We Need Your Help!
All who live, work, or play in Westwood want a clean, safe, and vibrant neighborhood. All of us can help make that happen by doing our part. Several groups are working on projects to improve Westwood. If you are interested in finding out more information or participating at any level, please contact us. If you have a project or idea that would benefit our neighborhood, share it with us.
Donations are currently accepted at all Westwood Concern meetings. Your donations help defray the cost of buying landscaping materials, providing refreshments at each meeting, maintaining flower pots in the business district, petitioning City Hall, renting dumpsters for neighborhood clean up events, purchasing t-shirts & rally signs for special events, etc. If you cannot attend a meeting, please contact us via e-mail (we hope to have an online donation program in-place in the future).
I's your neighborhood—take it back by helping us to spread the word!
“It starts with treating neighborhoods as places where people care what happens, and where both residents and government are mobilized to fight disorder root and branch. It starts with creating an environment where a single broken window (whether literal of metaphorical) is treated as the beginning of chaos, and is swiftly repaired.”—Comeback Cities, by Paul S. Grogan and Tony Proscio
Keep it Clean
Pick up litter and trash around your home or in your neighborhood. Take plastic bags with you on walks and pick up trash along the way. Participate in neighborhood clean-up days.
If you notice properties in the neighborhood that have accumulated trash, junk cars, or other unsafe conditions, report them to the proper authorities. Ignoring these issues sends a message about what the neighborhood is willing to tolerate and finds acceptable. Also report graffiti on buildings, signs, etc.
Take it one step further and make Westwood more attractive. Help with gardening tasks at Westwood Town Hall or help maintain the flower pots in the historic business district along Harrison Avenue.
Make A Difference Day
Volunteers gather at the Westwood Town Hall to participate in this highly successful annual fall cleanup campagin. Leaf raking & collection, bulb planting, and mulching are just some of the beautification tasks performed by a hardworking crew of residents. Volunteers come together in the morning and finish by early afternoon—their reward upon completion are drinks, pizza, and the satisfaction of knowing they made a difference in Westwood.
Check out the action from past Make A Difference Day events on Flickr.
Great American Cleanup
Westwood is a proud participant of Keep Cincinnati Beautiful's annual spring event: the Great American Cleanup program. Volunteers from all over our community come together and do some spring cleaning at the Westwood Town Hall, the Westwood Elementary School, gateway corridors like Harrison, Montana, and Queen City Avenues, as well as their own homes and neighborhood. It's a great time to regroup with neighbors and friends to help spruce up Westwood for the beautiful spring season. Volunteer activities include beautifying parks and recreation areas, handling recycling collections, picking up litter, planting trees and flowers, and conducting education programs and litter-free events. Volunteers receive t-shirts, drinks, and pizza at the end of their hard-day's work.
Check out the action from past Great American Cleanup Day events on Flickr.
Gateways
Gateways was started by a few individuals who wanted to improve the image of Westwood by enhancing the look of the gateways into our community—Montana, Harrison, and Queen City Avenues. Dumpsters get filled up quickly with litter, debris, and yard waste. The result is a much more pleasant drive on our heavily-traveled gateway corridors. Good news here is that City Officials have promised cooperation in keeping these vital arteries clean in the future!
Garden Volunteers
We need you to be part of the volunteer effort to help beautify the grounds at the Westwood Town Hall. A small but dedicated group of residents from the area have been working for the past nine years on improving the grounds through weeding, planting flowers, mulching, pruning, picking up litter, sweeping, watering, watering, watering. More volunteers are definitely needed!! We are hoping that you will volunteer and invite others that you know in the community to join our group. If you can help please contact Peg Rhein, Westwood Town Hall Volunteer Coordinator.
Keep it Safe
Keep your eyes open. Watch for things that do not look right and people that look suspicious. Talk to neighbors and compare notes. Report any unusual activity to District 3 Police at (513) 765-1212. Try to provide as much detail as possible. Do not attract criminal activity by leaving house or car doors unlocked or possessions lying in plain view. When it comes to your cars and trucks, secure your vehicle by concealing valuable items from view – keep your junk in your trunk!
Get involved with others on your street/block. Help each other and set high standards for acceptable behavior. If absentee landlords are allowing their property to deteriorate, contact them or the appropriate agency. Gather together with others and confront the problem as a group.
Citizens On Patrol (COPs)
Westwood is proud to have one of the most active Citizens On Patrol Programs in Cincinnati.
Citizens on Patrol first deployed in 1997 in three test neighborhoods, the program has expanded into 24 of the cities 52 neighborhoods with an additional unit patrolling City Parks. Volunteers patrol their neighborhoods, acting as the eyes and ears of the police. Patrols concentrate around problem areas aiding the police by increasing visibility. COPP units deter crime by their mere presence and visibility to the general public.
Using police radios and cell phones team members are able to communicate directly with officers and report crimes in progress. Much of the COPP units function however, is the reporting of quality of life issues. By locating and reporting issues that contribute to criminal activity, these teams are able to fix the proverbial
“Broken Window.”
Westwood's COP program is always looking for volunteers. Interested individuals should contact contact Westwood COPs via e-mail or call (513) 352-3533. Learn more...
Court Watch
The Westwood Court Watch Program is made up of volunteers from the community who track individuals charged with crimes in Westwood as they pass through the court system. We follow cases that have significant impact on the community and provide statements about the effect the individual has had on the neighborhood for the judge to consider when establishing sentence.
Sexual Offenders
You can keep your family and neighbors safe by keeping tabs on registered sex offenders in your area. The eSORN (Electronic Sex Offender Registration and Notification system offered by the Ohio Attorney General's office is one of the nation's premeire systems for locating and tracking registered sexual predators. Additionally, the Hamilton County Sheriff's Office offers its own tracking tool for locating and monitoring sexual offenders.
CrimeReports.com
CrimeReports.com is a free service that was created to help law enforcement agencies put crime data in the hands of those who care about it most—citizens. While crime statistics in a specific city may be available, they may not be accessible. CrimeReports.com standardizes the way law enforcement agencies communicate crime data to the public, down to the specific neighborhood or block they live on. Search CrimeReports.com for criminal activity in Westwood (45211).
Make it Vibrant
Do your part to help Westwood thrive. Use the resources available in our neighborhood. When funding cuts are made, they often take place in locations where services are not being used. Sign up for classes through the Cincinnati Recreation Commission at the Westwood Town Hall. Attend plays there. Visit the Westwood Library. Use the local parks.
Support local businesses. It's a way to invest in your own neighborhood. The money you spend locally can has a positive effect. Successful businesses are a plus for a neighborhood and help maintain property values. Empty storefronts send a message to people about the surrounding environment. Below is a brief list of ways you can help support local Westwood businesses:
- Shop locally first. Try to find what you need close to home before taking your money to another part of town. If you don't see what you need or want, ask store owners if they will carry the item or order it for you. They are more likely to carry a broader ranger of items if they know they can sell them.
- Try small locally-owned businesses first. Often, small, locally-owned businesses will provide better personal service than large, national chains. If you do business with large, national chains, support local locations first.
- Hold local businesses to the same standards you expect of any business. As with any decision about using a business, ask for references and check with the Better Business Bureau if you have concerns.
The Westwood Civic Association, was established in 1911 as an amalgam of the Westwood Improvement Association, the Westwood Village Council, and the Westwood Businessman's Club. The group's mission has remained consistent:
- Provide a voice representing the concerns of our neighborhood that is heard and respected by our City Council
- Provide a forum to discuss neighborhood issues and events
- Addressing crime, zoning, and developmental challenges
- Reviewing requests for liquor licenses, zoning changes and other matters submitted by the City to community councils
- Providing print and electronic communication regarding issues and events important to the residents of Westwood
To join the Westwood Civic Association, complete this application form and mail it in or bring it to the next meeting.
The Westwood Community Urban Redevelopment Corporation's (WestCURC) mission is to actively facilitate economic, social, and cultural development in the community. They work closely with residents, community leaders, business owners, and city officials to promote investment in Westwood, with a focus on real estate development, beautification, promotion, and collaboration. WestCURC's vision of Westwood is a neighborhood where residents and visitors live, work, worship, learn, shop, and play in a safe and thriving environment.
The Westwood Historical Society is a non-profit 501(c)(3) organization made up of a diverse group of people, from all walks of life and a wide variety of ages who are interested in Westwood history. The Westwood Historical Society meets 9 times per year to enjoy programs on topics of local interest as well as regional and general historical interest. The society sponsors the popular Westwood Home Tour, encourages sensitive restoration of Westwood's vintage homes and historic structures, and works to preserve buildings and sites of significant historical heritage. Membership is $15 per year, per househould. Visit the Westwood Historical Society website to learn more.
Back to topTake it Back
Join us and bring others along by helping to spread the word!
Flyer Distribution
Currently we hand deliver over 8,000 flyers announcing our meetings and information important to Westwood residents. This effort is made possible by a great team of volunteers. On average, distributing flyers takes about an hour a month. We have several routes available and routes can be shared by friends and family to decrease the time commitment. The more help we have, the more residents are informed, and therefore, the stronger we are as a community. Contact us about helping with Westwood Concern flyer distribution.
E-mail Army
This is the easiest group to become involved in. Those that are on our e-mail list will periodically receive newsletters which contain important information for the residents of Westwood. Often we must make our voice heard as a community. When important issues arise, we ask residents to write and call city council and other agencies. Please do so whenever you have the opportunity. Residents can also initiate letters on their own. Please copy us on the letters to keep us informed of your efforts; often times your correspondence will lead to others supporting your ideas.
Good Guy Loitering
Westwood is proud to have one of the most active Good Guy Loitering Programs in Cincinnati. Good Guy Loitering is just a group of friends and neighbors getting together–publicly–in a part of our community that is struggling with bad behavior. It is a showing that such behavior is not acceptable. We sit in lawn chairs on a
“troubled”
corner, drink water, pop, or coffee, and have snacks.If you are able to sit and chat with friends, you are qualified to loiter! It may sound like a heavy-duty, hard-core, community activist kind of thing—but it's really a blast! In large part, it is a few hours of fun and fellowship with other Westwood residents. It's a good time, and maybe that's the point. People seeing their neighbors out having a good time at night in Westwood is a good thing. If you or someone you know would like to be added to the mailing list, please let us know. Westwood's GGL is always looking for volunteers! For more information, visit Westwood's Good Guy Loitering Program on the web, or check out Good Guy Loitering on Facebook.
Donations
Donations are currently accepted at all Westwood Concern meetings. Your donations help defray the cost of buying landscaping materials, providing refreshments at each meeting, maintaining flower pots in the business district, petitioning City Hall, renting dumpsters for neighborhood clean up events, purchasing t-shirts & rally signs for special events, etc. If you cannot attend a meeting, please contact us via e-mail (we hope to have an online donation program in-place in the future).
Back to topYour Ideas Are Important To Us!
Some of our greatest successes have come about as the result of ideas contributed by our members. Several groups are working on projects to improve Westwood. If you are interested in finding out more information or participating at any level, please contact us. If you have a project or idea that would benefit our neighborhood, please share it with us. We need your help!
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