Fall River's Flint neighborhood gets brighter with the help of YEAH! Corps artists

FALL RIVER — Things are looking brighter in the Flint.

With a little help from some talented teen artists, the struggling neighborhood is getting some much-welcome attention.

The YEAH! Corps team has taken to the streets this summer to add a splash of color to Pleasant Street, joining in the city's effort to make what was once considered Fall River's second downtown — which has been plagued by blight over the years — vibrant again.

Over the past few weeks, the teens have been busy beautifying the area with an outdoor mural and painted crosswalks with the goal of "making their community better through art," said YEAH! Corps founder Susan Wolfson.

"It encourages pride in that area," Wolfson said. "They're trying to show the beauty of the Flint and trying to encourage people to come and visit and appreciate the Flint and bring it back for the people that live there and the people that visit ... and trying to get their businesses back and humming too."

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The project was part of the summer program at YEAH! Corps, a nonprofit that recruits Fall River-area youth ages 14 to 19 and offers them paying jobs in the arts, such as designing and creating murals and other public art displays in the community.

According to Wolfson, close to 30 teenagers participated in this summer's program, which included three different projects throughout the city.

Last week they added a special creative touch to the side of a building at 1625 Pleasant St., toward Eastern Avenue.

And if you're driving through the Flint this week you'll find the young artists out there painting crosswalks — a first for the city. One is located at Eastern Avenue and Pleasant Street and the other at Quarry and Pleasant streets.

These pedestrian-focused additions tie in with the city's ongoing efforts to revitalize the Flint neighborhood into a walkable economic engine for Fall River.

'Make Pleasant Street pleasant again': Flint revitalization puts small businesses, pedestrians 'front and center'

The Flint projects give the teen artists a chance to shine, while also shining a spotlight on the long-forgotten Pleasant Street strip, once bustling with shops, restaurants and a movie theater.

"The Flint, even more than the downtown, was the place to go," Wolfson said.

"Now there's a lot of blight there and lot of closed-up shops," Wolfson said. "[The YEAH! Corps projects] aim to help businesses come back and help residents add some beauty to the visual scene there."

YEAH! Corps: Fall River's teens finding paying jobs as artists

In addition to their work in the Flint, YEAH! Corps collaborated with Mass in Motion to create a QRRT Storybook Trail along the 1.4 mile Quequechan River walking/biking path. It's made up of 50 campaign sign-sized story boards to engage young kids.

Funding for the summer projects was provided by MassHire, Fall River's Youth Initiative, the Grimshaw-Gudewicz Charitable Foundation, Bristol County Savings Bank and BayCoast Bank.

According to Wolfson, even though they were tasked with working in not-so-optimal conditions, dealing with soaring summer temps, the YEAH! Corps team said they loved the experience.

And they've gotten lots of rave reviews from the community along the way.

"We feel a sense of accomplishment when you see that people, including the youth, can really make a difference," Wolfson said.

This article originally appeared on The Herald News: Fall River's Flint neighborhood gets brighter with the help of YEAH! Corps artists