IN DEPTH: Jericho Road focuses on helping refugees

 While it may be no surprise that West Side residents are always willing to lend a hand when one is in need, one area foundation takes the extra step to help refugees new to America. Jericho Road Ministries focuses on teaching refugees how to adapt to their new surroundings while providing free medical advice and transportation to local destinations in an effort to assist them in getting proper care. Full story by Kristina Ferris and Megan Kreps

Homefront: Making homes more affordable

 Homefront, Inc. has purchased 10 homes on 19th Street for a major home and community rebuilding effort.
 The homes have been purchased and rebuilt using city and state grant money.
Two of the homes have already been fully rebuilt and currently have people living in them. Another three have been sold and are waiting to be finished. Three others are in various stages of renovation while two others are scheduled for demolition and a ground up rebuild.
 “We will have everything done on 19th Street by the end of this year,” said Joe Bologna, project manager for Homefront.
 To keep the neighborhood from becoming gentrified, Homefront is selling the homes at a price far below the cost of the renovations. For example, 38 19th St. is listed for $84,000. Joe Bologna estimates each house costs around $180,000 to renovate.
 By using another portion of the grant money, Homefront is able to help prospective buyers by offering a purchase subsidy on top of the houses’ reduced cost.
 “Our target buyer income is 80 percent of the area median, that’s $36,100 for a single person,” said Jean Berry the program director for Homefront. “To have somebody who makes that kind of money buy one of our homes for more than $60,000 would be us putting them in an unaffordable home.”
 Affordable and long lasting housing is Homefront’s way to improve the neighborhood and keep housing prices from pushing others out. By Michael Hargrave and Shayna McKie

Tip line extends helping hand to youth

  A youth behavior tip line is transitioning from Buffalo Police Headquarters to the Westside Community Services this summer.

   Jonathan Lindner, who is the coalition’s coordinator, said the tip line, sponsored by the West Side Youth Development Coalition, is making a major metamorphosis in July.

   The tip line was initially created to provide an outlet for citizens to alert authorities about underage drinking on the West Side, but it’s transitioning into a more focused project for area youths, Lindner said.

   “The main goal is to provide an opportunity for students and youth to actually talk about issues, problems and concerns,” Lindner said. “ There isn’t really anything out there for that and what it does is provide an anonymous way for them to get their message across and it allows for us to really focus on other issues besides alcohol.”

   The tip line is primarily directed to youths in the 14213 vicinity and could extend to 14222, and as of now, the project will have one primary phone number and five phone lines.

   “The tip line is currently being funded by the Project Safe Neighborhoods Grant allocated by the Department of Justice,” Linder said.  “The West Side Youth Coalition recently applied for a larger grant with more financial benefits called the Drug-Free Communities Grant which would be able to provide long term support.”

   According to the West Side Youth Coalition’s website, they’re hoping to not only improve the youth’s behavior on the West Side, but the community as a whole.
 By Elaundress Ballard and Christie Jok

CITY CHICKENS - Jesse Meeder leads a workshop on urban chicken farming as part of the Massachusetts Avenue Project recent urban agriculture training session. Eight people from as far away as Rochester attended the training. Participants were taught how to raise chickens in the city, from feeding them to building chicken coops that are in line with city regulations. Photo by Michael Canfield and Jacob Tierney

Clothes stores have surplus of winter gear

 Spring is creeping upon us a little earlier than past years, making an impact on some small businesses along Grant Street. While many aren’t complaining about the lack of winter weather, some storeowners are noticing a bit more winter apparel in their stores than usual.
 One Stop Mart, located on 302 Grant St., already has some spring clothing items out for customers, but in the back you can still find winter coats and sweaters.
 “Since it wasn’t a bad winter we still have some stuff left, but if we still have anything at the end of the month we put it on clearance to try to get rid of it,” said Stahl Fidel, store manager. “And if it still doesn’t sell we give it away to charity.”
 New To You Shop, a second hand store also located on 289 Grant Street,- AP still has a variety of winter apparel available to customers.
  “We do have more winter clothes than summer, but we offer bag sales to people which helps sell clothing items at a cheaper cost for customers,” said Kim DeFlyer, a manager at New To You Shop.
 The weather has increased walking traffic in and out of stores on Grant Street, but we all know how unpredictable Buffalo weather can be. DeFlyer also said that most customers come by foot, so if the weather changes drastically, people tend come in for last minute gear, which helps the store to sell a lot of what may be leftover. By Ann Hendricks and Miranda Ruckdeschel

Ryan wants DEC to monitor air quality

 Assemblyman Sean Ryan, D-Buffalo, recently sent a letter to the Department of Environmental Conservation, requesting equipment be put in place to monitor the air quality along the neighborhoods of the West Side. In the letter, Ryan cites a recent study that highlights the instance of chronic respiratory illness affecting the West Side.

 The study found that nearly 45 percent  of West Side households reported at least one case of chronic respiratory illness or asthma, according to the Clean Air Coalition of Western New York’s website.

  “It’s time for the DEC to take action and put air monitors in place so we can find a solution to this problem,” said Ryan.

   As a result of similar testing on the Tonawanda Coke Corp.  plant, measures such as installing new filters on smoke stacks have been put in place that have decreased the harmful levels of toxic waste, according to Cody Myers, community liaison to Ryan.

 “Really good benefits have resulted from actions taken in Tonawanda to reduce benzene levels coming from the coke factory,” said Myers. “Levels have now been reduced by approximately 80 percent.”

  Ryan is concerned that the amount of traffic that passes through the West Side is a hindrance to air quality levels, similar to those in Tonawanda.

  “The health and safety of West Side residents is one of my top priorities,” said Ryan. By Jacob Becker and Ed Mazzu

IN DEPTH: Program teaches refugee kids about school

Pre-k student Binisha learns about school at Buffalo Beginnings

 Buffalo State College and Journey’s End Refugee Services have come together to put a program together that will do more than just give young refugee youth something to do. Buffalo Beginnings is a program that works with school age refugees and helps them overcome their anxiety and nerves of entering the American public school system. Full story by Katie Anderson and Danielle Wayne