By Lisa Bryant One Nation News Jonathan Palmer has a vision. As executive director of the Jordan Area Community Council, or JACC, Palmer has a vision to help community members transform the Jordan neighborhood into an area that is welcoming to business owners and free of crime and drug dealers so residents can walk through the streets without fear and without being harassed.
"He�s exactly what this community needs," said Samuel Grey, owner of Big Stop Foods, a convenience store at 26th and Knox avenues in north Minneapolis that has been the site of several shootings. "He�s always around and he�s completely involved in the community." Grey said that since the shooting of Akeen Brown on July 22, Palmer has made it a point to stop by his store almost every day to see how he and his business are doing. "He even helped me clean up the store after the shooting. And, when my son was hit in the cheek by a stray bullet in front of the store, Jonathan was at the emergency room talking to doctors even before I got there," said Grey, who bought the store in March 2004 unaware of the amount of crime in the community. The shooting of Akeen Brown marked the third homicide in north Minneapolis in just one week. The Jordan neighborhood, a pie-shaped region that lies north of West Broadway and is bordered by Emerson and Lowry avenues, had two homicides and five shootings (in which a victim was shot or shot at) during the month of July, said Crime Prevention Specialist Tim Hammett of the Minneapolis police department�s Fourth Precinct. Twenty-sixth Avenue, a main corridor that runs directly in front of the Big Stop convenience store, "has been a breeding ground for drug dealers and gang warfare for five to 10 years," Palmer said. He also explains that Jordan is home to absentee landlords that don�t take care of their property; drug buyers and sellers that come from surrounding communities such as Edina, Brooklyn Park, Brooklyn Center and Burnsville to get drugs; and the area is home to a majority of the state�s level-three sex offenders. "In Hennepin County alone, there are 58 level-three sex offenders; the Jordan and Philips communities together have half of them. No other community in Hennepin County has sex offenders in double-digit numbers," said Craig Voss, program manager for adult offenders with Hennepin County Corrections. Palmer said that the infestation of crime and drugs stems from an historical neglect of Jordan and of the city's north side. "But, that�s changing because I believe in doing what�s right. And, what�s right is trying to bring a fair quality of life and equal opportunity to every one I can," he said. When he assumed the JACC position more than one year ago, Palmer (with help from community members) began responding to the crimes with grassroots, community-based solutions. Palmer coordinates a neighborhood foot patrol Friday afternoons. Accompanied by Minneapolis police, Hennepin County probation officers, neighborhood residents and members of the faith community, Palmer walks through the neighborhood streets and along 26th Ave. as a way to observe and deter criminal activity. Another effort in which Palmer is involved includes community health outreach programs. He said that health outreach programs are vital to creating and sustaining a healthy, livable community. In the Jordan neighborhood, all of the medical facilities and clinics that serve the community lie outside of its boundaries. So, with help from Minneapolis City Councilmember Don Samuels and North Memorial COO Dave Cress, a partnership has been developed between North Memorial Medical Center and JACC to bring health care resources and awareness into the Jordan community. Two initiatives that have developed from the partnership with North Memorial Medical Center include: a series of chronic disease management workshops that educate community members about health care issues, and the creation of a health outreach coordinator who will educate residents about preventative care and connect them with medical resources. Palmer said the response from the community has been positive. "I just want people to know they have someone in the neighborhood they can count on to work for them," he said. Palmer�s vision burns brightly for the Jordan neighborhood. By 2005, he hopes for a dramatic reduction in the number of "hot spots" or high crime areas, a reduction in the number of sex offenders that are concentrated in the Jordan neighborhood, and more green space so Jordan is "clean, green and livable." "Everyone should be able to feel safe in their home, unfortunately that level of safety is not what we have in this community," Palmer said. "My job is to do my best to bring awareness, to bring resources, and to do whatever I can so that the community I serve is a safe and enjoyable place to live. It�s my job to do the very best I can." http://www.onenationnews.com Posted by Shawn Lewis, Field Neighborhood -- ___________________________________________________________ Sign-up for Ads Free at Mail.com http://promo.mail.com/adsfreejump.htm REMINDERS: 1. Think a member has violated the rules? Email the list manager at [EMAIL PROTECTED] before continuing it on the list. 2. Don't feed the troll! Ignore obvious flame-bait. For state and national discussions see: http://e-democracy.org/discuss.html For external forums, see: http://e-democracy.org/mninteract ________________________________ Minneapolis Issues Forum - A City-focused Civic Discussion - Mn E-Democracy Post messages to: mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] Subscribe, Un-subscribe, etc. at: http://e-democracy.org/mpls
