When you drive down Mr. Kelvin Taylor’s street you can spot his house immediately. It is the one with the magnificent flowers out front that look like they are announcing a party. Neighborhood kids flock to his yard to learn gardening techniques. One young neighbor learned enough about gardening that he was able to get hired to plant flowers at a near-by funeral home.

Mr. Taylor dreamed of owning the empty lot next to his house. He envisions planting fruit trees and flowers for a cutting garden. He wants the children to have access to fresh fruit and to understand where produce comes from. He also wants people to be able to have a place to come for support and quiet reflection if their loved one is suffering at a near-by hospital. He’d like to offer them cut flowers to take with them when they visit the sick. Inner Visions of Cleveland helped Mr. Taylor obtain the property through the Cleveland Land Bank.

Once he obtained the land, Kelvin knew he’d need to erect a fence before he began planting trees and flowers. Drug users were accustomed to cutting though that lot when they were being chased. A fence would stop their access and make the space safer. In a nearby Cleveland neighborhood, gardeners Brenda and Raymond Rosario were looking for some ways to earn more income and they had the skills to build fences. Inner Visions connected The Rosario’s with Mr. Taylor and provided the funds for the project.

There is an old saying that good fences make good neighbors. In this case, good neighbors made good fences. Through this connection a fence was built and now Mr. Taylor and the Rosario’s can share their knowledge of community resources with each other when they work on future projects.