Fostering hope in Merrillwood

Safe haven to offer after school activities

On Saturday, children in Alachua’s Merrillwood neighborhood found relief from the heat along with fun and free food thanks to the Kiwanis Club of Santa Fe.  The club has been painting the Alachua Police Department substation that will serve as a safe haven for children in the low-income neighborhood and offer structured after school activities. 

With the clock ticking on the countdown to the school year’s opening day bell, local Kiwanians have been doubling their efforts to help some local youngsters. While many children have a variety of after school choices, some kids don’t. That's why members of the Santa Fe Kiwanis Club have been spending their Saturdays up to their elbows in paint, working to spruce up a local gathering place in the city of Alachua.

The Alachua Police Department (APD) substation in the Merrillwood neighborhood of Alachua will soon be what Kiwanis Club members are calling a “safe haven” for children.  Located within Merrillwood’s low income public housing community, the substation is surrounded by the 40 homes owned by the Alachua County Housing Authority.  The Housing Authority offers reduced rental rates for those who qualify, but the agency does not offer any special amenities for the many children who live in what some locals call “the projects.”

While after school activities for some children range from privately offered care to enrichment classes such as music, dance, gymnastics, academics, etc., for most of the Merrillwood children, after school activities consist of the walk home from school to the neighborhood, television, video games, and maybe just hanging out with friends.  One of the biggest problems facing children coming from a low income family is the lack of money for outside school expenses.

The Kiwanis Club is hoping to change that, and with the support of the APD, when children head home after school in a few short weeks, they will have some place to go that will offer structured activities that are fun and supervised.

Kiwanis member Rick Hill said that the 23-member High Springs club has been working to help transform the substation into more than a law enforcement stronghold, but a safe haven for the neighborhood’s children. Among those pitching in Saturday were club members Hill, High Springs Commissioner Sue Weller and husband, Tom Weller, Felicia DeCoursey and husband, Calvin.

Setting the stage for the after school program, on Saturday the Kiwanis Club members threw a kickoff party, serving up grilled hotdogs, chips and chilled soft drinks to neighborhood youngsters.  And with the addition of inflatable water slides, several dozen children were attracted to the excitement.  Nine-year-old Ray Anderson, a student at Alachua Elementary, wasted no time in diving onto a make-shift slip-n-slide, a large heavy duty plastic tarp spread over the grass, and doused in a combination of water and liquid soap.

The celebration also brought out Alachua Mayor Gib Coerper.  “The City of Alachua appreciates the Kiwanis Club for doing this for the children of this community,” said Coerper. “The Kiwanis motto is to serve children, and they are certainly doing that here.  We are pleased they not only assist in the High Springs area, but they reach into Alachua as well. We appreciate their hard work and efforts.”

APD Police Chief Joel DeCoursey was on hand with a small contingent of the police force.  DeCoursey believes the substation is a great location to reach neighborhood children and is grateful to the Kiwanis Club for their work to improve the building, which he admits was in “deplorable condition.”

“It’s about giving back to the community,” DeCoursey said. “The Kiwanis Club helped a daycare center in High Springs, and now they’re working to improve the substation here in Alachua, and help the children.”

“This is a reward to the neighborhood kids for having a good school year,” said DeCoursey about the party.  “Most of these children,” he said, pointing at the excited group of youngsters, “are honor roll students.” DeCoursey added that the law enforcement presence at the summer celebration, with the backdrop of the picnic and the water games, is a means of showing the kids that police officers are more than “guys who chase bad guys.”

“We are real people and we can be their friend,” he said.  “This sort of activity helps break down barriers, and can help guide these children down the right path.”  DeCoursey explained it is this type of relationship that helps the youngsters understand they can come to the police for help.  “We at the APD certainly appreciate all the help the Kiwanis Club is giving to us here. This leads the children into developing a positive attitude about life, and that one day, they too will give back to their community.”

Several APD Explorers, under the direction of Detective Carrie Lund, stopped by to survey the progress of the project.  Lund said the youth group was present in an unofficial capacity; they just wanted to be part of the day’s activities.  The Explorers use the substation frequently and know many of the children in the neighborhood.  “We care about these children and this building,” said Lund.  “This is our place, too, and we look at these children as part of our extended family.”

While the inside of the building and portions of the exterior have received new coats of paint, there is still more to be done.  Club members say the next steps include renovation of the floors and new blinds for the windows.  But if the smiles on the children’s faces are any indication, the project is already a resounding success.