United H.O.P.E. Community Organization
Viola Bell, Director
3506 Virginia Ave.
Baltimore, Md. 21215
(410) 466-7022

"Live wire." "Dynamo" "Ball of fire." All these terms only come halfway toward describing Viola Bell's enthusiasm as she almost single-handedly (although with the help of a lot of friends and neighbors) tries to take back her neighborhood.

Mrs. Bell (whose son, Larry, takes after her in a lot of ways and is the Americorps Youth Coordinator for Northwest Baltimore Corporation) is a single mother who lived in the suburbs, but after a divorce five years ago decided to move back into the city so she could save money on property and be close to her college classes.

It didn't take her long to discover how much the city had changed, she said, appalled by the vacant and dilapidated buildings, the open drug dealing and fear of crime. "When I realized what I was in the midst of," she said, "I said, 'We have to do something about this.'" Mobilizing neighbors of similar motivation, they started looking for small but significant ways that they could inspire their children and start building self-sufficiency and paths to attain it.

Working out of her home, she started a dance and performance group, the Umoja HOPE Performers, a talented band of youngsters ages 7 to 14 who gain pride and make pocket money performing at social and community events. Then, tapping another kind of creativity, she started the Kuumba (Creativity) Club, another after-school activity featuring sewing and handicrafts -- including costumes and props for the Umoja Performers.

And that's only the beginning. After toiling for more than a year to clear and cultivate a large vacant lot, they turned it into a community garden last year that produced beyond all expectations. This year, in fine black soil just delivered and plowed in this week, they intend to turn it into a commercial garden, selling the produce from their urban farm from a street-corner booth that the youngsters will build, using the proceeds to help support their programs.

And in the next few months, they'll move all this activity from Mrs. Bell's home into the organization's own community center, "Nia House," a sturdy townhouse that she purchased with her limited resources (the group's budget is about $2,500) because she can't wait any longer for other groups to do it.

"We have lots of problems here," she said, "But we have a lot of people who want to see change. And we have soldiers who are willing to roll up their sleeves and help."

This organization is very small, but it has very big dreams. When people care as much as Viola Bell, they can make a real difference.

All the feature stories on @GRASS-ROOTS.ORG's pages are reported and written by Robin Garr, a prize-winning journalist who has visited more than 500 innovative grassroots programs in all 50 states since 1990.

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