Et cetera : NCCC Maple 3 Cleans Up the Street of Flint

Maple 3 Team Leader Keanu Harris carries a broom away from the work site in Flint

NCCC Maple 3 Cleans Up the Streets of Flint

By Andrew Johnson

AmeriCorps NCCC team Maple 3 was serving with the city of Flint, MI until October 1. The team had been assisting Flint in beautification of the streets, safety, and disaster preparedness.

Maple 3 cleaned up streets and abandoned homes in the North side of Flint, as well as repainted an old playground. The team has been trained by the Red Cross to go door to door and educate residents on disaster preparedness as well as give out emergency kits. The team started doing this on the East side of the city. Maple 3 also had a goal of boarding up 500 abandoned homes during their stay in the city, this had begun in late September when the team assisted local churches in having a city wide day of boarding, called “Be the Church” day.

“I like how the community appreciates what we’re doing for their environment” says team member Kurtis Head from Indianapolis, Indiana. The team has already established a presence in the city, with community members often recognizing them and telling the team how much they appreciate what they are doing.

Maple 3 has recently arrived in Detroit, Michigan where they will be serving at a call center for survivors of the recent flooding. The team is looking forward to serving with this, in need community and adding to the impact already made by NCCC teams there.