EDUCATION
We view education as the bedrock to our work in the Route 9 Corridor and the best way for residents to come together and lift up their community. Through our work with the AOSS (Alternative to Out of School Suspension) Program we have provided a space for children to work out their suspensions in safe and supervised environments with work focused on restorative practices and how to better deal with their emotions and concerns. But education doesn’t stop at the school level, and that is why we are expanding programs to provide education on business building, personal finance, and more, to community members who want to develop a business that can better their community.
INFORMATION DISSEMINATION
We strive to provide relevant information to the Route 9 corridor through regular community meetings and the bimonthly publishing of our Newsletter that is shared with all of the communities along the Route 9 corridor. Through our partnership with the Rose Hill Community Center and other groups we have restarted monthly community meetings at the Rose Hill Community Center on the first Wednesday of each month. Additionally, we have continued to work closely with the Route 9 Monitoring committee by providing a liaison to collect information and make sure that the community’s voice is always heard.
COMMUNITY ACTIVITIES & INITIATIVES
Our organization was created with the goal of improving conditions in the Route 9 corridor and for assisting with community first development. We have engaged in community clean ups in neighborhoods up and down the corridor, revealing and clearing pathways that interconnect our community. We have begun the development of community businesses such as a Maintenance Cooperative and PLCC Youth (Power Washing, Lawn Care, Carpentry, and Cleaning Services) that will provide an affordable resource for necessary repair and maintenance work. As part of the maintenance Cooperative, we have developed the Park Pilot Project (PPP) with New Castle County for the Maintenance Cooperative to take over maintenance and horticulture work in county parks within the Route 9 Corridor.
We've worked hard to identify key partners to help develop our initiatives, and two such partners are the Bezos Earth Fund and Healthy Community Delaware. The Route 9 Corridor was chosen to be one of the first communities to receive investments from the Bezos Earth Fund’s Greening America’s Cities Initiative which is a $400m initiative to invest into communities that have been disproportionately impacted by environmental issues.
In addition to these initiatives, we have regularly held community events to bring our communities together such as comedy festivals, chili cookouts, movie nights, and more.
ORGANIZING & ADVOCACY
We believe that achieving change in our community requires self-advocacy, because no one knows the community better than its residents. Route 9 CDC is a member of the Route 9 Monitoring Committee, a forum that brings community members, officials, and other stakeholders together to monitor development along the corridor. In partnership with the 913 Alliance, we have established a community feedback loop to learn of issues that affect residents’ lives and to find solutions. This has allowed residents to resist development that is detrimental to the community in favor of development that supports community needs.
A major component of our advocacy is focused on environmental justice and addressing social determinants of health. The Route 9 Corridor has historically felt the impacts of environmental issues due to the proximity to polluting industry and to the Port of Wilmington. We work with local, state, and national organizations to address environmental issues that impact the neighborhoods where we live, work, play, worship, and leave a legacy.
