THUNDER BAY — Community members gathered on Friday to volunteer their time to provide much-needed landscaping work in a lane-way off of May Street.
The difference their efforts made was immediate.
“It's already looking much better,” said Cindy Long, a volunteer.
When she first arrived at the group cleaning, Long said it looked like they may have bitten off more than they could chew. But it didn't take long to realize it was making a difference.
“It was quite a mess, and it looked a bit daunting to be honest,” Long said.
“When I got here and there weren't as many volunteers yet, I thought there's no way we're… going to finish this.”
Shocked, Long said the clean-up took less time than she imagined.
“Many hands make light work, as they say,” she said.
Being able to help her fellow community members means the most, she said.
“I think where we can have the most impact is often right in our neighbourhoods, right in our communities. It's the little things that can make a big difference sometimes,” Long said.
However, she wouldn’t be able to do it without the help of other residents, Long said.
“I've already run into a couple of people that I know here today, and it's good to sort of catch up with people, and yeah, it does feel good to clean it up,” she said.
This alley face-lift isn’t the first time Long has cleaned up, she said.
“I actually do a solo cleanup of cigarette butts in Hillcrest Park,” she said. “I collected almost 3000 this spring (and) took them over to EcoSuperior.”
Travelling on her bicycle from the city’s north core down to the south end meant Long could help a wider variety of residents, she said.
“I don't live in this neighborhood, but I live in the same ward because the McKellar ward's quite a big one, so I actually live up in Port Arthur, but I just rode my bike down to get some exercise,” Long said.
Nancy Bouchard is one of the community members living nearby who appreciated the help.
“I love it because a lot of them I know,” Bouchard said. “I've seen them around and picking up litter as well. And, some new faces. So, it's great to see who else out there wants to… clean up.”
The May Street area used to be well-kept, Bouchard said.
“I used to walk at seven o'clock in the morning or seven in the evening years ago, and as the years go by, I'd slowly haven't been able to,” she said.
“It just seems like there's more crime and lots of litter, so I kind of avoided it, but during the day I'll come out and clean up.”
While cleaning up her neighbourhood, Bouchard said she hopes to inspire other city residents.
“I think the neighbours will see, other people will see this, and they may want to become involved. And then we have a lot more people,” Bouchard said.
The community cleanup was hosted by McKellar Coun. Brian Hamilton, who posted an invitation to community members on Facebook.
The response was fantastic, he said.
“We're not just cleaning up litter, we're revitalizing the common space,” Hamilton said. “We're not here to blame or shame.”
The clean-up coincides with International Overdose Awareness Day, he said.
“Aside from just cleaning up the alley, we're actually coming together as a group and as a community to show certainly the residents around here that we're here, we care, and we're not going anywhere.”
Hamilton said the alleyway off of May Street was chosen due to the amount of poverty in the area, he said.
“Sometimes they just need a little bit of help, that's what we're here to do,” he said.
Mowing grass, removing tree limbs, and cleaning up bio-hazards to go into the city’s Community Clean-Up Trailer were all a part of the afternoon, he said.
“Everyone's got gloves, all the tools, the bags, we have support from the city here, and we're going to fill that trailer up with garbage,” he said.
Many of the area's unhoused residents also helped with the cleanup, Hamilton said.
“Just yesterday we had some of the unhoused folks and some of the street-involved people were down here cleaning up some of the paraphernalia, and some of the garbage,” he said.
“They care too.”
Hamilton said he encourages all city residents to get out there and clean up.
“It's as easy as just organizing some friends and getting it out there,” he said.
“It means a lot to the neighbours, but it also means a lot to the people that are using this alley on a day-to-day basis.”
