“We know our neighbors have our back”

Antwan and Tanesha Butler naturally want a safe and caring environment for their three young boys – and they are willing to put in the effort to make it happen. That love for community led them through friends to Community Renewal.

“My hope for the city is for each individual to use their talents and resources to connect with others and contribute to the growth of the city. Let’s do what we can with what we have,” Tanesha said.

Pastors of Dream Big Leadership Church in West Shreveport, the Butlers signed on as Haven House leaders with Community Renewal a few years ago. Haven House leaders are neighborhood volunteers who go through training and then reach out to connect residents in caring. They have been in ministry for six years and live in a diverse neighborhood in Southwest Shreveport.

“I was impressed that Community Renewal puts its heart, soul, time and energy into the community. That is so needed because that is the future of our city, the future of our next generation,” Tanesha said.

I am a support for you and you are a support for me. And we can make this a beautiful community.” – Tanesha Butler, Haven House leader

“I love the concept of people coming together to help. I really do believe in the village mentality. It does take a village to raise a child.”

Antwan knows from personal experience just how vital it is for people to know and help one another.
“I’m a former foster child, so I understand the importance of the community being involved. I’m here because somebody cared,” he said. “To have people willing to be a source of hope is just phenomenal.”
Antwan and Tanesha see their neighborhood as an extension of their church. That means loving and caring about people as the Bible teaches – loving your neighbor as yourself.

“Let’s get outside these four walls,” she said. “Instead of just preaching to one another, we have to get out and reach the people who need love and who need a hand up. We need to see each other, face-to-face.

“We have a Harvest Fest and we have candy galore because that’s what they want. However, when they come we offer them much more. We offer them love and relationships.”

Tanesha and Antwan want to see the Haven House philosophy applied not only to neighborhoods, but to churches, schools, businesses and other groups. “We just believe in reaching out and not just for one day. It’s building relationships with people,” she said.

People have become more isolated than in past generations and then Covid-19 added to the challenge of connecting with neighbors.

“I think the pandemic caused a lot of us to move back into that mode of social isolation,” Antwan said. “But in our neighborhood, we were all trying to find things to do and our neighborhood kind of opened up and we made some new relationships.”

The key was having the willingness to make the effort.

“That’s always been important and now we need to do more of that. In our neighborhood we look out for each other and I like that,” Antwan said.

Tanesha said she also likes the fact that their neighborhood has different races and people of different ages and backgrounds. One day her young boys visited an elderly, white neighbor, not even concerned about any differences between them.

“It’s a close-knit neighborhood and I feel very safe. It’s like the way things used to be when I was growing up, when if a neighbor saw you doing something, you better be doing the right thing,” Tanesha said.

“I just love the camaraderie we have. If someone new comes in, we make it our business to meet them and welcome them. That makes it a safer environment. We know our neighbors have our back. That’s the philosophy of Haven House. I am a support for you and you are a support for me. And we can make this a beautiful community.”