She feels by going door-to-door in Ensley, the non-profit is bringing the historic community closer together.
“It’s very engaging and welcoming. It’s a safe haven for people in the community that can come here, whatever need that they have,” Brown said.
Gerrell Jones founded Renew Birmingham, following his return to the Magic City after serving his own twenty-year prison sentence for murder.
“So, I bought my home in the neighborhood with the highest number homicides in 2017, which was Ensley Highlands, and I started to try and effect change,” Jones said.
His organization uses public gatherings and an army of volunteers to break down pockets of isolation in the Ensley community.
While Birmingham’s homicide rate broke records last year, the number of murders in the Ensley community has dropped 19 percent since 2022.
“Eight thousand people, two years reduction of homicides while the city of Birmingham is having an increase, right? And setting records, right? So, I think it bears looking at,” Jones said.
Brown believes their mission is making Ensley safer.
By requiring volunteers like herself to earn the services they need by pitching in, it gives them a sense of ownership in their neighborhood’s future.
“I think that it gets, people some type of pride in what it is that they’re doing because they don’t feel like it’s a handout,” Brown said.
