SitemapCedar 2 just finished their final service project with NCCC.
They served with Youngstown Neighborhood Development Corporation (YNDC) in Youngstown, Ohio from September 22-November 6. During this time the NCCC team assisted YNDC on a number of projects to aid in the improvement of neighborhood decay.
There is a tremendous need in Youngstown to eliminate neighborhood blight created by dramatic population decline and chronic economic decline. While not the historic cause of disinvestment in neighborhoods, the vacant, blighted properties left behind by these forces have created an unstable living environment that reduces quality of life and stifles reinvestment and economic opportunity for the city’s neighborhoods. This is where YNDC comes in.
YNDC is a citywide multifaceted neighborhood development organization launched to catalyze strategic reinvestment in neighborhoods throughout the City of Youngstown. The mission of the organization is to improve the quality of life in Youngstown by building and encouraging investment in neighborhoods of choice for all.
While there, Cedar 2 primarily worked to board, secure, and otherwise clean up vacant properties in strategic areas throughout the City of Youngstown. This also included cleaning up and improving vacant lots in neighborhoods where demolitions have occurred. Vacant properties have been cleaned up and secured in accordance with city-adopted neighborhood stabilization plans or other neighborhood-driven improvement initiatives. Cedar 2 assisted in boarding up more than 40 houses throughout Youngstown.
Spencer Liechty, Cedar 2 team leader, had this to say about their service with YNDC, “Our service boarding up vacant homes with YNDC has impacted the community in a major way by removing a safe haven for criminal activity and cleaning up vacant lots which increases the appeal of the neighborhood. It’s been really educational to learn about the social issues surrounding Youngstown that YNDC addresses as an enthusiastic, grassroots, non-profit operation.”
Cedar 2 also supported two community service days in which local volunteers were invited to assist the team and YNDC in vacant lawn clean-ups and boarding up houses.
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