Edition 6 of 6 (July 31 – August 10, 2018)

Report compiled by Will Taft, NHS CB&O Summer Fellow

NEIGHBORHOOD HOUSING SERVICES

Community Building and Organizing Weekly Project Report

Community Gardens and Greenspaces

The entire Community Building and Organizing
department visited West Division St. on Wednesday
(August 1st) to maintain gardens at NHS properties
and beautify surrounding homes. NHS Property
Manager Angel Pantoja and Lab Director Kathy Fay
joined the CB&O team. Committed New Haven
volunteer Sally Voegeli lent a hand too. The team laid
mulch in three non-NHS yards and one NHS yard and
donated a few bags of mulch to another homeowner
on the street. The team also weeded in preparation for
plantings on Thursday (August 9th), pruned overgrown
trees, and cut long grass. Angel and Kathy brought all
of the trimmings and compostable materials to the
Landscape Demonstration Garden at NHS to use as
fertilizer.

On Thursday (August 9th), Stephen, Adam, and Will

returned to West Division St. to finish tending to the
gardens with Sally. They planted hastas, a hydrangea,
and a Japanese maple tree. Sally donated all of the
plants.

The CB&O team’s work on West Division is one part of

NHS’ Newhallville revitalization strategy. Three
properties NHS rehabilitated and sold sit on West
Division, creating a cluster of homes and homeowners
to stabilize the neighborhood. Continuous property
beautification inspires surrounding neighbors to
beautify their yards and discourages littering and
further property damage.

On Thursday (August 2nd), Will, Jett, and Doreen

helped establish plants donated by the Urban
Resource Initiative in the Urban Oasis at the Learning
Corridor.
Images
In order of appearance from top…
1. Doreen, Stephen, Haley, and Adam weed a
gardening bed at an NHS home on West Division St.
2. Doreen pulls weeds from a curbside garden on West
Division St.
3. NHS property manager Angel Pantoja takes a weed
whacker to over-grown grass in the backyard of an
NHS home on West Division.
4. Will and Jett plant native species at the Learning
Corridor Urban Oasis.
5. Adam plants a hydrangea at a home on West
Division.
6. Stephen prunes shrubs in the front yard of Mr. and
Ms. Joyner’s home. The Joyners have actively
supported NHS’ work on West Division St.
7. Hastas now have a home in a curbside yard on
West Division. All of the plants were donated by Sally
Voegeli who also assisted during both volunteering
sessions on West Division.
8. (bottom right) Adam and Will plant hastas.
What we are reading this week…
We are reading this new report from Grounded
Solutions on solutions to an affordable housing
shortage at any stage of crisis.

Read the National Low Income Housing Coalition’s

analysis of the Senate Appropriation Committee’s
proposed funding for HUD in FY2019.

Want to get involved? Sign up to

volunteer here:
https://tinyurl.com/y7dt3lzo