Hill District Consensus Group

I don’t know much about this woman but hearing what she does is inspiring so I had to acknowledge her. Bio via @Allegheny Front: Retired clerk and Hill District... native, Geneva Jackson is a 74 year old hill resident that can be seen cleaning up the streets and lots of her neighborhood. Jackson appreciated nature and beauty from an early age. Her family gardened at their home not far from this lot and even raised chickens. Outside her yard, though, things weren't going so well for the Hill. After losing more than 30,000 people in the Hill District (post steel industry collapse and civic arena building), the area saw a drastic increase in abandoned homes in vacant lots in the community. Fed up with the conditions of the area and lack of city involvement, she took it upon herself to start cleaning up. Jackson doesn't know exactly why she feels obliged to clean up after people who leave trash in the neighborhood, and those who are content to watch weeds fill in the land. During the school year, groups of City High students take assignments from Jackson. They worked on an environmentally themed mural in a vacant lot by painting colorful silhouettes of birds. The students also put in two raised bed gardens and planted greens, jalapeno peppers, several tomato varieties, as well as installed a simple rain catcher Jackson is serious. But if you do call her, there's a good chance she'll be outside, weeding the walkway. So you might be better off just showing up if you want to lend a hand. See more

PRESENTING NAFASI ON CENTRE! The Hill CDC is excited to debut Nafasi, our highly anticipated community and economic development initiative in collaboration with... Arts In HD, with two events held on Friday, November 13th! Keep reading to see details below and where to register! 1. VIRTUAL RIBBON CUTTING CEREMONY 3:00 - 4:00 PM Due to COVID-19 protocols, unfortunately, we are only able to have a select number of individuals attend the ribbon cutting ceremony in person via invitation only. In order to make sure the rest of the community could join we will be streaming the event on Zoom and to Facebook Live. Join us as we unveil the debut of Nafasi on Centre, the newest addition to our Centre Avenue cultural corridor, as well as the artists and creatives selected for our Artist Residency Program. Nafasi on Centre will house six Hill District-based artists for a two-year program, designed to help them transition into a sustainable artistic or creative practice, by supporting them with mentorship, studio practice, business development and management, and, of course, community engagement throughout the length of the residency. During the ribbon cutting ceremony, you will hear from our Hill CDC staff, #ArtsinHD co-chairs, and of course our inaugural cohort of artists and creatives on just how exciting this journey has been so far and what is yet to come as we prepare to take new heights! 2. IN-PERSON COMMUNITY TOURS 5:00 - 7:00 PM Mask required. Following the ribbon cutting ceremony, we will host tours of the Nafasi on Centre Building. Due to COVID-19 protocols, tickets will be timed and limited for each tour. Please select a ticket that corresponds to the time that you want to take a tour. We will roll out a tiered membership program to Nafasi on Centre in 2021 for the community that will grant special access to programming, workshops, events and more. The first floor cafe/gallery space in the front and the conference room in the back will also be available for rental by the community. If you have any questions please contact Jordan Smith, Programs and Policy Coordinator, at [email protected] or call 412-765-1820 and select his direct dial. #WeAreHillCDC #HillDistrict #Nafasi

If you would like to help those in your community mediate housing issues, please apply to the following trainings. After completing the trainings you will be assigned 1-4 mediations/month and will receive $150/mediation. To apply visit: https://www.justmediationpgh.org/get-involved.

During these trying times of Covid-19, if you or anyone is in need of the services listed on the following flyer, please do not hesitate to contact the emails and numbers given. Stay strong and stay safe!