D
avey volunteers have joined "Fight
the Blight," a continuous effort to
rehabilitate or remove vacant lots in Detroit,
Michigan. With nearly 85,000 blighted proper-
ties, the state proceeds to take huge steps
to mend the once booming Motor City.
To help out, Aaron Dowen, production
manager at the Detroit Southwest CLS terri-
tory, accepted State Representative Assistant
Morgan Quinney's call to help revive a local
neighborhood with many trash-ridden vacant
lots in downtown Detroit.
Fighting Blight in Detroit
Dowen enlisted a crew including Archie
Blevins, Mike Hazley, Dave Kominek and
Corbin Mott. Together they volunteered a
half day to pick up trash and mow nearly
10 vacant properties.
"It was a hard day but well worth it,"
Dowen says. "We were the only crew to show
up with lawn mowers, so if we weren't there,
all the properties would still be overgrown."
Davey's crew worked side-by-side with
community members, local businesses and
government officials to clean the properties in
an effort to keep senior citizens residing
in a nearby nursing home safe when walking
the area.
"Everything went well; it was great for us to
show up and help out," Dowen says. "People
were very appreciative of us being down there."
Detroit city officials continue to fight
blight within the vacant lot communities and
inspire community efforts like this to eradicate
the problem. To find out more information
about Detroit's blight removal plan, visit
www.timetoendblight.com.
Idea submitted by: Aaron Dowen,
production manager, Detroit Southwest CLS territory
Detroit community volunteers utilize a Davey truck to clean litter-lined properties.
Davey volunteers Corbin
Mott, Archie Blevins,
Mike Hazley, Dave
Kominek and Aaron
Dowen (pictured
from left to right)
help fight blight in
downtown Detroit.
20 | November/December 2015
