“You got to make some noise. …Y ’all ready?” coached LaShay Russ before leading a small parade through Charleston Park to Kool & the Gang’s "Celebration" as they kicked off the rural Alva neighborhood’s annual party.
By late Saturday morning, a few hundred residents, collaborators, and vendors convened for Charleston Park Day at a park bordered by orange groves. The crowd contrasted last year’s sparse showing after longtime community center coordinator Alice Washington died. At the time, the historic settlement of about 200 lacked leaders and advocates. Much has transpired since.
Russ, the new coordinator, started programs for kids, adults, and seniors. A coalition brought water treatment to residents after The News-Press series on the lack of clean water. The low-income neighborhood has long relied on private wells with contaminated water. Organizations outside Charleston Park stepped up as partners.
“I’m just excited about putting hope back into the community and to keep going with what Alice started so that it’s not left to wither away,” said Russ, who moved into Washington’s position this past summer. New and restarted old programs include: afterschool tutoring, nutrition classes, a teen outreach program, a community garden, and breakfast for seniors.
Charleston Park began as a refuge for black farmworkers during segregation. The population is still majority African-American. Though established in 1926, water infrastructure did not follow, though officials have known of water quality problems there for decades.
Groundwater in Charleston Park has long been nonpotable. Well water tested so salty, failing standards, that scientists hypothesized saltwater had intruded into the community’s freshwater supply. Recurring total coliform bacteria and naturally-occurring radiation were identified as other health threats.
Among those recognized Saturday after the parade were Lee County residents Tim Byrne, Carmen Salome, and Kerry Constantine, who helped residents with contaminated water through Clean Water for Charleston Park. The coalition is a project of the local nonprofit Blankets & Blessings and raised about $25,000 to install reverse osmosis systems and provide other water-related improvements to about 15 homes.
“Every time we turn a new house on and we know the water is better, I feel better,” Byrne, CEO of Cape Coral-based Aqua Consultants, told residents Saturday after he and Russ hugged. “It’s not about money. It’s about making sure you guys have your kids on good safe water.”
Jannie Smith, a 74-year-old grandmother and high school cafeteria worker, received one of the systems. “It used to have that real bad smell and the next day there was no smell,” she said. “The water tastes real good.”
The coalition has money to do a few more homes, Constantine said. They remain concerned about renters but are restricted in what they can do to other people’s properties. Most people who live in Charleston Park do not own their homes.
“We’d like to see the property owners step up,” Constantine said.
The group developed a letter to send to landlords to connect them with Byrne, who provided free labor and discounted equipment to homeowners.
Residents have also requested training young people so they can help service the new water systems. Byrne welcomed the idea of offering training.
Lee County Commissioner Frank Mann, who represents Charleston Park, drove his antique car in the parade. He’s pleased with the progress on resolving water concerns. “We’re way ahead from where we were.”
Benny Washington, a 57-year-old Charleston Park pastor and Alice Washington’s widower, agreed. “We’ve seen more results and more improvements with the water.”
Lee County provided free bacteriological well water testing to residents after The News-Press report. Several wells tested positive for total coliform bacteria.
Another fix may be on the horizon. Natures’ Purification, a startup of FGCU students, hopes to bring solar still technology to the community and developing countries. Solar stills distill water through sunlight. In a few weeks, they plan to pitch the project to investors and have entered the Hult Prize, which helps to launch social enterprises driven by young people.
“Our end goal is to help those in third-world countries. However, when we first found out about the water issue in our back yard, so to speak, we were shocked,” said Andrew Morgan, a 21-year-old entrepreneurship major at FGCU. “It’s almost disrespectful that no one has cured this problem.”
At Saturday’s program, Russ also thanked, among others, ALVA Inc. and Alva Garden Club, which donated plants to beautify the Charleston Park entrance sign along State Road 80 that is easy to miss.
Another partnership that’s developed: Charleston Park’s Liberation Outreach International has connected with other Alva churches, said Pastor Allarius Russ, also LaShay Russ’ husband.
“Charleston Park is a community inside of Alva but for so long we’ve operated as separated … It’s the benefit of just coming together.”
For Byrne, the experience of working there has changed him. He brought his 10-year-old daughter to Charleston Park Day to show her, “this is how we love on other people.”