Grab that family and some cleaning equipment. On June 4, from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m., a neighborhood clean up at the future site of self-help homes is slated to take place at the corner of North Thompson and Chestnut streets in Nipomo. The clean-up day will be held in celebration of NeighborWorks Week and will be spearheaded by charter member Peoples’ Self-Help Housing.
The cleaning event will be the first-ever for the area.
The public is urged to help, and participants will get breakfast and lunch. Don’t expect a bologna sandwich, though. The Nipomo Lion’s Club will be there, barbecuing mouth-watering hot dogs and hamburgers for volunteers.
The day before, the area will be mowed, but because of the size of the lot—8 to 10 acres—the crew will need to brush up the sides near the sidewalk with weed-whackers, said Liz Lopez-Byrnes, a housing specialist with People’s Self-Help Housing.
“Lots of hand labor,” she said of the help they need to rake grass clippings and carry grass-clipping-filled trash bags.
The event will take place on People’s Self-Help Housing land, but due to a lack of any Homeowners’ Association in the area, some of the land technically belongs to nearby homeowners.
Lopez-Byrnes is hoping the clean-up event will open talks with nearby homeowners to form a Homeowners’ Association.
Volunteers are requested to bring tools—such as shovels, rakes, brooms, wheelbarrows, and gas-powered weed eaters—and wear long pants, long sleeves, and closed-toed shoes. Because of possible sunshine, a hat is recommended, as are gloves to avoid havoc on the hands.
The event is partly funded by a grant from the NeighborWorks Pacific Division and NeighborWorks America.
People’s Self-Help Housing is a countywide program and a charter member of the national NeighborWorks program.
Those who wish to volunteer may contact Lopez-Byrnes at 783-4446 or lizl@pshhc.org.
School Scene is compiled by Contributor Henry Houston. Information should be sent to the Sun via fax, e-mail, or mail.
This article appears in Jun 2-9, 2011.