Group Trying To Make Area More Kid-Friendly

A group of people living along North Division and Hawthorne says their community has gotten lost in the shuffle, hustle and bustle of north Spokane.

The Morningside Partnership was formed in March to put residents at the forefront of the community. Organizers hope to give kids more things to do while getting more adults involved in activities.

“The neighborhood is real unique because it’s in the Y,” said Jack Scott, one of the founders of Morningside. “It’s not a giant area, but it’s densely packed. There’s a lot of traffic and congestion, and recreationally, there’s not a lot for kids to do.”

The neighborhood, which is shaped like a triangle, has no community park. There is just one basketball hoop, at St. Luke Lutheran Church at 9704 N. Division, where kids can play, Scott said.

Holmberg Park is close by, but many parents don’t like the idea of their kids having to cross busy North Wall Street, Scott said.

So parents have been getting together since earlier in the year to talk about ways to make the neighborhood more user-friendly for kids, Scott said.

Scott, a social worker at Evergreen Elementary, along with his co-worker, Joyce Skoveran, and neighborhood volunteer Tom Barthelmess, have put together a variety of events for parents and kids this summer.

The group is tentatively planning to have a pancake feed at St. Luke on Aug. 9.

“We want to get the community together and get people talking,” Scott said.

St. Luke is also taking an active role in the development of Morningside.

“We’ve got a wonderful facility,” said St. Luke pastor Michael Wiser. “The church is allowing the group to use space, but as far as we’re concerned, we’re not taking this on as a ministry. We want to assist the neighborhood.”

At the request of Morningside volunteers, St. Luke officials approved an after-school program for latchkey kids from Evergreen. The program will be held at the church starting this fall, Wiser said.

The church wants to provide a safe place for kids to stay after school is over. A before-school program could be instituted depending on the success of the after-school program, Wiser said.

“We want to take the financial load off single moms and provide a possible alternative to day care,” Wiser said.

But there is a catch. The students will have to do some learning.

“We want to make it a semi-learning experience for them,” Wiser said.

Right now, Morningside volunteers are trying to get grants for educational programs which could be run from the church, Wiser said.

From there, Wiser said the church would like to develop a mentoring program between the elementary school kids and students from Witworth College and Mead High School, according to Wiser.

He said the church could also tap into members of its youth programs as potential mentors. St. Luke has 100 children in the high school and youth programs, Wiser said.

Then, if the group can establish visibility, Wiser said the local business community could be targeted for help.

“We want to have a program that is effective and noticeable,” Wiser said.

He said the church’s involvement with Morningside is somewhat unprecedented in the 12 years he’s been a pastor.

“This church is not really a neighborhood church,” Wiser said.

“We draw from Chattaroy, Gleneden and Camelot. This is a major move for us to look out the back door and help our own. And it’s about time.”

, DataTimes