PHOENIX — On most days, Debbie Perlman walks with her two dogs through Cave Creek Park. As her dogs run freely around the grass and playground, Perlman has a smile on her face. It's been a while since she's been able to relax on her walks through the park, but with things starting to clean up there, she said the change is noticeable.
"Right now the park is awesome," she said. "I can tell the cleanup, what they've done and they're staying on top of it. The trees they've planted, and they've picked up the trash. The park rangers are coming through and the police and city workers there are more of them. It's a pleasure to be here, it's really nice."
Back in April, the condition of Cave Creek Park had gotten so bad, residents reached out to 12News to voice their frustrations. They said they felt like the park wasn't a priority to the City of Phoenix and while workers would come and try to clean it up, it was almost too much for them to handle.
"This park hasn't been invested in like other parks," said Kyle Clayton. "They should really change that because this park is six miles from Dunlap to Greenway and it has a lot of big community presence because of how large it is."
The park once thrived, but with a growing number of homeless, it was slowly deteriorating. Residents noticed more trash, abandoned furniture, drug paraphernalia and graffiti around the park. The playground that once attracted the neighborhood children sat bare and rusted in spots.
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Residents also said homeless would seek shelter in the caves meant for kids to climb on and run through. Human feces would be found at times, some homeless even urinating in front of children. Residents also said there were more reported thefts, break-ins and disruptions day and night.
"We wanted to take action because we knew the quickest way to make change was to make our voice be heard, to bring the group together and work together," Clayton said.
Clayton lives near the park and used to enjoy walking through it but stopped just because of what it had become. He recognized the park's importance though decided he'd do what he could to help bring life back to it.
"Shaw Butte is an awesome neighborhood," he said. "So we began the Neighborhood Shaw Butte Alliance because we wanted to bring our community together and work as a group to talk to the city about investing in this park. Parks are where our community comes to meet and come together and we're missing that and that's what spurred me to wanting to get the community together."
So far, the Alliance has held a few events that've made a big impact. A few weeks ago, the city brought a large dumpster so they could hold a cleanup. They also were able to receive 80 trees from the Diamondbacks and plant them around the park. The Alliance is also working with the City of Phoenix about updating the playground equipment and recently held a movie night that attracted dozens of families.
"Just seeing those 80 families come together, that hasn't happened in quite awhile," he said. "It just really showed the community that we're making change. You can feel it, it's tangible change and we'll keep building on that."
Residents, like Perlman, said they see the difference. They add there's still work to do, but appreciate what's been done.
"You know they're invested in it, and they want it to be a good environment for everybody," she said. "It's a good feeling to be able to let the dogs go and have a good time. There's more people here with their dogs and kids and it's just a pleasure."
Clayton said their work is just beginning and can't wait to bring the park back to what it was.
"We felt like coming together was the best way, not to just have one or two voices, but the voice of the community that the city will listen and make this a priority," he said. "It means there's a renewed sense of hope that things can change and that community action does make a difference."
If you'd like to help with cleanup or would like more information, you can go here.
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