My name is Raja Freeman. I am a 21-year-old poet and aspiring community leader. I am working with South Euclid City Councilwoman Sara Continenza and the Bexley Community Group to expand our pump track area at Bexley Park so that the younger population of South Euclid can have somewhere we can go where we can hang out and be ourselves. On the north side of the park, there is an underutilized bicycle pump track. We would like to pave this track and add some ramps and jumps. This could be used for bicycles, skateboards, scooters and more!

The revitalized skate park will be a sanctuary for youth. This will be a space for recreation and active living in our community at a time when outdoor, pandemic-friendly activities are limited. Even though South Euclid offers vibrant youth programming through MyCom and other partnerships, we don't have a recreation center or any businesses where youth can hang out. Even before the pandemic, summertime was rife with idle teens hanging out in parks and causing disruptions, and the situation has worsened with the pandemic and lockdown. There always hangs a "No Loitering" sign in our Bexley Park pavilion, aimed at keeping youth from hanging out in the pavilion. More and more neighbors complain of youth-related disturbances. Now, this sign is joined by a "Pavilion Closed" sign. Our new skate park will be a welcoming, safe place to convene, as it is outdoors, no equipment will be shared, and it is spacious enough that youth can adhere to social distancing.

Due to the stress and uncertainty created by the pandemic and lockdown, anxiety, depression, suicide, drug usage, and overdoses have been on the rise. This project provides us a unique opportunity to support the social, emotional, and developmental wellness of our community at an affordable cost. We will engage the youth in the community in the planning and execution of this project so that what we do reflects their interests. This is a way to help enhance public health in our community, especially since it will be an area conducive to social distancing guidelines set during the COVID-19 pandemic and any pandemics that may occur in the future. It is outdoors, spacious, and features a lovely tree canopy to cleanse the air and offer shade.  Areas like this are important in unprecedented times such as these because there are currently very few opportunities to do so. 

We have several strategic partnerships to make this project a success. We are working with the City of South Euclid, OneSouthEuclid, and the Bexley Community Group. This will allow us to share resources to sustain and develop our project, and to secure the space. We believe that by engaging young residents in the planning of the park, and demonstrating that their voices matter, they will have an inspiration to nurture this new asset. Through this community-supporting initiative, we will be able to creatively respond to the growing need for youth activities in our City.