Volunteers Boarding Up Detroit Homes For Safety
DETROIT (WWJ/AP) - Hundreds of volunteers are expected to seal as many as 150 abandoned houses on Detroit's west side.
It is the second effort since August to board up homes that are dangerous eyesores, especially for kids walking to school. The work Saturday will focus on neighborhoods near the Cody campus, which is home to three schools, west of the Southfield Freeway.
Alex Hermann of Detroit Rescue Mission Ministries said it's a "daunting" task. But with so many hands, he's predicting success.
"We know that in this neighborhood today that there is a lot of kids – they don't have to worry about someone jumping them from those vacant homes (as they) go back and forth," Rescue Mission President Chad Audi told WWJ Newsradio 950.
Detroit Public Schools emergency manager Roy Roberts said a lack of safety can be a major barrier to student achievement.
One hundred homes were boarded up last summer near Osborn High School on the east side.
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