SAN ANTONIO — One paint brush's stroke at a time, volunteers on the east side are taking back their neighborhoods.
“It makes you feel good at the end of the day, that you were able to help someone that did not have something,” volunteer Kourtney Haywood said.
“We’re here to make this community better," added another volunteer, Jessica Flores. "We’re here to help as much as we can."
They’ve committed to repainting homes in their community to show the beauty within. On Saturday morning, it was Mr. and Mrs. Aleman's home that got a facelift; it sits just down the street from where someone was shot Friday morning.
“We’re here as a community to say we are not backing down from crime and we’re appreciative of those neighborhood leaders who have been helping us with watching out for neighbors,” Bexar County Commissioner Tommy Calvert said.
Calvert says now is the time for the community to stand together and fight back against the violence unfolding on their side of town.
“We’re the bigger gang. If they think they have a gang, we’re the much bigger gang and we’re ganging up to get rid of crime,” he said.
He says it’s going to take more people like Haywood, who grew up on the east side of San Antonio and is now back giving to community.
“For me now, being older, I have the responsibility to give to my community that is in need,” Haywood said.
Haywood and Calvert both say they know this is just the beginning. They say more of this kind of work needs to be done in order to see more positive changes.
