LEXINGTON, Ky. (LEX 18) — This summer, LEX 18 is partnering with Lexington Habitat for Humanity to build a home for a deserving family, but building homes is not the only thing they do to make our community better.
Sgt. Stacy Shannon with the Lexington Police Department tells LEX 18's Kylen Mills that she was the neighborhood resource officer in 2016 when Douglass Park turned 100 years old. At the time, the park wasn't doing well.
"The broken windows theory, basically if an area looks unkept, in disrepair or that no one takes a sense of ownership in it, it tends to invite nefarious activities," said Shannon.
Michelle Kosieniak, with Lexington Parks and Recreation said to celebrate the park being around for 100 years, community leaders decided to get some projects started. Parks and Rec partnered with Habitat for Humanity, as well as other organizations, to give the park a major face lift. More than 150 volunteers worked together to clear brush, paint, and help install new playground equipment.
"This park and neighborhood clean up, they fall right into the communities and hope section of our mission. When folks have somewhere to gather that's clean and safe and they can take pride in, and they're apart of, they just really feel great about that," said Brandalin Foster with Lexington Habitat for Humanity.
The project's reach goes far beyond the one day clean up.
"It's built lasting relationships, they started having more positive activities in the park, they started having movies in the park, church in the park," said Shannon.
