by Shawn Nowlin
On Thursday, Feb. 9, city officials and community members met on the Goodwill Industries campus to discuss a wide range of topics including turning a former Melrose Avenue lounge – known most recently for several gunfire instances – into a community outreach center. Roanoke Mayor Sherman Lea, Sr., spoke on the importance of having community solution meetings.
“One of the things that I’ve always emphasized during my tenure as Mayor is to have an open dialogue,” he said. “We really want to share with you what’s going on in our community and solicit your input as to how we can make it better. That’s very important to us.”
Vice Mayor Anita Price, Roanoke City Police Captain Rick Morrison, Feeding America Southwest Virginia President and CEO Pamela Irvine and Goodwill Industries of the Valleys Chief Development Office Frank Rogan were among those present.
“My daddy taught me growing up that nobody lives in this world alone,” Price said. “If you think you can do something all by yourself, you are sadly mistaken;” she added. “If ever there was a time to live in Roanoke, it is today because we know how to do it right. We have police officers that are our friends and not every community in this country can say that.”
A popular talking point Thursday night was finding a way to put the same resources in Northwest Roanoke as in other areas. While there are certain pockets of Roanoke that have gone years without a single homicide, the same can’t be said about the entire city. In 2016, a total of 12 homicides took place in Roanoke City. Even more were injured as a direct result of gunfire. “As we journey together on this project, we are going to see and discover the importance of what this initiative can do for this area,” one attendee added.
Cpt. Rick Morrison stated that his boss, Chief Tim Young, encourages his officers to not just do traditional police work like answer phone calls, but also look for creative solutions to fix problems. “Many years ago, we as a Police Department realized that we can’t do it all and we don’t know it all,” he said. “As Mrs. Price alluded to, it takes a community. Not just the police. Not just citizens. It takes everybody.” “A vision is great and is needed. But if you don’t have the resources to make that vision a reality, it just stays a vision,” he added. “I was able to meet with Feeding America and share the community’s vision and it aligned with what they are trying to do long term.”
The Community Solutions Center is a groundbreaking collaborative partnership between the Roanoke City Police Department, Feeding America Southwest Virginia, Goodwill Industries of the Valleys and Melrose-Orange area community leaders. The facility, located at 2328 Melrose Ave., will provide food service jobs training and a production kitchen to upgrade FASWVA’s children’s feeding programs from serving pre-packaged meals to serving freshly prepared meals and snacks. The planned CSC will also transform a dangerous, crime-ridden property into a positive, community-focused entity for the benefit of the Melrose-Orange community.
Building the Community Solutions Center is a start but Mayor Lea believes that it shouldn’t just stop there. “I want to thank all of you for coming out this afternoon to be involved in what I think is a tremendous project,” he said. “I’m proud of what we are doing. I’m proud of our city.”
