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 | Press Release
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| Fort Charlotte urban renewal praised
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| Gladstone Thurston)
Bahamas Information Services
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| 01/30/2006
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Inspector Mary Mitchell-Rolle (left) and a part of her team at the Fort Charlotte Urban Renewal Project. (BIS photo by Gladstone Thurston)
Fort Charlotte residents are singing the praises of urban renewal in their communities.
Headed by Inspector Mary Mitchell-Rolle, the project came as a dose of strong tonic to this impoverished community, once among New Providence’s elites.
“They are doing a great work,” said veteran educator Coral Huyler of the Nassau-McQuay Streets community. “I have seen a lot of improvement. It is something that we need.”
Added sportsman Jeff Brown: “This is the best thing that could ever happen for Fort Charlotte. We tried a lot of projects and started a lot of committees but we were never able to get to the people. With urban renewal we are able to get to the gut of things.”
Genice Rolle, who heads the Fort Charlotte community committee, said residents “are very proud of our urban renewal project, especially under the leadership of Insp Mitchell-Rolle and her team. They are doing a very good job.”
Urban renewal was established in Fort Charlotte in February 2004. Six months later Inspector Mitchell-Rolle was given command of the post.
“We work as a task force with social services, environmental health and the police to combat the social ills that affect the community and its environment,” said Insp Mitchell-Rolle, “and provide sustainable programmes that promote the betterment of the community.”
Her team is complemented by the community steering committee which is comprised of residents of the nine communities of the Fort Charlotte constituency.
Their programmes include boys and girls clubs, the senior citizens association, general counseling, parenting classes, empowerment classes, health seminars, the youth marching band, workshops and community socials.
“Rather than provide everything that the residents need, we also seek to empower them to become self sufficient and self reliant,” said Insp Mitchell-Rolle.
Urban renewal in Fort Charlotte is particularly noticeable on the environment. Vacant lots have been cleaned and cleared, derelict vehicles taken away, abandoned buildings demolished and refuse dumped.
“Again it is towards empowering individuals because we find that unless we go out there and sensitize the public as to exactly what we are trying to achieve, in the matter of a month or so we find that the derelict vehicles return,” said Insp Mitchell-Rolle. “So, as with everything we do, we are trying to find a sustainable cause in doing so.”
Social worker Rosemary Bain underscored the need to help members of the community to help themselves.
“We want to see an apprentice programme in the urban renewal project areas,” she said, “where tradespersons and those who operate businesses take on students and teach them a trade.
“That would keep them off the streets and in a structured environment where they would be gaining some self worth, and developing a skill.
“We are going to be using people from our community to help the young people in our community to be able to do things to ultimately help themselves, their little space and ultimately the wider society.”
Health inspector Marie Russell of the Department of Environmental Health Services and assigned to the Fort Charlotte project, had to issue some prosecutions.
“We still have some challenges in terms of keeping the community clean,” she noted. “Environmental Health is a visible department. You can see the old cars, the overgrown lots, the abandoned buildings, the garbage accumulation. We are here to see if we can get the communities to work along with us in cleaning up the areas. You need good health to live so you should live in a clean environment.”
Jeff Brown, a member of the community committee dreams of Fort Charlotte returning to its glory days as community of society’s elite.
“We want to keep it that way,” said Brown. “We want to make this better than any other community. And we want to make sure that politics does not play a part.
“We get a lot of good responses from the residents. Once it is good for them they will co-operate. And they can see that urban renewal is for their betterment.”
Charlotte
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