The city of Waterbury, Conn. had been facing a growing epidemic of neighborhood blight for decades. Some properties had been abandoned; others harbored criminal activity. Porches, lawns, and sidewalks along entire streets had fallen into disrepair. Leaders of the 650-member Greater Waterbury Board of REALTORS® met with the mayor and launched a neighborhood stabilization program to do something about it. Funded by a $5,000 Housing Opportunity Grant from NAR, which was doubly matched by the City of Waterbury for a total of $15,000, the first annual Waterbury Citywide Front Porch Day in July 2012 brought together over 300 volunteers to clean up ten blight-ridden Waterbury streets. Follow-up meetings are now occurring with neighborhood groups and a date for the 2013 Front Porch Day will soon be announced.
- Read more about GWBR’s Front Porch Day Program (1.42M PDF)
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