Business Owners and Library

Community Treasure Hunt: Pleasant Grove, Texas In Pleasant Gove news coverage has stopped depicting violent crimes in its articles because it's old news. People die here every day, it's nothin'. Pleasant Grove, Texas resident c. 2015 I was born and raised here and have traveled the world, but I could never imagine any place lovelier to call home.

Norma Davis, Chair, Pleasant Grove Historical Society, 2015 Introduction, Demographic Information, and Community Immersion (suggested length: 3 pages) There are a number of ways to conceptualize a community, with its geographic boundaries being among the most straightforward (Knowing your community). The geographic boundaries of Pleasant Grove, located in the southeast section of the Dallas, are shown in Figure 1 below. Figure 1.

Location of Pleasant Grove Source: https://www.google.com/maps/ Geographic boundaries alone, however, reveal little about the people that comprise a community and this is certainly the case with the working-class community of Pleasant Grove. Described by the Web site Blacks in Dallas as "an interesting community that is currently in transition (Pleasant Grove, 2017, para. 1). Named for a particularly beautiful grove of trees, Pleasant Grove began as a one-room schoolhouse (built in said grove) built in 1886 (Davis, 2015).

According to one long-time resident and chair of the Pleasant Grove Historical Society, "Annexed by Dallas in 1954, what was a 6-square-mile town centered on Buckner Boulevard and Lake June Road became the heart of Southeast Dallas" (Davis, 2015, p. 2). The current population of Pleasant Grove is estimated at 58,753, representing a 7.8% increase since 2011 and is projected to increase by another 6.9% by 2021 (Neighborhoods of Pleasant Grove, 2017). Pleasant Grove, though, has experienced profound changes in its demographic composition over the past 2 decades or so.

Until around 2000, the community was comprised of nearly equal percentages of white, blacks and Hispanics, but "white flight" has resulted in a slight majority of Hispanics (51%) and around 30% blacks concentrated along the Buckner Boulevard main corridor (Pleasant Grove, 2017). Fewer than 10% of the residents of Pleasant Grove have college degrees (Pleasant Grove, 2017). Most (87.8%) of the 15,088 households in Pleasant Grove are single-family residences (see photographs at Appendix A) with a median home value of around $55,000 (versus $80,975 for other southeast Dallas neighborhoods), and more than two-thirds (68.6%) are owner occupied (Neighborhoods of Pleasant Grove, 2017).

Monthly rental rates in the community range between $700 and $950 a month (Pleasant Grove, 2017). The median household income in Pleasant Grove is $37,988; however, more than one-third (37.8%) of the available workforce aged 16 years and over are unemployed and more than one-quarter (28.4%) live below the poverty line (Neighborhoods of Pleasant Grove, 2017). Nearly half (45.3%) of those who are employed are blue-collar workers, almost a quarter (23.4%) are employed in some type of service industry or farm work and just under one-third (31.3%) are employed in a white collar position (Neighborhoods of Pleasant Grove, 2017).

Despite its proximity to downtown Dallas and connected highways, Pleasant Grove residents still experience an average 35-minute commute with their average 2.0 vehicles per household (Neighborhoods of Pleasant Grove, 2017). Searching for treasures in Pleasant Grove is also interesting because the community appears to have enjoyed its fair share over the years, but few of these remain today.

Indeed, rather than extolling the virtues of their community, members of the Pleasant Grove Historical Society currently wax nostalgic concerning the "good old days" with their Facebook page replete with black-and-white photographs of yesteryear's stores and public buildings that are no longer in existence. In fact, searching for riches in this working-class community is an especially challenging enterprise. For example, one Grove resident recently characterized Pleasant Grove as being "without a doubt, the 'krunkest' place in the entire Dallas Metroplex.

Pleasant Grove has three times as many murders as Oak Cliff, 12 times as many rapes, five times as many armed robberies, and is one of the leading problems in America as far as illegally exported arms" (as cited in Pleasant Grove Texas, 2017, para. 3). This characterization is consistent with an article in The Dallas Morning News that reported one local resident "could easily walk the few blocks from her home to her restaurant job in Pleasant Grove. But she doesn't. She won't. She doesn't feel safe near St.

Augustine Drive and Bruton Road -- one of the most dangerous places in Dallas" (Hallman & Martin, 2015, p. 2). This Pleasant Grove resident -- and many others -- have good reason to fear for their safety because Dallas police rank the community as among the top 15 worst place in the city for criminal activity (Hallman & Martin, 2015). Some indication of the types of extent of crimes in the Pleasant Grove community can be discerned from the statistics set forth in Table 1 below. Table 1 Criminal activity in Pleasant Grove: 2014 Crime type No.

Aggravated Assaults (non-family violence) 62 Aggravated Assaults (family violence) 39 Business Burglaries Home Burglaries Motor-Vehicle Burglaries Auto Thefts Business Robberies 12 Robberies of Individuals 86 Shoplifting Incidents 20 Other Thefts Murders 1 Rapes 17 Source: Neighborhoods of Pleasant Grove, 2017 According to Hallman and Martin (2015), gang-related activity, including most especially robberies, drug dealing and violence has significantly increased in recent months, and Dallas law enforcement authorities have been essentially powerless to combat the problem despite the allocation of additional resources including an automatic license plate reader and 10 surveillance cameras to monitor high-crime areas such as the intersection of Bruton Road and St.

Augustine Drive (Hallman & Martin, 2015). In this regard Hallman and Martin report that, "The intersection, especially at the carwash and convenience store there, has been plagued in recent years by crime, gangs, drug sales, fistfights and gunfire" (2015, p. 2).

On the north side of the intersection, the convenience store, Adams Food Mart (see photograph at Appendix B), is adjacent to the self-service carwash and a bus stop and the rest of the byway on Bruton Road is populated by struggling strip malls with numerous vacancies, a vacant lot, and small family-run businesses (Hallman & Martin, 2015). On the south side, there is a concrete building dating to the 1970s next to Dallas Fire Rescue Station No.

5 and the A Dallas ISD building, with a series of single-family residences as a few "seemingly out-of-place mansions" backing them (Hallman & Martin, 2015, p. 3). Many small business owners in the neighborhood report that gang-related activity began around 2013 and has intensified ever since, harming their commerce in the process.

Some business owners have hired unarmed security guards in response to gang-related murders, robberies and drug dealings near their businesses but few are able to afford them and one complained that his security guard was "scared off" by gang members (Hallman & Martin, 2015). Other local business owners such as Black Jack Pizza's Vince Pond note that the community was far safer when they established their enterprises and they have been dismayed at the manner in which Pleasant Grove has gone downhill since the mid-1990s.

These problems are further exacerbated by a pronounced lack of employment opportunities in Pleasant Grove, and a neighborhood association chairwoman reported that many residents are "trapped in a vicious poverty cycle" that includes repeated involvement with the criminal justice system (Hallman & Martin, 2015). Some members of the Pleasant Grove Historical Society have been compelled to counter these reports about the deteriorating condition of their community by pointing out Pleasant Grove is being painted with an overly broad brush.

For example, one member complained that, "Pleasant Grove has gotten a bad rap for crimes that have occurred over the years in other areas. Eighty five percent of the crimes that occur in what is considered 'Southeast Dallas,' happen in Buckner Terrace and Scyene" (Davis, 2017, para. 10). Nevertheless, many residents report that they are trying to escape from Pleasant Grove at their earliest opportunity (Hallman & Martin, 2015).

The one truly bright spot identified in this "treasure hunt" was the renovated Pleasant Oaks Recreation Center which reopened in January 2015 after being closed for several years due to budget cuts. The recreation center features the first indoor soccer field in the Dallas Park and Recreation system (Hallman & Martin, 2015).

Other noteworthy community resources include the 266.2-acre Crawford Memorial Park, established in 1964 (Neighborhoods of Pleasant Grove, 2017) and two well-run branches of the Dallas library system (Humphrey, 2017) and land for the first library building in Pleasant Grove was donated by Grady and Doris Wall, local real estate entrepreneurs whose home was situated on the property until their deaths (Humphrey, 2017). Finally, some empirical observations from D.

Magazine concerning Pleasant View include the following: • LOCALS LOVE: The neighborhood's multicultural harmony, low-cost housing, and easy access to all parts of the city via highways and DART light-rail; • LOCALS COMPLAIN: There are too many businesses of certain types: car lots, payday loan stores, and insurance companies; • FUN FACT: In 1937, the local youth took pride in their community, and just like a school adopts a mascot, they decided they would as well.

They fancied themselves a force to be reckoned with and adopted the strong, fearsome moniker "Grove Rats" (Neighborhoods of Pleasant Grove, 2017, para. 2). • NON-FUN FACT: A local gang has recently adopted the name, "Grove Rats." Part 2: Resident Interview(s) (suggested length: 1 page) In response to the question, "What are the greatest or best things about Pleasant Grove?," a female resident since 1995 employed as a hairdresser in Fort Worth reported, "My neighbors are great. In our neighborhood at least, everyone knows everyone and watches out for them.

My husband and I like it here and we've lived all over Dallas and Fort Worth." When pressed for another example, the resident hesitated and then replied, "It has easy access to the highway I use to go to work." By contrast, a librarian who lives in another suburb but who has worked at a local Pleasant View branch for just a few months reported, "Just having a full-time job in this community is the greatest thing for me.

Even though we offer job search resources and try to help adults with their resumes when we're asked, most of our patrons are teenagers who just want to surf the Internet and use our Teen Center to socialize and play games." The long-time resident's response highlights the close-knits bonds of some neighborhoods where residents have bonded together in the face of urban blight and gang activity in their community.

Indeed, many neighborhoods in this community live up to the name "Pleasant Grove" but as the librarian's response made clear, there are a number of serious problems that will defy easy remedies. One thing became abundantly clear during this phase of the research and this was the need for additional investments in this community by all levels of government.

Part 3: Agency Exploration: Pleasant Grove Food Pantry Although Pleasant Grove does not have any community services agencies within its geographic boundaries, it does feature the faith-based nonprofit organization, Pleasant Grove Food Pantry or PGFP which was founded in May 2010 (Pleasant Grove Food Pantry, 2017). At its name implies, the purpose of the PGFP "is to passionately pursue a hunger-free community in Pleasant Grove and the surrounding areas" (Pleasant Grove Food Pantry, 2017, para. 2).

The PGFP provides food and other essential living needs to residents of Pleasant Grove as well as surrounding communities free of charge based on need. Emphasizing that more than 40% of the households within a one-mile radius of PGFP have annual incomes of $25,000 or less, the PGFP staff made it clear that the above-stated purpose represents an important resource for the Pleasant Grove community. Because it is operated by volunteers, many of whom are senior citizens, applying to assistance at the PGFP is limited to Tuesday only between 10 a.m.

and noon and 12:30 p.m. and 3 p.m. In order to avoid unduly delaying any applicant in need, my visit to the PGFP took place at 2:40 p.m. and there were no clients awaiting assistance so I proceeded to inquire about the organization and its services (the only posted rules were the requirement to wear a shirt and shoes). The staff was uniformly welcoming despite it being the end of what was undoubtedly a busy day for them, and I would have been comfortable requesting their help.

The elderly but gregarious lady who spoke with me was eager to share the mission of the PGFP and its importance. Her enthusiasm was contagious and the author ended up donating $20 to their general fund together with a promise to tell my friends about their organization as well. Although PGFP operates primarily with donations (including food from local farmers), it also receives support from other organizations and institutions as a member agency of the North Texas Food Bank.

Part 4: Executive or Program Director Interview (suggested length: 4 pages) Given the dearth of community services agencies in Pleasant Grove, the program director selected for the treasure hunt interview was Courtney Woods, the Adult Services Coordinator of the two Pleasant Grove libraries. Despite her busy schedule, Ms. Woods was generous enough to meet with me on a Wednesday afternoon at her office 7310 at Lake June Road in Pleasant Grove. Like the other library in Pleasant Grove (also located on Lake June Road), Ms.

Woods' library is a modern, clean and well-equipped facility that was well attended during my visit. Equipped with a series of semi-structured interview questions to avoid wasting Ms. Woods' time, I proceeded to ask her about her background, education, work experience and her views about the surrounding neighborhoods and larger community of Pleasant Grove. Like the staff at PGFP, it quickly became clear that Ms.

Woods' mission was to "passionately pursue" the betterment of the Pleasant Grove community by providing vitally needed services that extended far beyond the mere provision of books and magazines to adult residents of the community only. A native English speaker with a masters of library science degree, Ms. Woods is also fluent in Spanish, Portuguese, French and German and brings her love of learning to the workplace where she serves as an inspirational role model for the adults and especially the numerous young residents who visit her branch.

In fact, the library is so popular that she said patrons spend an average of an hour and a half during their visits, despite the 30-minute limit on computer use.

Under her leadership, best described as charismatic, both branch libraries implemented badly needed resources there were not available elsewhere in the community, Using her smile, persuasion and informed arguments, she has succeeded in convincing civic leader to install Teen Centers in both branches that offer free lunches on weekends during the school year and free lunch throughout the summer months, teen fashion shows, science exhibits and educational games. The success of these initiatives to date is clear evidence that Ms.

Woods is a highly effective charismatic leader, but there are other indications of this leadership style as well. For instance, according to Ms. Woods, many parents drop their children off and remain to chat with her, browse the library collection and read their selections on site. Both branches were always busy, Ms.

Woods advised, but she said they had capacity for more patrons and were always conducting public awareness campaigns to keep residents aware of the resources they had to offer as well as upcoming special events for adults and teens. Based on my brief interview with Ms. Woods, the Pleasant Grove Library is fortunate to have this charismatic leader in any capacity, but she has been especially effective as the Adult Services Coordinator.

In this capacity, she also ensured that both branches offer reading and writing assistance for adult ESL learners, as well as homework assistance for younger ESL learners. Moreover, Ms. Woods has convinced several "graduates" of these programs to provide mentoring assistance for others, a willingness to help that she regards as being one of the most valuable community attributes. These initiatives were sorely needed, Ms. Woods.