A Community On The Way Back

Vietnam veteran John Pearce almost felt like he had moved from one war zone to another when he moved into the Barksdale Annex neighborhood in Bossier City.

“It was easy to see this could have been classified as a ghetto. We saw police cars regularly. There were thugs and gangsters,” he said.

Kelita Green, 13, also has frightening memories of the neighborhood.

“When I was 6 or 7 a bullet hit a fence that was close to my bedroom. I was scared and I did not want to sleep in my room anymore. All of my toys were inside because I was afraid to come out of the house,” she said.

Caring residents still lived in the area, but many stayed behind locked doors. They felt afraid. And they felt alone.

That is exactly why Community Renewal International chose Barksdale Annex for its first Friendship House outside Shreveport. The challenge may have been great, but the need was even greater and could not be ignored. The first Friendship House opened in 2003, following about two years of groundwork. A second Friendship House opened in 2009. CRI has worked there with the Neighborhood Association, churches and others.

“When the Friendship House came in, it was like being in a Western town when the sheriff came in to help. Most of the people here really cared and wanted to see change,” Pearce said.

“When Community Renewal came in, we started looking out for each other as neighbors. You could see and feel the people getting stronger.”

Pearce, who started as a renter in the neighbstudentsorhood and is now a homeowner there, says CRI provided residents a means to work together and the courage to do so.

“Our attitude has changed. We are

standing together for our neighborhood. At one time you saw crowds of young people and they would steal someone’s bike or break someone’s window. Now if you see them together, they are heading to the Friendship House. We have come a long way,” he said.

Kelita Green, who was once too frightened to play outside, is one of the teens active at the Friendship House. “Now I feel safe when I come outside. Parents and kids are coming together and getting to know each other. The neighborhood is a lot safer,” she said.

Nicole Watson is a volunteer at the Friendship House, where she has two children active in the Kids Club. She has lived in the Barksdale buildersAnnex more than 10 years.

“When I first moved here, people wanted to fight and do bad things. But a lot changed with the Friendship House. There are positive activities now and parents are getting involved,” she said.

“Now people know each other and care about each other. Kids are staying out of trouble. This is a good place to live.”

CRI Community Coordinators Tina Sheffield and Manuela Standard said there was great distrust when they first started meeting neighbors. Today those neighbors are friends.

“People see the Friendship House as a place where they feel welcome and safe. We have people sitting on our porch just because they like it there. They feel peace there,” Sheffield said.

“The neighborhood is a lot better now. If we had to move, it would be like leaving home. We are no longer outsiders.”

Pearce has expanded the house where he lives with wife Ofelia and 5-year-old daughter Jahleia, whom they call “Doll Baby.” He feels safe raising their child in the neighborhood, a confidence parents have not always had in the Barksdale Annex.

“We are on our way to winning awards for a community coming together. The difference is day and night. Before, if you ordered a pizza, you may never get it because they were afraid to come in here. Now you get it in a matter of minutes,” he said.

“I look for more great things to come. In a few years, people will come to us and say, ‘How did you do this?’ We will be a model of community renewal.’”