Greenfield Youth and Families Want Their Parks Back

Jul. 27, 2013 / By

Greenfield Parks

 

South Kern Sol, Reyna Olaguez

BAKERSFIELD – Residents of Greenfield, a neighborhood in southeast Bakersfield, are becoming increasingly disturbed by the amounts of broken glass, and cigarette and cigar butts, that are littering play areas in Rexland Acres Park.  So much so, that some locals have decided to organize in an effort to “take back” the park, which they say has been less and less frequented by families and increasingly by gang members. At the forefront of the effort are a group of youth organizers, who were among the first to identify the issue.

“We had a spring clean up at the parks and we noticed that all the South Kern parks had an abundance of cigar buds and glass from alcoholic beverages, and that is when we decided to take action to make the parks cleaner and safer for families and kids to enjoy,” said Jose Pinto, a member of the local Building Healthy Communities youth group.

Pinto continued: “My personal experience at Rexland Acres Park when I did live there was that we were not allowed to go to the park because there was always people smoking and drinking. I think that the people who smoke at the park are gang members and people who are up to no good.”

Read more at South Kern Sol

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