Rural areas often lack essential resources but one North Carolina community is proving how local action and investment can make a difference.

Research shows access to resources like transportation and safe housing is crucial for health, yet over one in five rural residents struggles with these needs. In West Marion, North Carolina, gaps in transportation, food distribution and health care were prevalent.

Paula Swepson, executive director of the nonprofit West Marion Community Forum, recalled despite being a close-knit community, many people needed guidance on how to participate in creating change.

"You don't know what you don't know, so you don't know the resources out there," Swepson observed. "There always needs to be some type of connection with institutional partners that can let you know what's available for your community."

With direction and grants from the Kate B. Reynolds Charitable Trust, the West Marion Community Forum was established. Swepson pointed out the forum taught residents how to connect with town officials to make their voices heard.

Swepson added since then, the Forum has brought critical resources, initiated programs and established community systems. She emphasized the Foundation did not impose solutions but showed residents how to identify and address their own needs.

"They had the technical assistants come in and just facilitate monthly meetings, and just have conversations with the community and do root-cause analysis," Swepson outlined. "Out of that came our working groups."

Today, Swepson noted the forum operates a youth-led community garden and there are transportation and housing working groups. They are also focused on improving health care and building a community center. She added the progress shows community action is key to change.

"The way the community is operating now -- and the whole county now -- is that people feel empowered to at least go to the meetings and stand up," Swepson stressed. "And public comment if they can't get on the agenda, and address the things that they want to see and the concerns that they have."

The success in West Marion has inspired similar forums in East Marion and Old Fort.

By Darian Benson for Mirror Indy.
Broadcast version by Joe Ulery for Indiana News Service reporting for the Mirror Indy-Free Press Indiana-Public News Service Collaboration.

Elizabeth Castle drives past what was the Indiana Women's Prison almost daily. She lives a block away in the Willard Park neighborhood on the near east side.

"I have heard of teenagers shooting guns and hiding in the old prison building according to neighborhood emails and have seen people wandering around the remains of buildings," Castle said.

Neighbors say the long-vacant Indiana Women's Prison site is in terrible shape, and they hope the city can assist them in redeveloping the property.

"The site is just sitting there, gradually deteriorating," said Will Pritchard, a member of the Indiana Women's Prison Alliance, a group advocating for redevelopment.

"Sometimes the windows are open. Sometimes there's holes in the roofs. It's often not mowed. It's collecting trash around the site."

The Indiana Department of Administration, the agency that maintains and manages all state property, owns the property, which has been vacant for seven years. The Women's Prison was relocated to the west side in 2009, and the eastside property became a reentry facility for the Marion County criminal justice system until closing in 2017.

The Indiana Department of Administration's website states the grounds are mowed by maintenance crews every three to four weeks, weather permitting.

Neighbors think city is better positioned to manage property

The alliance and several surrounding neighborhood organizations are calling for the state to transfer ownership of the property to the city, believing the city is better positioned to plan the property's future.

Pritchard believes, after speaking with city officials, that Indianapolis is open to receiving the site from the state. He said the city has more experience working with neighborhoods and has plans for eastside redevelopment. He has heard the state might also be interested in transferring ownership to the city in exchange for an unidentified property currently owned by the city.

The Indianapolis Department of Metropolitan Development declined to comment.

"It's probably the biggest, dilapidated vacant site on the east side, and it is owned by the state of Indiana, which is really outrageous when you think about it that a site with that reputation is actually owned by the state government," Pritchard said.

The future of the site is unclear. Molly Timperman, a spokesperson for the Department of Administration, said the state isn't ready to make a decision on what to do with the site. When it is, "we are happy to have a community conversation," she said.

Pritchard lives in Woodruff Place, one of three neighborhoods surrounding the former women's prison. The alliance has asked the three neighborhoods - Willard Park, Woodruff Place and St. Clair Place - to write letters in support of the property transfer. The alliance has also requested a meeting with the Department of Administration and the mayor's office.

He hopes to come to a resolution before Gov. Eric Holcomb leaves office, worrying that the clock will restart under a new state administration. Neighborhood leaders and the state haven't always seen eye to eye.

The state has demolished most of the buildings at the former prison except for a few, including the chapel, administration building and a few dormitories. The state had set aside money to tear down the remaining buildings, but the neighborhoods blocked the demolition.

Pritchard said the state needed the neighborhoods' approval to demolish the remaining buildings because they are classified as historic. The neighborhoods aren't ready to give that approval until they know more about plans for redevelopment or reuse.

"We don't want to give our approval to tear down the buildings, because we don't trust that the DOA will build something on the site that's conducive to the surrounding neighborhoods" Pritchard said. "And we're not convinced that they will include the neighborhoods' input, either."

Regardless, Timperman said the money that had been set aside to demolish the remaining buildings was used for other state projects and is no longer available.

What the neighborhood wants

A few years ago the alliance conducted a survey asking residents what they would like to see replace the abandoned site. Requests ranged from houses, to a workforce development training center to a grocery store.

"They have not said to the state or to the mayor's office, 'Here's what we want to see there,' because there's such a diversity of views," Pritchard said. "Their primary request is, their only request is to involve us in the decision."

Castle says the space has a lot of potential. She envisions mixed-use space for housing, entertainment and exercise.

"My greatest concern for the property staying vacant is at best a missed opportunity for the near east side," Castle said. "And at worst, an eyesore for all the neighbors around and potentially an enabler for criminal activity."


Darian Benson wrote this article for Mirror Indy.


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A $20,000 grant from AARP Kentucky will help rebuild sidewalks in Jenkins damaged by the deadly 2022 flood that took the lives of 45 residents.

Rachel Rosolina, communications director for the nonprofit Appalshop, explained because its headquarters were severely damaged by the flooding, staff has temporarily moved to neighboring Jenkins, where the grant will help improve walkability.

She noted the new walking trail and benches will begin at a local senior center and extend about a mile into downtown.

"Twenty-four percent of the county is over the age of 59 and the poverty rate is also like over 38%," Rosolina pointed out. "We want to be part of this community for as long as they will have us, but we also want to work with the city and use our resources to make improvements and make things safer."

Other 2024 Community Challenge grants awardees include Hotel Inc., a Bowling Green organization providing training on home safety and aging in place for older adults; and Casey County Public Library, to build a series of public displays and activities grandparents can do with their grandchildren.

Tiffany Sturdivant, interim executive director of Appalshop, said while the flood was devastating, it brought out the best in a close-knit community.

"Speaking as someone who was present during the recovery, it was a special time where Eastern Kentucky really shined," Sturdivant recounted. "I feel like it shined its brightest because it brought out that deep-rooted togetherness and everybody was just pitching in."

Rosolina added the mural, designed by local artist Lacy Hale, will highlight residents' perseverance.

"Art is one way to process trauma and I think the flood is going to be part of all of these communities for the rest of time," Rosolina observed. "It's part of the history now. So having something beautiful come out of that, I think, is really important."

She added the art display will be formally presented to the public during the Jenkins Homecoming Days Festival at the end of August.


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A series of free summer camps focused on STEM and other career paths seeks to boost the career goals of youth in the agricultural community of Immokalee.

Florida Gulf Coast University has teamed up with the Immokalee Foundation to offer a series of free educational camps for underserved youth in the region. The initiative includes a STEM camp for middle schoolers and four high school camps focused on business management and entrepreneurship, education and human services, engineering and construction management, and health care.

Noemi Perez, CEO of the Immokalee Foundation, explained the value of the program.

"When you take a community and individuals who are just surviving and giving their students, their children this type of opportunity, it just, it creates such a huge impact," Perez stressed. "Not only for the family, but also for the community as a whole."

In its final week, students pitch their ideas to judges, like on the popular show "Shark Tank." The competitive program serves about 1,300 Immokalee students per year. Perez said 100% of participants graduate from high school and attend a postsecondary institution.

Heather Skoza-Acosta, director of the Whitaker Center for STEM Education at Florida Gulf Coast University, oversees the middle school STEM camp. She emphasized the importance of early exposure to science.

"They have four separate STEM disciplines on four different weeks," Skoza-Acosta pointed out. "I think it gives them an opportunity to find their passion, find their skill sets, meet some professionals working in the field. "

During Forensics Week, Florida Gulf Coast University's forensics anthropology team guided students through analyzing crime scenes. During Environmental Science Week, students examined water quality on campus.

Organizers said the initiative is part of a broader effort by both the university and the foundation to support educational equity and create pathways to success for underserved communities.