StreetHeart Neighbors Complete First Project Awards

Residents are celebrating exciting new enhancements at Edmond Apartments. New bench planters, a dog waste station, and raised garden planters all took shape as part of the newly launched StreetHeart Project Award program that encourages neighbors to work together to enhance quality of life within the neighborhood.

Edmond Apartments is located in the first StreetHeart neighborhood in Eaton County, which includes over 300 households. StreetHeart, an initiative of Eaton Community Health (ECH) provides a Neighborhood Coordinator and brings various resources to help support resident-led projects, while enhancing connections between residents and health care, human service and community organizations.

“We were so excited by the creative initiative shown by these residents in our very first StreetHeart Neighborhood Project Awards”, expressed Kalli Dempsey, the StreetHeart Neighborhood Coordinator. “A neighborhood project team reviewed applications from 7 residents in the StreetHeart neighborhood. Of those, we are funding six now and a seventh at a future date.”

Merry Jo Kerekes and her neighbors at Edmond Apartments are excited about their completed project, which includes a bench for seating, with planters at the ends for herbs or flowers. The second part of their project was to build and plant a raised bed garden. “I really missed having an outdoor garden and didn’t feel very hopeful about having one until the StreetHeart Project Awards came along. We feel so excited that our projects add beautiful seating to our common patio space and also reduces mobility barriers, so our residents of all abilities can enjoy gardening again. I feel so hopeful now. This had a bigger impact than I ever expected! Many of our neighbors have added things to the garden and taken responsibility for watering. This created lots of excitement within the community and made our whole place prettier.”

Two other Edmond neighbors, Connie Braden and Bone-Z received a StreetHeart Project Award to construct and maintain a dog waste station on the corner by their apartment building. “And we don’t even have dogs!” said Connie. “We had been concerned about dog walkers having places for dog waste and realized the StreetHeart Project Award gave us a chance to create a solution that helps everyone in and around our complex. Instead of regretting that this didn’t exist, we were able to make it happen ourselves. We have seen many people using the dog waste station and we are proud of the difference we have been able to make for the whole neighborhood!”.

Neighborhood projects are funded by ECH collaborative, a local nonprofit, based on a set of criteria for neighborhood enhancements. They involve teams of at least two different households and must be directed to the greater good of the neighborhood, not for an individual’s own home or property.

Barbara Fulton, ECH’s Executive Director noted, “these project awards are one part of a set of long-range programs for health and well-being in Eaton County. StreetHeart will eventually have neighborhoods in many communities in Eaton County.” Eaton Community Health (ECH) is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit, supported primarily by grants and charitable donations.

The StreetHeart team asks, “What can we create together that we cannot do alone?”