Maryvale on the Move

Maryvale on the Move (MTM)  is an innovative community partnership supported by a four-year grant from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation (RWJF) as part of its Healthy Kids, Healthy Communities initiative. The goal: to engage residents and local leadership in developing policies to engender healthy eating and active living, especially among children.

MTM thrives thanks to inspiring, motivated and skilled Maryvale residents who are backed by a network of three community partners – Golden Gate Community Center, Rehoboth Community Development Corporation and the Amigos Center of Wesley Community Center – and three resource partners – Local Initiatives Support Corporation (LISC), Arizona Community Foundation (ACF), ASU Stardust Center for Affordable Homes and the Family. SLHI provides overall coordination and support for the leadership team, houses the project director and facilitates connections with the broader community.

In FY2011 the Maryvale on the Move collaborative:

• Established a Safe Streets action team that has (1) developed a walking club, (2) partnered with the City of Phoenix streets department to assess safety and walkability, and (3) connected the City of Phoenix to new ideas that address the safety and utility of alleys.
• Initiated the Access to Healthy Foods action team that has (1) established four community gardens and (2) partnered with Greenzona to develop the infrastructure to implement the Nutrition Environment Measures Survey (NEMS) in Maryvale, including conducting the survey in Spanish for the the first-time ever.
• Actively engaged in providing feedback and direction on both the Maryvale Village Core Plan and the larger Phoenix General Plan Update.

From the lots and streets of Maryvale to City Hall and beyond, residents’ voices are being heard while Maryvale’s environment is being transformed by the people it most affects. This would seem to be a step in the right direction, but of course only time will tell.