By Tom St. Myer
Gun violence dominated the public forum discussion, but measures put in place to improve Brownsville as a whole took center stage during the Escambia County gun violence roundtable on Tuesday night at the Brownsville Community Center.
Escambia County Sheriff Chip Simmons announced a two-month community investment in Brownsville called “Operation Brownsville.” The program includes cleaning up roadways, bringing a Florida license bus in to help residents obtain driver’s licenses, Florida Power & Light increasing the lighting at night and increased presences by emergency response services, code enforcement and animal control.
“It’s not the end-all, we understand that, but it’s something and it’s more than we’ve ever done before that I’m aware of,” Simmons said, “and it’s something that we can take what works and move it somewhere else.”
A calendar with initiatives to improve Brownsville will be posted on the ECSO website. One of the initiatives is to distribute a rack card to residents that includes a QR code to access an online database with 1,400 resources according to United Way of Northwest Florida President/CEO Laura Gilliam.
Resource topics available through the database include mental health, substance abuse and childcare. Gilliam said, “The information you’re going to be able to access through this rack card, through that code, will have you getting to the most updated information we have about resources in the community.”
County Commissioner Lumon May said other initiatives to benefit the Brownsville community include improving the sewer system and building a library in the near future. He said long-term success is predicated on investing in the youth, creating job opportunities and providing a clean, safe environment.
“It’s not about providing a handout in Brownsville, it’s about providing a hand up,” May said. “I’m excited about the summer employment program. I’m excited about getting a library here, I’m excited about cleaning it up. That’s what every neighborhood wants. Once you clean it up, the property value appreciates and becomes more valuable and the quality of life becomes more valuable. We have to give children hope, a better quality of life and an opportunity to believe in themselves.”
A crowd of about 100 attended the roundtable including about 20 teenagers who accompanied Rodney Jones, executive director of Healthy Opportunities & Options Promoting Success (HOOPS) program. Washington High School senior Ava Roberts spoke during the public forum. Roberts complimented Escambia County Public Schools for its investment in students, but she encouraged educators to improve communications with absentee parents.
“I have multiple friends whose parents are not involved and you can see them suffer,” she said. “It’s not just a school thing, it’s not just a police thing, it’s a parent thing. I think our children need guidance.”
Jones criticized youth agencies who received funding from the Escambia Children’s Trust for not attending the roundtable. The Trust board awarded over $5.1 million in funding to 19 local children’s services agencies in February.
“I’m disappointed none of the agencies showed up with their kids,” Jones said. “I guess they think this is not relevant anymore. Violence still perpetuates in our community. It’s still the same. So you think what they say isn’t relevant?”
LuTimothy May, pastor of Friendship Missionary Baptist Church, encouraged Simmons to open up the roundtable to others in the community. He said the key to addressing gun violence is to focus on the mental health of the community.
“We have a morality issue,” Rev. May said. “We’ve been desensitized to the sociological component of just respecting each other as human beings. We talk about guns, but guns aren’t the problem. It’s the person holding the gun.”
Brownsville is located in the 32505 zip code. The 32505 population is nearly 30,000 and the median household income is a mere $38,863, almost $20,000 below the Escambia County average according to the U.S. Census. Blacks and Hispanics account for slightly over 50% of the population. A significant percentage of that population lives in rundown houses and apartments located in blighted neighborhoods void of health care facilities, retail stores and restaurants.
Operation Brownsville concludes June 23 with a movie night hosted by the Sheriff’s Office, but Lumon May said improving conditions in Brownsville is a project that started long before and will continue long after these next two months.
“We’re here to improve the quality of life of the residents,” he said. “We’re here for residents who want to live here. Brownsville is the western gate to Pensacola, it’s the western gate to downtown, and it was one of the most vibrant neighborhoods in all of Escambia County.”