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Seattle Neighborhood Action Program (SNAP)
Condensed Final Report
February 1996
NW Insurance Council
Insurance Fund Foundation
To obtain more information or request a full copy
of this report, please contact:
Caryn Badgett
SNAP Director
NW Insurance Council
101 Elliott Avenue West, Suite 520
Seattle, WA 98119
((800) 664-4942
Karl Newman, President
Introduction
The NW Insurance Council is a non-profit consumer education and media
relations trade association comprised of insurance companies and insurance
professionals who's mission is to educate consumers and the media on insurance
issues.
Insurance companies have a critical stake in the health and safety of
communities. Increases in claim activity are the result of crime and urban
decay. Realizing that safe, livable neighborhoods was a goal shared by
the insurance industry and the City of Seattle, NW Insurance Council approached
the Mayor's office to find out how the industry could assist in reducing
crime and revitalizing a neighborhood. The Mayor, City of Seattle representatives,
and NW Insurance Council members met with representatives of Seattle's
Weed and Seed Program to discuss opportunities. The result was to have
NW Insurance Council develop a plan aimed at helping a community within
the Weed and Seed area of Seattle.
In March of 1994, NW Insurance Council presented its model project plan,
the Seattle Neighborhood Action Program (SNAP), to Weed and Seed representatives.
NW Insurance Council's SNAP plan was a pilot program designed to test
various community initiated strategies for their efficiency in impacting
crime and the quality of life in order to build stronger communities in
urban areas.
A $100,000 grant, funded by NW Insurance Council's Insurance Fund Foundation,
would be awarded to a community within the Weed and Seed area who could
demonstrate the best overall plan aimed at meeting the two goals of SNAP:
- to enhance the quality of life, and
- to increase safety and security for private and the business residents
of the community.
All 37 members of the NW Insurance Council supported SNAP, with SAFECO,
State Farm, Farmers, PEMCO, Allstate, Mutual of Enumclaw, and Liberty
Mutual being most actively involved.
Selection Process
A request for proposal was mailed to all neighborhood councils within
the Weed and Seed area of Seattle. Each had 45 days to submit a proposal
and plan for their neighborhood that would meet the goals of the SNAP
project. The NW Insurance Council executive committee, the Weed and Seed
advisory board, and department heads at the City of Seattle selected the
Jackson Place Community Council to receive the grant.
The Jackson Place Community covers about 25 square blocks and contains
approximately 350 homes and 45 businesses. A needs assessment survey
showed that this is a stable neighborhood with 30% of the residents having
lived there for over 20 years and 67% for more than five years. Of those
surveyed, 63% owned their homes, compared with the 47% owner occupancy
rate for the City of Seattle.
According to survey results, Jackson Place has a higher than average
population of seniors (65 and older) living in the neighborhood: 27% compared
with 12% in the City of Seattle. The survey showed Jackson Place as a
diverse neighborhood with 31% Caucasian, 30% Asian/Pacific Islander, 21%
African American, and 18% other. This compares with 75% Caucasian, 12%
Asian/Pacific Islander, 10% African American, and 5% other reported for
the City of Seattle from the 1990 census.
Results
Decrease Crime (increase safety)
- English and Vietnamese block watch programs were implemented with
support from the Seattle Police Department.
- Identification kits (bar code ID stickers) were distributed, free
of charge, to each resident of the neighborhood.
- Smoke detector vouchers were distributed to residents. Each voucher
allowed a household to obtain two free smoke detectors for their home.
- 14 new Street lights were installed to provide a safe and pleasant
walkway through the heart of the Jackson Place neighborhood.
Improve the Appearance of the Neighborhood
- Tree circles were cleared of trash and vegetation and planted with
a variety of flowers and small plants. Residents have adopted these
areas and will continue to be responsible for their care.
- 70 trees were purchased and planted in parking strips throughout the
neighborhood. During the spring of 1996, 40 more trees were planted.
- A tool bank was developed and implemented to provide household, yard,
and painting tools that will be available to members on a nominal fee
basis.
- A program was implemented to assist residents in painting their homes.
Neighbors could be reimbursed for up to $400.00 in paint and painting
supplies to improve the appearance of their houses.
- Gerard Tsutakawa, a renowned local artist, designed a public art piece
that will provide neighborhood identity.
- Youths, from in and around the community, were hired on three separate
occasions to clean-up areas within the community.
- 50 volunteers from the Jackson Place Community conducted a massive
spring clean in April 1995. The Seattle Solid Waste Utility provided
free trash pick-up and local businesses provided food and beverages.
Decrease Non-Resident Auto Traffic,
- A traffic consultant was hired to assist in developing a plan to decrease
the number of cars speeding through the neighborhood. This resulted
in a three-phase plan, the first phase, installing signs, paint, and
traffic buttons, was completed during the SNAP project. The second phase,
installing street choker to narrown the busiest streets to one lane,
is to be completed in 1996. Completion of phase two will determine
the need for phase three.
Increase Resident Participation in Community Activities
- A vacant lot within the neighborhood was leased from a local business
to provide the community with a P-patch. The area was fenced, cleared,
leveled, and segregated into thirteen plots. A tool shed was installed
and stocked with garden tools and a compost bin was built. For its second
year of operation, the P-Patch has a waiting list of people requesting
a plot.
- The Jackson Place Community Council rented a room within the Japanese
Language School to provide a space for meetings, workshops, and a working
space. The room was cleaned, painted, and floors refinished and supplies
were purchased to provide a working office. The office is used
daily by staff and provides a computer, phone (including answering machine
with a "Jackson Place Information line"), and sense of identity
for the Council.
- A monthly newsletter is published and distributed to every home and
business in the Jackson Place Community. The newsletter provides information
about SNAP projects and how to get involved, feature articles about
the history of Jackson Place, the "Ask Officer Knight" column,
and updates concerning the Hiawatha Place project. Advertising is sold
in order to offset the cost of publishing and distributing.
Improve the Quality of Life for Community Residents.
- A needs assessment survey was conducted, door-to-door, to obtain an
understanding of problems in the community. 72% of the 350 household
neighborhood was surveyed and results tallied to provide guidance in
planning community programs.
- An outreach worker was hired to work with residents who required special
attention. Such work included coordinating crime prevention meetings
in Vietnamese language, publishing a resource book of local service
agencies and city departments, and troubleshooting neighborhood problems.
- Jackson Place Community Council was host to three parties during the
grant period. Two holiday parties (December 1994 and December 1995)
and a Halloween party in October 1995. Each was a success, bringing
adult and children residents together for a positive social gathering.
- Three family film festivals were held during the summer of 1995.
- Workshops were offered to the residents of Jackson Place and in most
cases included a Vietnamese interpreter. The workshops were held at
the Jackson Place Community Council office and included topics such
as gardening, composting, and soil preparation. A Red Cross Baby-sitting
Certification course was offered free of charge and each graduate was
asked to volunteer to baby-sit at one general meeting of the Community
Council. The name and phone number of each graduate was maintained in
a pool at the council office and used as a referral for residents looking
for sitters.
- The Jackson Place Community Council and the City of Seattle are working
together to develop Hiawatha Place into a mulit-use development incorporating
market-rate housing, commercial industrial, retail and open space. The
city has assigned a preliminary budget and a staff person to the project.
Hiawatha is not a SNAP project, however, the Jackson Place Community
Council believes that the success of the SNAP project has given the
city of Seattle confidence in the residents of Jackson Place.
Jackson Place Community Council has worked closely with several divisions
at the Seattle Police Department to help decrease crime in the neighborhood.
Most notably, the community successfully abated a drug house which had
been a problem for decades. Many prostitutes and drug dealers have been
arrested. The Weller Street apartments, low-income housing for the elderly
and disabled, received much-needed outreach for Vietnamese residents.
The South-East Asian Outreach worker from the Seattle Police Department
came out to teach residents about American police, and how to call 911.
This has led to two active Block Watches in the building - one
English speaking and one Vietnamese speaking.
Increased networking between residents and the Police Department has
not only produced these successes, but has connected many residents with
members of the Community Police Team. John Knight, the Community Police
Team Officer in Jackson Place said, "Getting to know citizens on
a personal basis creates a sense of trust, making people feel more comfortable
calling the police. Knowing individuals to call for on-going problems
and non-emergency situations helps to ensure a lower crime rate."
Project Management
It is vital to the success of SNAP projects that the selected community
maintains primary control over the project and decisions surrounding it.
In order to empower the recipients of the grant, they must be able to
prove to themselves, and others, that they are capable of administering
an undertaking of this size.
Residents of the community must feel responsible for the results of the
project in order to maintain successes, as well as to instill a feeling
of pride within the community. This will not happen if the funders come
into the community and try to "fix" the problems for them. To
make a long-term impact on the community, residents must be empowered
to help themselves.
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