BALTIMORE — Revitalizing a community takes an all-hands-on-deck approach. East Monument Main Street and Youth Works are combining to help clean up one in East Baltimore.
If you're ever out on East Monument Street in the middle of the afternoon, you might see some young people at work making a difference.
"I just don't like dealing with trash. But, for the community I'll do it," said Michelle Tafah, a member of Youth Works.
"When I first got here, I didn't really want to pick up trash. No one wants to really pick up trash, but then I saw how much good we were doing because one weekend I saw changes in the trash on the street alone. I saw my coworkers were interested in helping the community so that got me into it more," said Tramont Woodlon with Youth Works.
"We thought it'd be a great idea because we constantly hear and see stories of our young people in distress dealing with various situations besides academic excellence and workforce excellence," said Dominique Belle, executive director/program manager East Monument Main Street Inc.
This is East Monument Main Street's first project since 2021. Street sweeping is an opportunity to clean up the streets and the image of young people in the city.
"That showed me the wherewithal that our students and young people have," said Belle.
The youth workers, well aware of the stigma attached to their demographic, hope their efforts inspire their peers and the community.
"Hopefully we can inspire other people to want to help and become better to help Baltimore because the city has a lot going on. There's so much violence and everything. If we all put in the effort to try to make it better, we can make some type of change," said Tafah.
"I've learned that one narrative that may have yourself isn't the one that you have to stick with. You can always make a new narrative for yourself," said Woodlon.
East Monument Main Street has been working to gain designation as one of Baltimore's 9th main streets, which would give them access to provide developmental resources throughout the city.
The application was submitted in 2023. It's still pending a decision.
