By Carmen Duarte
ARIZONA DAILY STAR
Town halls can work.
People who participated in Tucson's first media-sponsored town hall, last year's Rebuilding Tucson's Families, say the event got people talking about the problems.
What's better, said the Rev. Mike Martinez, is that the talk has not ended, and changes in neighborhoods and families are happening.
"People started looking at issues facing families, and they realized there was a lot of work to be done," said Martinez, who participated in the Father's Day 2000 forum at El Pueblo Neighborhood Center that attracted nearly 400 people.
"This media effort got people to act," said Martinez. "Some of the neighborhood groups became stronger and I invite people to look at their talents and get involved."
Martinez, who was reassigned from Midtown's St. Ambrose Catholic Church to the Northwest Side's St. Elizabeth Ann Seton Parish, works with troubled youth.
He, like others, said problems have not disappeared across the city - especially with recent homicides in Midtown - but more people are trying to make a difference.
South Sixth changes are 'remarkable'
By Carmen Duarte
A South Side corridor that turned deadly for three people on Easter 2000 has undergone a metamorphosis.
It came about after police, businesses and area residents worked together to stop the violence.
That violence flared up in the early hours of Easter last year, when three people died and six others were injured in two separate shootings that broke out within an hour on South Sixth Avenue near Ajo Way.
As cops - at times numbering up to 70 - swarmed South Sixth in the summer of 2000, traffic stops led to confiscations of weapons, drugs and alcohol.
"We learned that when we patrolled South Sixth heavily we drove people to West Veterans Boulevard and South 12th Avenue," said Lt. Mark Napier of the Tucson Police Department's South Side Division.
"We were bringing problems into the neighborhoods, so we quickly began patrolling the entire area.
"For the last 16 months, we have not had a homicide or aggravated assault related to cruising on South Sixth Avenue. It is remarkable what's happened."
In 2000, Tucson police homicide detectives investigated 59 murders in the city. This year there have been 28 homicides.
Now that police have restored calm to South Sixth, they are befriending "legitimate cruisers," as Napier puts it.
"We are getting ready to organize the fourth cruising event - this time on Speedway - in which cops provide traffic control," Napier said. "The events attract people from across the city, and 50 participated in the third cruise on South Sixth that attracted lowriders and Euro sports car drivers. My wife cruised in my minivan. My kids thought it was cool."
Napier said that even though South Sixth is under control, weekend police patrols are here to stay.
"We are not going away, and we are not going to tolerate a reoccurrence of crimes experienced in the past," he said.
Lupe Rodriguez, president of the Fairgrounds Neighborhood Association, said police are doing a remarkable job keeping South Side neighborhoods safer.
"Officers are open and communicate with us," Rodriguez said. "They get an earful from us and are here to support us."
Manny Herrera, a retired Nogales postmaster and president of the Sunnyside Neighborhood Association, said residents have built a trust with police and are now reporting crimes and suspicious activity.
A Town Hall last year that focused on Tucson's families "got people talking to each other and more have gotten to know their neighbors," Herrera said.
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The community is invited to get involved Friday, when parents, teachers and students will gather at a second media-sponsored town hall, this time to discuss education. The aim of the forum is to get everyone involved in teaching Tucson's children.
Subjects and participants in last year's effort credited the Rebuilding Families town hall with:
* Improving safety on South Sixth Avenue.
* Increasing neighborhood cleanups.
* Getting more youths to join organized activities.
* Increasing the number of children partnered with mentors, and creating a need for more mentors.
* Having families featured as role models seen as heroes in their neighborhoods.
Martinez said that since last year's town hall he has received more than 100 calls from families across the city seeking help.
"The calls still come in every time a station reruns the forum," Martinez said.
As a town hall panelist, Martinez urged viewers to let youth know they are loved because it is that first spark of hope that gets them back on the right path.
He and others praised the June 2000 town hall that convened after a weeklong series by Tucson's media focusing on issues that tore away at families.
The Star series kicked off with a portrait of the city's South Side - where three people were killed and six others were injured in two separate Easter morning shootings on South Sixth Avenue.
The Star series touched upon one-parent families, latchkey kids, youth who stayed out late, gangs, divorce and kids having kids. Each day, two stories were published - one explained the problem and the other offered possible solutions.
The series spurred readers to write letters or call in to offer solutions. It culminated in the televised forum on local television stations.
Safer street
Today, South Side residents say South Sixth Avenue is much safer.
Lt. Mark Napier of the Tucson Police Department's South Side Division said heavy patrols on weekend nights began after the Easter morning slayings.
"We partnered with neighborhood associations and more than 120 businesses to get a better grasp about quality-of-life issues. We worked with Councilman Steve Leal's office to identify problems and all of us together have been very, very successful."
Manny Herrera, a retired Nogales postmaster and president of the Sunnyside Neighborhood Association, said his association is still active in neighborhood cleanups and recognizing Sunnyside Unified School District students for educational achievement.
Neighborhood involvement
He and Lupe Rodriguez, president of the Fairgrounds Neighborhood Association on the South Side, said participation in their associations has doubled to about 55 people.
Rodriguez said police and Councilman Leal have worked with residents on curtailing liquor licenses.
Southwest Side resident Jerry Neely, whose parents sent him to recreation centers as a boy, began working with youths at age 18. He has worked at numerous centers coordinating activities for thousands of families and kids each year.
During last year's town hall, Neely worked as a recreation assistant at the South Side El Pueblo Activities Center and said about 300 more kids joined activities at the center after the media coverage.
Neely, who is now the program coordinator at Downtown's Armory Senior Center, said the community needs to stay focused on kids.
"So many of the parents who neglect their children will not change. That is their life - partying with their boyfriends or girlfriends," he said. "But if you try and reach their kids, you can still influence them and keep their hope alive."
One-On-One Partners, a mentoring group included in the Star's series, was among nearly 30 organizations sought by parents trying to get help for their children.
Waiting list shrinks
"We have 60 children on our waiting list now, and our biggest need is mentors. We have 95 children matched with mentors," said Don McNeill, executive director of the agency.
Last year, the agency had 90 children on a waiting list.
"The media exposure given to agencies helped because it let people know what we are doing, and how much is lacking here for children," said McNeill, adding that the state still ranks low nationwide when it comes to funding services for kids.
Homemaker Maria Romero and her husband, Francisco, a former San Manuel miner who now works for Sun Tran maintaining buses, were featured in the Star's series. The South Side couple are heroes to many and their telephone still rings with parents asking for advice in raising their children.
Living by example
The couple struggled but had five children graduate from the University of Arizona with degrees in business administration, political science, public administration and psychology.
A sixth child graduated from Pima Community College and their seventh child attends Pima now.
"It's incredible how many people telephoned us congratulating us for being role models to younger parents," said Maria Romero.
"As I told my children, 'Each one of you is special and I love you. You are a gift from God and I am here for you.'"
* Contact Carmen Duarte at 573-4195 or at cduarte@azstarnet.com.
