a loan basis from the Center.

While there was neither maximum participation nor one hundred per cent
improvement, results have been a good beginning in this direction.

The attached record of tangible accomplishments were result of these
combined efforts. The City not only responded promptly to citizens requests
whemever possible, but they also made improvements without waiting for
specific requests. As encouraging as this record is, the interest
generated, participation initiated, and successes experienced are achieve-
ments that are even more significant.