Jul 6, 2009 7:27 pm US/Eastern
Efforts To Reclaim Overtown From Violence Continue
OVERTOWN (CBS4) ―
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Community redevelopment money has fixed up Overtown streets such as this one, giving it a much needed facelift.
CBS
Lorenzo Hall is headed to ninth grade soon. A resident of Overtown, which sits on the edge of downtown Miami, he has already learned far too much about violence close to home.
Hall said, "It is very tough when you have to deal with the fact that you can't go outside of your own house without people trying to rob you and shoot you."
It is against that stark backdrop that Overtown residents fight to carve out a better future. Certainly there are signs of it. One street is full of bright new office/residential buildings and beautiful green space. Community redevelopment money—lots of it—has been spent here and residents are guardedly optimistic about their futures.
CBS4's Michael Williams found Aaron Strong playing a game of checkers on a quiet sidewalk only blocks from the latest gun violence to rock the area. He believes the community can press forward but added one plea. "We need more police," Strong says, "in the area walking and protecting the people. That is what we need around here."
Old-timers can remember a time when the only late night echoes in Overtown came from the musicians who drew huge crowds in the community's heyday. Today's residents pine for that same sense of energy and vitality and are determined to pursue it.
Mustafa Abuat runs a grocery store in the neighborhood. Asked about the area's prospects he said, "Overtown here and downtown a few steps away. I think we have good potential in this neighborhood."
Lorenzo Hall agrees. The teenager also says he is fighting for Overtown's future in his own way. Hall told
CBS4's Michael Williams, "I'm going to high school and I'm in honors classes with mostly As and Bs and a few Cs. When I grow up I'm going to be a meteorologist."
You can't win the fight to clean up a community alone, says the young man. He's right but enough people with his outlook make a fine start on reclaiming a neighborhood's streets and its spirit.
(© MMIX, CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved.)
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