Wichita State University's Shocker Neighborhood Coalition (SNC) has worked alongside Fairmount neighborhood residents over the past year to build a healthy and active community south of the campus.

The coalition, led by Ted Ayres, director of Community Engagement and Opportunity, was established last February. With seven focus areas, the coalition provides a reference point for the communities surrounding the university.

“We want to let the neighborhood people know that we care and we’re interested and we have resources,” says Ayres.

In May 2015, the SNC received a grant from the Kansas Health Foundation to assist in community engagement of the Fairmount neighborhood. Following the acceptance of the grant, a community meeting was held to determine what residents wanted to accomplish over the next three years.

The first goal was to develop a sense of accountability by focusing on public safety, personal safety and code compliance.

“A person has to feel safe before they can enjoy their community,” says Darryl Carrington, community liaison for the university. “Sometimes it’s not the lack of safety, it’s the perceived lack of safety that makes people feel unsafe.”

Changing that perception was one of the biggest accomplishments the SNC made over the past year.

“When Letitia’s body was found, it was like paralysis,” says Carrington, referencing the brutal attack in Fairmount Park of Letitia Davis that led to the SNC’s formation.

“That’s been reversed,” he says. “There are more people in the park now than I’ve ever seen.”

Carrington has worked alongside community members to bring people together through events and activities in the park, as well as through displays of public art, which Carrington said are visual statements of the neighborhoods intention to bring people together.

A diverse demographic

As they work to unite the community, Carrington says it’s important to look at the range of diversity within the neighborhood.

Because of the large student population, the average age in Fairmount is only 35 years old. Not only is there significant diversity in age, but also nationality, education and economics.

The neighborhood is making several changes to the park to appeal to this diversity. The tennis courts were removed and are being replaced with a multi-functional court for futsal, a version of soccer popular with international students.

“It’s a wonderful thing to live in a college community,” says Carrington. “We have this dichotomy that we can really take advantage of.”

Developing an identity

The next step in the community’s action plan is to develop an identity for the neighborhood to rally around. This will be based not only on the rich history of the neighborhood, but also on the needs and wants of Fairmount residents.

The neighborhood association plans to survey residents to discover what those needs are and cater to them as the shops and buildings surrounding the neighborhood are developed.

Carrington also hopes to install signage throughout the neighborhood to create a subliminal message welcoming people home. The signs will also serve as a reminder to visitors to treat the community with respect.

Ayres says the Shocker Neighborhood Coalition will to continue to offer assistance in this community-driven effort to revitalize Fairmount neighborhood.

“It’s the university, the city and the neighborhood, and everyone is doing the right thing so it’s very powerful,” says Ayres.

After the Kansas Health Foundation grant ends, the university plans to target the other neighborhoods surrounding the campus.

“Fairmount is just a pilot program,” says Carrington. “What we learn here we’ll take everywhere else.”