In Newark, Community Engagement is the Key to Neighborhood Transformation

When Dorian Johnson attended his first Fairmount Heights Neighborhood Association meeting, he admits that he didn’t expect much. "It was a spaghetti dinner night, and I came because I was hungry," he joked. "I never knew that I would wind up president of the organization." Johnson has lived in Fairmount for over 55 years – a neighborhood that for decades has grappled with quality-of-life issues like unemployment, poverty, and violence. "It reached a point where I said I have to be involved. I can’t just sit in my home and hear gunshots outside of my window while I’m watching a basketball game. I have to do something about it." 

LISC has long known that the most effective neighborhood transformations happen from within. That is why Greater Newark LISC launched the Newark Resident Leadership Academy – a six-month training program that develops the leadership skills of local residents so that they can be active agents of change in their neighborhoods. Beginning in October 2015, 40 individuals from six Newark neighborhoods took part in an intensive series of conferences, workshops, and meetings focused on empowering ordinary citizens to effect change from the ground up. Participants included Fairmount residents like Dorian Johnson as well as residents from other neighborhoods such as Ironbound, Lower Broadway, Vailsburg, Dayton, and Clinton Hill.

Dorian Johnson (far left) and the rest of the Fairmount Team at the Resident Leadership Academy graduation ceremony

The program kicked off in Louisville, Kentucky at the annual Community Leadership Institute, a national three-day conference hosted by LISC partner NeighborWorks. "When I had an opportunity to go over for the training in Kentucky, I didn’t know what I was about to walk into," said Victor Gavilanes, who lives in Lower Broadway. "When I got there I was in a building surrounded by at least 1,000 great leaders from all over the nation. It was just so impactful to be around such great minds, and the vibes were incredible." Vailsburg resident Patricia Porterfield said, "I came back from Kentucky a new person. I had a new perspective on my neighborhood, a new perspective on who I am and what I can do as part of my community." 

The Vailsburg Team with Rhonda Lewis, Executive Director of Greater Newark LISC. Patricia Porterfield, quote above, is second from left.

After the conference, the resident leaders returned to Newark energized, inspired, and ready to begin the next portion of the program: a series of all-day workshops that took place one Saturday per month for six months. Workshop topics included community organizing strategies, project management, conflict resolution, presentation skills, and more. While sacrificing an entire Saturday each month was challenging, Johnson says it was worth it. "You can’t stop us now. We have that confidence, we have all these different techniques to use, and I look forward to using what I’ve learned to make my organization bigger and better." He knows firsthand that motivating residents can be difficult. "Sometimes you feel like giving up. You’re trying to get people in your neighborhood and they just don’t want to come out…but the training gave us confidence. We can go knock on somebody’s door. We can bring somebody in. And that’s what this program did for me and for our neighborhood association."

Fairmount resident Sonja Dabney said that the workshops taught her the importance of persistence. In October, she learned that a developer was planning to build yet another liquor store near her home. "We don’t need any more liquor stores in the neighborhood. We have enough, and we have enough issues with substance abuse in the neighborhood," she said. Dabney started recruiting other residents who were also opposed to the store, and together they began attending the developer’s meetings with the New Jersey Division of Alcohol and Beverage Control so that they could collectively voice their concerns. In February, a community hearing was scheduled, and Dabney and the other residents made sure they were there. They spoke at the hearing, explaining the negative impact that the liquor store would have on the neighborhood. The commissioners voted to deny the necessary permits to the developer, citing the residents’ opposition as the reason. "That was our victory," Dabney said.

During the time between the Saturday workshops, the groups also worked on community improvement projects for their respective neighborhoods and were given the opportunity to compete for funding to implement those projects. Each of the six neighborhood teams completed a formal plan and presented it at the Resident Leadership Academy graduation ceremony, which took place on June 11. Three teams – the Fairmount Team, the Lower Broadway Team, and the Dayton Team – were each awarded $3,000 to support their action plans. The plans focused on engaging residents to achieve goals related to neighborhood beautification, public safety, economic development, and family financial security. The Vailsburg Team won the grand prize of $12,000 for a community garden project that will strengthen resident relationships, encourage sustainable living practices, improve resident nutrition, and help to grow the membership of the Vailsburg Block Club Coalition. 

On the last day of the program, the six groups decided to start working together on an idea for a citywide project. "We’re all on the same page. We all want to improve the quality of life in our neighborhoods because we deserve it," Johnson said.