How to intervene: How to get involved
There have been numerous attempts to end housing blight in Birmingham, Alabama. Within those attempts, there are a plethora of opportunities in which communities can get involved in fighting housing blight. I would encourage one to get involved in fighting housing blight because it is a huge issue in surrounding neighborhoods that we can all come together against.
One initiative that Mayor Randall Woodfin created to attempt to combat housing blight, was 100 houses in 100 days. He planned to spend 1 million dollars to create 100 houses in blighted neighborhoods. From selling two government properties, they made 1.6 million dollars in which would go towards the development program. Citizens that had qualified as “low-income” that owned their homes, could apply for up to 10,000 dollars for repairment. Ultimately, Woodfin wanted to make block changes rather than changing one house at a time.
One program that you can become apart of to help intervene with housing blight is Neighborhood Housing Services of Birmingham. They have numerous opportunities to get involved with volunteering in the Birmingham area. In order to find out where you can make a difference, I encourage you to reach out to their office at (205) 328-4292.
Another program that allows you to be apart of fighting housing blight is NHabitBHam.Founded with the vision to be a model for revitalization that can be applied to all of Birmingham’s neighborhoods and commercial districts, NHabitBham is wants to increase occupancy and empower Birmingham’s neighborhoods and commercial districts. One of the ways that NHabitBham is ensuring that their program is community based, is that they are conducting a survey to gather people’s ideas and frustration. They desired to get 1,000 people’s feedback. One direct way to get involved with combating housing blight, is by working with NHabitBham to let you voice be heard through their surveys. For more ways to get involved with the NHabitBham initiative, email the creator himself, Mr. Anthony Hood (anthony@anthonychood.com).
Lastly, BuildUp Ensley is another program that offers many opportunities for one to help combat housing blight. BuildUp Ensley, is a workforce development model that was launched in Ensley. This program’s mission is to empower youth to create longevity by striving to become homeowners and learn trades. BuildUp uses an anti-gentrification revitalization model that empowers you from within the community to combat blight. Although BuildUp is continuing to make changes and grow, you can still get involved with this program now. To find out more ways to get involved with BuildUp Ensley initiative visit their website and fill out a connect e-form to be contacted (https://www.buildup.work/connect.html )
Outside of the various established programs that you can choose to be a part of within the Birmingham community, you can choose to create your own initiative to combat housing blight. You can first start by getting involved in your own community. By going out to vote in elections, attending neighborhood meetings, or even contacting your city council members, you are taking steps to help control blighted communities.