MEMPHIS, Tenn. — Big changes are coming to the Soulsville and Orange Mound communities in Memphis. Community leaders told us it's all to benefit those neighborhoods.
“No one is an island. You can’t do it by yourself,” said Reginald Milton, South Memphis Alliance, Inc. (SMA) Executive Director.
Throughout Memphis, communities are coming together to bring the change they want to see.
SMA helps youth who are transitioning from foster care and provide resources for residents. “When you work in an urban community, you have to be a jack of all trades because there are so many challenges and issues,” said Milton.
One issue is access to nutritional and health services. They started the Community Health Hub.
“It’s a 57,000 square foot building that sat vacant for decades that we’ve now converted. We partner with the health department which is now using the facility to provide seniors with commodity service, needed nutritional assistance,” said Milton.
They serve nearly 8,000 seniors a month. Now, they are in the process of repainting the facility. They are even working to add health pods to meet basic health needs.
“Often, the poor will use the emergency room as a primary care doctor and the fire department, ambulance as their transportation. Those are not normally the best way of utilizing those services,” said Milton.
While changes are underway in South Memphis, Orange Mound is in the spotlight as well. The old Melrose High School will soon be new. The city’s Division of Housing and Community Development have plans to restore the building adding a café, genealogy center, and community library.
“Communities are much like a human being. They can become sick. They can be strong. They can even die. Investment in these communities are critical especially in urban communities,” said Milton.
It starts with us, the community, growing better together.