Recent violence prompts community clean up project

DAYTON, Ohio (WDTN) — A community is coming together to help make a difference after a recent uptick in violence.

Residents spent Saturday morning cleaning up the South Park and Oregon District neighborhoods, working to make the area safer for all, after one of their neighbors was assaulted nearby.

The Dayton area experienced four shootings in the past week , including one shooting in the southern part of the Oregon District on Park Manor Drive . Following the gun violence and recent assaults reported in the area, one community decided it’s time to take action and help make the area safer, one step at a time.

Cleaning up what once was taken over by trees and bushes, neighbors, friends and family specifically focused on the pedestrian bridge over U.S. Route 35 that connects South Park and the Oregon District.

“It gets overgrown every year,” said Michael Triola, local resident. “It was pretty overgrown in the last couple of weeks. It definitely needed it.”

Emmatt James says a late night assault prompted the project.

“One of our friends was unfortunately attacked a couple of nights ago on the pathway right over here,” said Emmatt James, local resident. “And because of the low visibility of a brush cover, they weren’t able to see this person. I think a lot of people used it less in the past, especially because of how crowded it is. It just, you know, low visibility. Safety was definitely a concern.”

But that wasn’t the only violent incident around that area — just recently on Wednesday, police were called to investigate a shooting that occurred around the corner on Park Manor Drive.

Residents say the goal of today is to help reduce those incidents.

“Hopefully by cleaning this up and getting more people through here, we’ll have more foot traffic of local neighbors connecting and mingling and, you know, using what the bridge was intended for,” said James.

Over 30 people shows up to take part in helping clean up Dayton. One resident says he read about the event on Facebook. He says volunteering like this always goes a long way.

“It’s just that’s the only way things get done is if people will volunteer their time,” said Triola. “And otherwise, things like this, they don’t get done. In South Park, we always have a lot of group cleanups over there. I’m sure others do the same thing.”

If you are interested in hosting your own clean up event, the City of Dayton has services and resources in place to help make it easier, like bulk waste removal and more. Click here to learn more.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to WDTN.com.