West Central Setting Up Neighborhood Co-Op

Got a sewing machine but need a set of brakes? Want to learn how to cook low-fat meals? Willing to teach someone how to give a perm on the cheap?

Come on into the West Central co-op. Prices are optional and all you need is the right zip code.

A group of West Central community activists say that by fall they will assemble a database of neighborhood human resources that will enable residents to trade with and learn from each other.

“This is a real opportunity to … survey the strengths and weaknesses of the neighborhood and to link them,” said organizer Don Higgins, director of the West Central Community Center.

More than 4,600 surveys are being distributed door-to-door in West Central this summer. The questionnaires ask for expertise in everything from drama to scuba diving, needlepoint to chimney sweeping.

Respondents are asked if they would teach for free or pay. Bartering will be encouraged.

Organizers hope to get at least 50 percent of the questionnaires back.

The project is another step in efforts to pull the West Central neighborhood up from decades of crime and poverty, says Higgins. The neighborhood has earned national attention for putting community development theory into action.

The database serves several purposes, organizers say. It will keep money in the neighborhood by giving residents a directory of local expertise. Higgins predicts that most services will be free.

“By trading dollars in community, you not only stretch a dollar, but you also strengthen economy,” said Higgins.

The database gives organizers a vast reserve of volunteer hours, a scarce resource in a neighborhood freckled with non-profit, public works projects.

And it can help people find jobs. Cheryl Steele, an anti-crime activist, says the database will be posted on TINCAN, a regional electronic bulletin board, giving potential employers the phone numbers of residents with specialized skills.

“If I am looking for someone to fix my lawn mower, I’m going to look in my neighborhood first,” said Steele.

The database is available to the public, but not all free services will be open to non-West Central residents, Steele warns. Participants are expected to set their own prices.

Several larger cities have similar co-ops, including Seattle. But a neighborhood co-op on this scale is unprecedented in Spokane.

Work in collecting and compiling the data is being done by volunteers. Women from the Eleanor Chase House, a Department of Corrections work release facility, will be distributing the surveys and entering the data.

, DataTimes