Clarke Square Neighborhood Initiative

CSNI exists to help facilitate neighbor-driven change to improve the quality of life in Clarke Square.

The Clarke Square Quality of Life Plan includes 10 key strategies, defining the work of CSNI:

1. Community-School Partnership. Journey House and Longfellow Elementary School will work together to transform Longfellow into a community school that serves people in all stages of life with education and skills training, health and social services, and other community activities that will foster more successful students, stronger families and a healthier neighborhood.
2. Lifelong Learning. This strategy will support high academic performance at neighborhood schools, encourage postsecondary education, and promote lifelong learning so that residents will be prepared to compete in the global economy.
3. Employment and Job Training. Working in close partnershp with Journey House’s Urban Careers Institute, we will work to increase the job skills and workforce readiness of the community residents, and then match employment opportunities for teens and adults with employers’ current and emerging workforce needs.
4. Youth, Parks, and Recreation. This strategy focuses on offering the community ample access to youth development activities and appropriate spaces for organized sports and family recreation programs. By engaging in this strategy, we will make our residents less vulnerable to the lure of gangs and drugs.
5. Social Connections. The Clarke Square Neighborhood Association was created to establish new relationships and build on existing connections to develop a sense of belonging and community pride.
6. Public Safety. We will take the steps necessary to ensure that Clarke Square is a safe place to live, learn, work, play, worship, shop, and serve.
7. Neighborhood Beautification. We will raise the visibility of Clarke Square by enhancing its curb appeal and streetscapes in a way that reflects and promotes the cultures of its diverse residents.
8. Housing. We are working to stabilize, promote, and preserve diverse housing to accommodate a wide range of household incomes and family needs. The goal is to improve both the quality of housing in the neighborhood, as well as the home ownership rate.
9. Economic Development. By sustaining and growing businesses, and enhancing job creation and retention, we will foster community wealth.
10. Health and Wellness. Physical, financial, spiritual and emotional prosperity.