CINCINNATI —

Dozens of volunteers came together at Irving Playground in Avondale to help revitalize a blighted park and to help police with a new plan to fight crime.

“It's extremely exciting to see everybody dive in like they are now,” volunteer Michael Neade said.

About 50 volunteers planted hundreds of flowers and plants. The Cincinnati Zoo and Mad Tree Brewing accounted for the bulk of the volunteers.

“Today is not where it stops. So, it continues to grow and get better,” volunteer Catie Bechstamper said.

At the same time, there’s another plan weaved into the revitalization effort. It’s devised by police because of crime problems at the park.

“I was getting a lot of complaints about nuisance, drug dealing, crowds, violent behavior, in this exact park,” Cincinnati Police Sgt. Jeff Meister said. “We just kind of chose this, put all efforts into Irving Playground.”

Meister said they’re working with a new concept that uses environmental design to help prevent crime.

The idea is that involving the community makes them more invested in keeping the area safe. It gives them a sense of ownership in the project.

“It's all about relationships, right? Like between the pollinators in the plants, between the neighborhood and all of the organizations around, between the city officials and everybody who is involved in making this project happen,” said Cincinnati Zoo director of community partnerships and conservation Mollie O’Neil. “Spaces like this in nature really do help people root and a sense of place and then care for this area and make great memories.”

CINCINNATI —

Christmas came a little early to a few hundred children in Avondale Friday as a group of men from the community was happy to be the ones to play Santa, giving kids in the neighborhood a fresh pair of wheels.

Two words could sum up what children in Avondale were feeling this Christmas Eve.

"So happy!" said Kimora Porker who received a bike.

The joy of riding off on a brand new bike was well worth the wait in the line to get there that stretched around the building.

"It's an overjoy for a kid to get a big gift and a big gift as a bike," said Mike Ward.

Ward and his brother, Rodney Summers, grew up in Avondale. For the past three years, their group of friends has partnered with Rev. Anthony Peek of Living God Church.

"It's just to see the smiles on the kids' faces, you know that, and the parents who couldn't originally afford this during this particular time where things have been economically hard for them," said Peek.

These men say it's important for them to show up for the children in their community, not only because they care but they can relate.

"When me and him were little, we wanted bikes and racetracks. We just like to see that warm smile that we know we put on their faces," said Ward.

Children like Jamie'on Smith couldn't stop admiring his new bike.

"I think that and I didn't have a kike in a little while, so I'm gonna have a nice time driving it," he said.

Kimora Porker woke her mom up early to get her bike.

"They were overly excited. I told them yesterday that we had to be here, and they woke me up early so we could get here," said Porker's mom, Victoria.

It was a first-come, first-serve event. Around 200 bikes were given away, along with coats, gloves and pizza. They hope to continue the bike giveaway in the future.

LaVonda Evans spoke about the unspeakable at Cincinnati City Hall on Tuesday morning. Her only son, 16-year-old Ladarius Evans, was shot and killed during a quadruple shooting in Walnut Hills in June.

"Words can't even explain,” Evans said. “It was a moment of disbelief, hurt, pain, confused. I was hoping it was a bad dream."

Evans is now asking city leaders for change. In front of city council’s Law and Public Safety committee she pleaded for a solution to gun violence for her son's sake.

"This was a loss that I had to take,” she said. “Half of my heart is gone. And this is what he'd want me to do."

Community anti-violence advocate pastor Ennis Tait is also looking for solutions to the city’s string of summer shootings, many of which have injured or killed young teenagers.

"We have to look at it in the way we describe it as public health crisis, just as we did with COVID," Tait said. “All the teams came together."

Tait is asking the city to take an “all-in” approach to gun violence.

"Where everyone in their respective roles were at the table bringing their resources and their wisdom and their knowledge,” he said.

Tait is putting that idea into practice at the Business Center in Avondale on Reading Road that houses his ministries offices. There the Positive Force Collaborative is expanding and establishing a dedicated center. The program will address issues like violence, poverty and trauma among other issues.

"We were using other spaces, but now we have where they're going to be trained and be developed,” Tait said. “But, they'll also receive mentoring."

Tait also said he hopes the expansion can lead to more resources for people.

"In Cincinnati we have a commitment to doing research, we invest a lot in research, we invest in a lot of opinions,” he said. “We don't do a whole lot in people."

Tait hopes the space will be ready to go in three months, and the sooner the better to start changing lives before it’s too late, as it was for Ladarius Evans’ mother.

"This is a lifelong loss for me,” said Evans. “I have to deal with this everyday. Every movement. He's supposed to graduate next year, go to prom. I will never get to experience that, never with him."

If you know anything about the shooting June 17 in Walnut Hills, please call Crime Stoppers at 513-352-3040.

CINCINNATI —

If you haven't seen Avondale lately, it is shaping up its image in several sections of that old neighborhood often maligned because of crime and drug activity.

Hundreds of volunteers spent the day there spreading hundreds of cubic yards of topsoil and mulch for 10,000 plants in a new urban learning garden at Rockdale Academy.

Bill Witten, who has been a part of the Avondale Community for more than a generation, said, "This should touch all the youth in Avondale in some kind of way, whether it be educational, activity, whatever. There's some great stuff goin' on."

A couple months ago, it was a barren patch of brown earth. It looked a lot different today thanks to 300 volunteers and four heavy hitters who are heavily invested in its success.

Children's Hospital, P&G, the Reds and the Cincinnati Zoo.

"It's all right here," commented Cincinnati Zoo horticulturist Steve Foltz. "They can just walk right outside into the greatest lab that I think is around in the country."

A few blocks away, 3,000 free toys were being distributed as part of Avondale's makeover. The creativity spilled into the sprucing up of the nearby Boys and Girls Club.

"You don't want to just bring contractors in and say, well look, here's the investment," remarked Charley Frank, executive director of the Reds Community Fund. "You know, the more skin that the neighborhood has in the game, naturally the more they're gonna care."

Caring hands were painting a changing picture.

Artist Brent Billingsley worked on a mural of the Tuskegee Airmen.

When asked about the significance of today's community work, he responded, "Thirty-plus kids from this neighborhood help work on this. To me, that's what's important."

He mentioned how it gives children pride to participate in something bigger than themselves.

"You will run into a whole lot of hopelessness in some of these communities," he said. "Some of the kids, they're just looking for something to do. They're looking for somebody to point 'em in the right direction."

Avondale's direction Thursday was worth cutting a ribbon over. They did that around 4 p.m.

Not far from a new greenhouse bordered by Persimmon, Juneberry and Pawpaw trees, symbolic of Avondale's newfound growth.

CINCINNATI — Last month, Kimberly Thomas forced her landlord to restore hot water to a 25-unit apartment building in Avondale.

This week, the landlord forced her out.

And that has led to a review of eviction procedures by the Hamilton County Clerk of Courts.

"Every eviction is tragic,” said Liza Brackman, chief of compliance for the clerk’s office. “This instance, however, shows that we have more work to do to protect residents from eviction. We are reviewing our policies and will improve our processes to make them fair and equitable."

The eviction capped a turbulent two months for the mother of two teenage sons, whose struggles against her out-of-town landlord were documented by the WCPO 9 I-Team in a Feb. 18 report that detailed building-code violations against an apartment building at 810 N. Fred Shuttlesworth Circle. The property is owned by a limited liability company that shares a mailing address with Elijah Rashaed, a West Palm Beach, Florida-based real estate investor who operates under the corporate name, BWB Properties.

Rashaed declined to comment on his ownership of the building, but said he obtained Thomas' eviction legally.

"I don't know the judge," he said. "I don't know anyone there. So, apparently they saw the merits of that."

Court records show BWB Properties sued Thomas for eviction in early January, claiming she overstayed her month-to-month tenancy. Thomas claimed Rashaed reneged on a promise to sign a lease after she made repairs to her unit, an allegation Rashaed disputed in a March 4 interview.

"We never promised to sign a lease with her or anyone" Rashaed said. "She was doing more damage than she was helping (with her repairs) and we told her to stop it."

By the time the company won a writ of eviction against Thomas on Feb. 1, she was shining a light on code violations in her building, including leaks that damaged walls, ceilings and floors, along with a lack of heat and hot water.

That led to fines against BWB Properties, which restored hot water on Feb. 12 but has yet to resolve many of the 15 other violations written by city inspectors, according to city records. Rashaed said all repairs will be completed by the end of March.

Appealing her case without an attorney, Thomas won a brief stay of execution on Feb. 5. That gave her some time to connect with local nonprofits and search for a new place to live. But that reprieve ended Feb. 17 when her appeal was denied. The writ of eviction was re-issued Feb. 26.

Thomas said a court employee told her the eviction was scheduled for March 16. But when she was away from the building on March 2, her neighbor called to let her know Hamilton County bailiffs were clearing out her unit. She returned to find her furniture and clothing on the building’s front lawn.

“I panicked, I’m crying,” Thomas said. “They put my whole life out here. My whole life. Everything that I own. Everything that I worked for.”

Kimberly Thomas

Brackman said Thomas’ eviction date changed when a previously scheduled eviction was canceled, allowing later evictions to replace it in the schedule. She said Thomas was notified by mail, as required by state law. The notice was mailed March 1, a day before the actual eviction. Thomas said she never received the notice.

“I don’t wish this on my enemy,” Thomas said. “This is not right.”

The city’s office of human relations is looking into the circumstances surrounding Thomas’ eviction, said Division Manager Paul Booth, who helped Thomas move her belongings into storage.

Brackman offered no timeline on her review of eviction procedures. She said her office also has “an eviction help center, which provides free legal help for tenants who can't afford an attorney.”

In the meantime, Thomas and her two sons are staying with her mother in a senior apartment that Thomas says is not even 500 square feet.

"I know she don't mind us being here. But at the same time it puts a toll on her," Thomas said. "It's not just me going through this. It's my whole family."

CINCINNATI — Naima Jackson stood outside her Avondale home on a recent Friday, bathed in sunshine and flanked by people who have pledged to help save her family’s legacy.

Not long ago, Amy Goodman and David Noe were complete strangers to Jackson.

Now they’re part of a team helping her to preserve her home with a new roof and extensive interior renovations and repairs.

All told, the work could be worth as much as $60,000.

“I didn’t ever think in a million lifetimes would somebody step forward to help a person like me,” Jackson said, her voice cracking with emotion. “I’m grateful.”

WCPO 9 told Jackson’s story Feb. 2. She described her home on Alaska Court as “everything” to her. Her great-grandparents bought the house 53 years ago after moving from Mississippi to Cincinnati and becoming some of the first Black homeowners on the street.

RELATED: Avondale homeowner struggles to save her family’s legacy

Her father, Nathaniel Jackson, inherited the home and lived there until he died in 2015. Jackson cared for him in his final years and lived in the house with her dad when his Alzheimer’s disease made it unsafe for him to live alone.

Courtesy of Naima Jackson

The brick two-story now belongs to Jackson outright — with no mortgage hanging over her head. But it needs extensive repairs, and Jackson said her monthly Social Security disability checks can’t cover the costs. She sought help from churches and more nonprofit organizations than she could count but said she kept hitting dead ends.

Offers to help came almost as soon as WCPO 9’s story published online.

Tracey McCullough, whose own family moved from Mississippi to Cincinnati many years ago, started a GoFundMe campaign.

An office manager with Deer Park Roofing, where Noe is the director of human resources, emailed to ask if the company could help.

Then Goodman, a local real estate agent and fair housing officer, and her husband, Rich, a project manager with NorthPoint Development, both emailed to ask if WCPO 9 could connect them with Jackson so they could figure out whether they could help, too.

By early March, the GoFundMe had raised $5,250 toward its $10,000 goal, and the Goodmans and Deer Park Roofing had visited Jackson’s home to assess how much work it needs.

Courtesy of Naima Jackson

“I’m pleasantly surprised and happy at the same time,” Jackson said, as she laughed and wiped away tears. “Surprised more so than anything that people still care.”

A call to action

Jackson’s situation highlights a problem that is much bigger than one house or one homeowner.

Nationwide, homeowners with limited incomes struggle to keep their properties maintained, said Rick Williams, president and CEO of the Home Ownership Center of Greater Cincinnati.

“There will never be enough money to support existing homeowners who find themselves in a situation where their home is in disrepair and their incomes are limited to address that,” Williams told WCPO 9 for the story in February. “It is an extraordinarily common phenomenon across the country. And, of course, like most issues, they impact lower wage, middle- to lower-income families more than they do anyone else, and, of course, those families tend to be minority families.”

About 69% of white households owned their homes in Hamilton County in 2018, according to the U.S. Census Bureau’s American Community Survey estimates based on data collected between 2014 and 2018. During that same time, only 32% of Black households owned their homes, according to the data analyzed by the Local Initiatives Support Corp., or LISC, of Greater Cincinnati.

That information read like a call to action to McCullough, she said.

Courtesy of Tracey McCullough

“I just felt like now’s the time to show love for each other,” she said. “I saw her story, and it made me realize how much we were alike.”

After McCullough and Jackson connected, that feeling grew.

“The more I got to know Naima, the more I realized how we are kind of the same, and that we both have had obstacles to overcome, and I really wanted to do something to make her family and Naima thrive,” McCullough said. “And Naima is just a great pleasure. She’s an awesome lady – funny and resilient, and I love those qualities. So that’s what made me want to try to help.”

Deer Park Roofing picks a charitable project each year to celebrate during National Roofing Week in June, Noe said. And when a company office manager in Louisville saw Jackson’s story and forwarded it to Deer Park’s leadership team, executives there quickly decided Jackson’s home would be a good project for 2021, he said.

An estimator visited Jackson’s home in February and determined that it needs a new roof, which Noe said could cost anywhere from $9,000 to $10,000.

Courtesy of Deer Park Roofing

“We’re definitely going to make sure that she is not going to be seeing any kind of cost with that,” he said. “We will have one of our roofing professional crews out here with the entire project to make sure that it’s installed properly, make sure that it’s going to last as long as we can with the kind of roof that we will put on.”

The Goodmans will focus their efforts on interior repairs and renovations, Amy Goodman said.

She read about Jackson on WCPO 9’s app and forwarded the story to her husband.

“I just wanted someone to complain to about how ridiculous it was that someone might not be able to stay in their house that they own free and clear,” Goodman said. “And he forwarded it to his company, within NorthPoint Development, called Live Generously, and it’s part of the NorthPoint foundation. And he instantly got hits of, What can we do? How can we help?”

New hope for the future

The Goodmans visited Jackson at her house on Valentine’s Day to get a close-up look at the home’s problems and talk with Jackson about her vision for the property.

“We’ve now spoken to a general contractor who has committed to coming out, and once we get that quote then we’ll be able to go back to the Live Generously Foundation and start raising money internally and partner with the person that put together the GoFundMe,” Goodman said. “Ours will primarily be inside. So the basement, some of the upstairs ductwork, AC, furnace, waterproofing, getting the garage door fixed, getting mold remediation done.”

Goodman said her husband estimates the interior repairs and remodeling could cost as much as $50,000.

“Our goal is to not put any of that cost on her,” she said. “We are really going to try hard to do whatever we need to do from a fundraising perspective to get that covered for her.”

Courtesy of Amy Goodman

Goodman said the goal is for Jackson to be able to keep the money that the GoFundMe raises for ongoing maintenance and repairs.

A WCPO.com reader who wanted to remain anonymous added to total funds raised with a $900 donation that WCPO 9 delivered to Jackson on March 12.

“We’re really excited to get started and see where this all ends up,” Goodman said.

Jackson said she’s excited, too, and overwhelmed by the offers of help – especially during the COVID-19 crisis that has taken a toll on so many.

“I’m still processing that somebody would even care during this time, when there are many other things going on in the world, to help out just a regular person like me,” she said. “I’m blown away.”

Having the repairs and renovations done will allow Jackson’s family legacy to continue on Alaska Court, she said.

“My children will be able to inherit something from me,” she said. “My mom will have a place to reside and not have to pay rent anymore.”

Lucy May | WCPO

Jackson said she mourned for two years after her father died and struggled to jump back into her “regular life.”

Once she worked through the legal aspects of inheriting the house, she said, “I could see the light, but I just couldn’t see a life.”

By the time she reached out to WCPO 9, Jackson said she didn’t know where else to turn. She was reluctant to be on the news, she said, and still wishes it hadn’t come to that.

But having people step forward to help in such a meaningful way, she said, has given her new hope.

“There was a time I didn’t have the faith. So it definitely restored my faith,” she said. “I know there’s people in the world that really, truly care.”

Lucy May | WCPO

The GoFundMe campaign to help Naima Jackson still is accepting donations. Click here for more information. Donations also can be directed to The Jackson Home Fund at any WesBanco Bank branch.

Lucy May writes about the people, places and issues that define our region – to celebrate what makes the Tri-State great and shine a spotlight on issues we need to address. To reach Lucy, email lucy.may@wcpo.com. Follow her on Twitter @LucyMayCincy.

CINCINNATI —

A 16-year-old was taken to the hospital with life-threatening injuries after a shooting in Avondale Monday evening.

The shooting happened at the intersections of Reading Road and Rockdale Avenue near the Family Dollar store at around 7:30 p.m.

According to Cincinnati police, a 16-year-old was shot and taken to the hospital with life-threatening injuries.

Witnesses at the scene told WLWT that a teenage boy was crossing Reading Road when a car crept up and shot him. The vehicle then took off, witnesses said.

Police have not released any suspect information.

"I ran outside without my walker because a child is just something you run for," said neighbor Jennifer Foster.

Foster rushed to the scene at Reading Road and quickly realized the teen is someone she knows.

"I just passed him this morning, you know, and he knocked on my door yesterday morning, he said, 'Ms. Jenn, this your package because you're the only one ordered dog treats for your dog' and I said, 'Thank you baby' and he went on up the stairs and stuff," she said.

On the street corner, a sign from Cincinnati Works promoted fatherhood and brotherhood. The neighborhood is trying to stop violence in the streets.

Mitch Morris says it's a sad night in the city.

"My guys was just up here working, tonight. We came out here at 4:30 p.m., and worked and worked until it started raining. Right over here in this lot right here and so after it started raining, we called it off. Wasn't a half hour, hour later, we got a call there was a shooting up here. So we're back up here now," he said.

With more than a dozen markers on the ground and frustration and heartache in the air, the community is traumatized by another shooting.

"All I know is somebody's hurt real bad right now. It's a family that we just need to pray for," Morris said.

WLWT will provide updates when more information is available.

CINCINNATI —

Calls for enhanced pedestrian safety efforts are growing one week after a 7-year-old girl was hit and killed in Avondale. The girls were not in a crosswalk when they were hit near the intersection of Vine and Ehrman streets.

Shareese Lattimore was one of two 7-year-olds police say were running across the street Tuesday afternoon and were hit by a teenage boy driving on Vine Street.

The Avondale Community Council met virtually Tuesday evening. On the board's agenda was pedestrian safety.

Board members said they have been concerned about and discussing the issue for years. One board member has been pushing to have a traffic light installed at Ehrman and Vine for approximately two years.

Two board members are now chairing a pedestrian safety effort. Plans are not set in stone, but the board members will consider ideas such as adding lighting, increasing signage and launching educational campaigns.

The board members said they have already met with representatives from the city planning office and city manager's office.

"It's about keeping our kids safe... It's about saving lives of our kids," said board president Sandra Jones Mitchell. "We need to do all we can within our abilities to get the word out and to save a kid, to save a life."

CINCINNATI — Officials with the Cincinnati Police Department said a man was shot and killed in Avondale Wednesday evening.

Officers responded around 9:15 p.m. Wednesday to the 3600 block of Vine Street for reports of a person shot. When officers arrived on scene, they found the victim, 28-year-old Jordan Brown. Officers said Brown died at the scene.

The police have not said if there are any suspects in Brown's death.

The Cincinnati Police Department's Homicide Unit is investigating the incident.

CINCINNATI — A man died Monday morning after attacking two people at a Rockdale Avenue home, according to Cincinnati police.

Police said Shantee Humphrey, 46, arrived at the home that morning after a dispute with the two occupants at a graduation party the day before. He shot at them, Capt. Mark Burns said, striking both. They shot back.

Humphrey died of his injuries. His two targets were treated for non-life-threatening wounds, Burns said.

Police declined to publicize their identities and did not clarify whether they intended to file charges against them.

Anyone with additional information about the attack should contact police at 513-352-3542.