by Richard Flyer
I have been a resident of Southeastern San Diego and Logan Heights for 13 of the 15 years I have lived in San Diego.
I was a founder and Executive Director of Neighbors United from 1992 until February 1996. I have subsequently moved on to other efforts in the same local area.
Currently, I live in the Stockton area. I am a community resident and a man who has a vested interest (i.e. my family) in seeing my neighborhood develop in a positive direction. Living in the same neighborhood as I work gives me a distinct perspective on what we feel our community needs.
NU was born out of a massive neighborhood anti-drug effort on Webster Ave. in Logan Heights. I lived on this street during our efforts there. Weekly community meetings with residents, marches, linking up with the police, relevant city of San Diego offices, schools, churches, social agencies and numerous interested individuals led to the closure of ten drug houses on the street and almost complete containment of the problem.
In consultation with the community, NU shifted its focus from street organizing to community development once the street drug problem had been rendered benign. This provided for 1) creation of the first community building block, 2) establishment of a business for and controlled by the community, and 3) training of local residents to operate the store itself. On December 14, 1995 the new Neighbors United Community Market opened serving Logan Heights community.
Since moving on from Neighbors United I have been developing the Movement for Beloved Community idea--- as a way to connect local efforts with global ones. We are planning a new organizing effort this fall 1996.
Please send comments to rflyer@earthlink.net