Living within the Banyan Community service area can be an emotional roller coaster. There are both compassion and frustration with homeless encampments. There is a deep need for community solidarity, but every other house has a ‘No Trespassing’ sign. There is a love for children, but unsafe bus stops. There is a desire to care for the earth, but so much trash it requires removal before one can think about mowing. And then you are distracted by the demanding noise from the incoming medevac helicopter landing at the hospital.
What can you notice as you walk the blocks around Banyan? Fences, nearly every home has a fence, and it encompasses the whole yard. Front yard included. The boulevards are strewn with trash, broken glass, liquor bottles, papers, CDs. After a couple blocks, sensory overload takes over and you stop noticing. In a 10-block walk, four community gardens are available along with multiple Little Free Libraries. There are words of encouragement and statements of free speech. Beauty has been strategically injected in different forms of art. And the scars of evicted homeless encampments, losses of life, and drug use are prevalent.
At Banyan Community we navigate these challenges alongside our neighbors. This summer one of the Banyan vans was broken into. Banyan Community must provide a safe space for youth, so everyday trash is cleaned from the lawn so that kids can play. We strive to offer stability in the midst of many societal pressures and woes. This is our neighborhood, together we make an oasis that offers a reprieve from these stressors, a place to recenter on each other, hope, and love.
Next week Banyan youth and families will join the 21st Annual Phillips Clean Sweep. This community event is a collaboration across the neighborhood between residents and businesses to pick up trash, become more informed at the recourse fair, and dispose of larger household trash with an extra city pick-up. All participants are also treated to two free meals, which helps to build a stronger community. This year BJ Coleman, Banyan Board Member, along with his PWC team will also be joining the neighborhood clean-up efforts.
