Thank you to everyone who helped make the Hickory Hill Clean Up a success this past weekend! We enjoyed joining forces with Juvenile Justice Project partner New Direction Christian Church to make this event happen. Memphis City Beautiful was extremely helpful with getting us supplies and coordinating trash pick up. And we can’t forget the wonderful work that Councilwoman Patrice Robinson‘s office did in connecting us with resources for the clean up. We had over 50 volunteers this weekend, at least 15 of which were young people knocking out community service hours, come together to clean up the neighborhoods around Winchester Road.
The Juvenile Justice Project and our partners believe in the future of Hickory Hill and Memphis as a whole. We are working together as well as with our young people to ensure that our city has a future that includes all of us. We are working on a year long clean up effort of Winchester Road in hopes of attracting new business and increasing community pride. We also host monthly meetings to plan projects and find ways to work together. Be on the look out for continued ways to get involved with this project!
The JJP is working with Juvenile Court to build networks of churches and organizations to address our high number of youth offenders and the lack of opportunities for court ordered community service, specifically in the areas of Hickory Hill & Bartlett. We believe that youth are the solution, not the problem so we work with these teens to help them find their place in their communities through transformative service opportunities. Studies continue to show that punitive measures often lead to a continued life of crime as opposed to seeking more rehabilitative opportunities, MSPJC firmly adheres to the idea of working with those most affected by the issues. Help us build a better Memphis and partner with our youth.
If you are interested in helping young people in Hickory Hill or Bartlett knock out their service hours in a way that will help them reconnect to their communities reach out to Faith Pollan by email (faith@midsouthpeace.org) or call the center at 901-725-4990.
In Solidarity,
The Staff of the Mid-South Peace & Justice Center