By Southwester Staff
On the sunny afternoon of April 22, the Southwest Peace Gardens officially reopened for the season. The event was marked by the Southwest Garden Fest, a neighborhood block party hosted by GOODProjects and the Southwest Business Improvement District (SWBID) that included food, music, guided meditations, community input for additional public art installations and more.
The Southwest Peace Gardens transform centrally located community spaces into flower and herb gardens with art and enhanced public amenities. The three gardens were created in response to neighborhood gun violence in order to give youth and seniors a safe outdoor space for meditation, reading, and recreational activities. Funding for the project came from the Building Blocks DC grant program, a community-based approach to curbing violence by directing resources and services to the people most at risk of committing violence and the places most prone to violent occurrences.
Ahead of the reopening celebration, Project Glow (powered by Insomniac, Club Glow, and Live Nation) partnered with GOODProjects to create a week of impact, including recruiting volunteers to prepare the garden beds for planting, pick up litter, and write notes of encouragement and peace for the neighborhood.
Since 2016, GOODProjects has helped families in Southwest D.C. live fulfilling lives free from poverty and violence while promoting health and wellness within the same communities. To learn more, visit www.GOODProjects.org or follow @GOODProjectsDC on Twitter.