MEMPHIS, Tenn. — We’ve had countless walks and protests, all to address the issue of crime and violence in our community.
Residents want solutions.
Now a renewed community center in Frayser may be part of the answer to the problem.
It helps to stay grounded.
“If you’re sad or you’ve lost a loved one, go back to a place where it was just wonderful, where you felt really good. Mine was the park,” said Jo Ann Street, a parks and community centers advocate.
The park is a fun-filled and worry-free place for Street. She said, unfortunately, children today don’t have that same experience.
“What made me sad was children didn’t have these memories. Their memories are negative. Their memories are gunshots. I thought, ‘How can we change that?’” asked Street.
The community’s solution is to provide new positive memories through new positive experiences. That is one role of the Ed Rice Community Center.
“The Ed Rice Community Center has been a staple for all the residents in pretty much the pivotal parts of Frayser. This is where we meet. We engage each other,” said Street.
It is newly renovated with activities for families and youth. It’s an effort to keep peace and stray kids away from crime.
“If you leave kids to themselves, they have nothing to do, nothing to eat, they’re going to get into trouble. These are our future firemen. These are our future police officers. We have to treat them as such - not as a future inmate,” said Street.
The $8 million renovation project includes a new gym, aquatics center, and tennis court.
“Once there’s cleanliness, once there’s activity, then it replaces the negative thoughts and feelings that children might have,” said Street.
The goal is to exchange those negative feelings for the positive ones found in unity.
“What is so great about this is, I think, because we did this together. We advocated for something. We saw something where there was a need and we came together,” said Street.
It is a response that benefits the entire community.
“When you say, ‘Is there a God,’ He gave us each other. If He found anything better than a family, God must have kept it for Himself,” said Street. “We don’t have to be rich. We don’t have to be poor.”
Together, they are answering the weight of crime with a solution that uplifts.
The Ed Rice Community Center officially reopens this Saturday at 10:30 a.m. There will be a special ceremony, giveaways, games, and a summer wellness fair.