THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Sunday, April 16, 1995 TAG: 9504140148
SECTION: SUFFOLK SUN PAGE: 06 EDITION: FINAL
TYPE: Editorial
SOURCE: John Pruitt
LENGTH: Medium: 66 lines
Good things are happening in Suffolk, things that indicate an active role by government instead of the reactive role that so long has kept the city in a rut.
Thursday's newspaper, for instance, told of a city staff recommendation that the former Suffolk High School be renovated to house three city agencies that, despite unity in their clientele, are in far-flung quarters; and of community-based rehabilitation efforts in Huntersville and Hall Place.
In different ways, both bespeak self-help.
If city fathers are indeed serious about salvaging downtown - and I believe they are, even if belatedly - there is no better way than adapting existing structures to new uses or enabling private property owners to do the same thing.
Finally, it seems, the Redevelopment and Housing Authority, which for so long has put overwhelming emphasis on the ``Housing'' element of its name, while ignoring ``Redevelopment,'' sees that it can be a big player in downtown's renaissance.
Although the recommended use of Suffolk High is welcome from any source, it should have come from SRHA in the first place. Instead, the authority purchased the former Paul D. Camp Community College building on Pinner Street and planned to move its headquarters out of downtown.
Now, the city says it may find other use of that building or sell it so SRHA could remain downtown, in a graceful building that houses memories and pride. It's a good plan, and we can only hope that renovation is affordable.
Think of the envisioned use - by SRHA, the Social Services Department and the city Health Department - the same way many of us think of shopping: completing a variety of business without having to run hither and yon.
Many of the same customers are served by those agencies, so it only makes sense for them to go to to a central place - and be better served.
It's more than a matter of convenience. It's a matter of total services to help close the revolving door of social dependence that costs the city so much money - up front and continually.
For example, a customer might get not only temporary shelter but referral to health care so he could return to work and earn wages enough to have his own shelter. That is, renewed emphasis on self-help.
I've never been convinced that most people who live on the public dole do it because they want to. In too many cases, they either have no choice or don't know of options. I'm not convinced that unifying services is a panacea, but I do believe its positive impact is one reason citizens should rally to support the use of the former school.
Private efforts should be part of the renovation. With so much pride associated with the building, I'm convinced that there are willing workers - particularly graduates - who would donate cleanup, fixup efforts.
It's just the kind of thing planned in Huntersville and Hall Place. Residents will determine what they want their communities to be like and put their efforts into making it happen. It's just the kind of old-fashioned notion to bring new life - community - to these areas.
It's the kind of thing, too, that ought to spread to other areas - before they get to the point of a Huntersville. Otherwise, the city will forever be reacting to problems permitted to get out of hand.
In this season when new life is celebrated by many of us, there's at least the incubation of a refreshingly new approach to old challenges. by CNB