Halloween just got a little less scary.
Operation Porchlight is a community-based, volunteer effort that pairs apartment residents with abandoned, foreclosed houses on Halloween to keep neighborhoods safe for trick-or-treating children.
We're starting in 2012 in the Albany Park area of Chicago. Join us.
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Safe Halloween
Trick-or-treating is an important tradition, but in recent years it's become increasingly dangerous. Kids need safe neighborhoods for Halloween night. Some city parents choose to take their kids to the suburbs, but many don't have the time or ability to make the trip.
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Empty, Foreclosed Houses
Lots of city neighborhoods are filled with abandoned houses that have been taken by banks in foreclosure. Until they can be resold, they remain eyesores and hotspots of criminal behavior. Halloween night is the most common night for vandalism.
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Lonely Renters
There are plenty of city grown-ups would love to hand out candy on Halloween, but they are limited in their ability to connect with the local kids because they're stuck in apartment buildings or condos where kids aren't likely to visit.
It Starts Here.
Albany Park is one of the most culturally diverse community areas in Chicago. It's been badly affected by the recent high foreclosure rate, and there's a lot of little kids who could use our help. (Plus, one of the main organizers lives there!)
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This is Operation Porchlight.
Operation Porchlight was first proposed in the article "Trick or Treat, Deserted Streets" on Chicago housing blog StrawStickStone. We work in concert with local police, real estate agents and banks to identify a selection of abandoned and foreclosed properties in neighborhoods with large populations of children. We then assign these properties to willing volunteers who are interested in "adopting" them for Halloween night during peak trick-or-treating hours.
Here are some of the benefits:
- Neighbors become more aware of nearby properties in foreclosure.
- Kids get safer streets for trick-or-treating.
- Exposure to a foreclosure may lead to the "adopter" purchasing the property.
- "Positive loitering" activities like Operation Porchlight have been shown to discourage vandalism & squatting.
- Apartment and condo residents who would otherwise have taken a pass on the evening now get to help out the kids and the community.
We're starting in Chicago, but it doesn't have to stop there! If you're in Chicago, you can help by adopting an abandoned home, giving a hand with organizing the event, or by simply spreading the word.
If you live elsewhere, our organizers are happy to share our experience so that you can quickly get underway with starting an Operation Porchlight in your community.
