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Mekia Elizabeth. Photo by Sabina Louise Pierce. <\/p>\nWhere others see dead ends, Mekia Elizabeth sees possibilities.<\/p>\n
An undeveloped plot of land in her Southwest Germantown neighborhood? That would be the perfect place for a fruit and vegetable garden. A rarely used and run-down parish house? Let\u2019s make that a community clubhouse and safe afterschool space. The front porch of her own home? Why not set up a mini coffee shop and hire local kids to staff it?<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen I go to a place and I see nothing, I envision what it could be,\u201d says Elizabeth, 37, (whose legal surname is Matthews, but prefers to use Elizabeth as her last name, she says, in honor of her grandmother Elizabeth and other \u201cwomen who carried and shaped me\u201d). The visionary believes her former career as an event planner helps her see the potential in places and people. \u201cThat\u2019s my gift.\u201d<\/p>\n
Mekia Elizabeth. Photo by Sabina Louise Pierce. <\/p>\n
Elizabeth\u2019s enthusiasm is infectious: In the six years she\u2019s spent building a small village within a bustling city, she\u2019s inspired dozens of dedicated neighbors to work to overcome problems that can stem from race, age, or income differences. Hers is a neighborhood where teenagers once viewed as potential troublemakers now organize all-ages summer events, and long-time residents who previously felt sidelined now showcase dormant skills.<\/p>\n
\u201cPeople learn each others\u2019 names. Families who never cross paths feel like they belong. They see kids once labeled as \u2018bad\u2019 running popcorn machines and serving cotton candy and hot dogs,\u201d Elizabeth says. \u201cOur work doesn\u2019t just give us new experiences. It gives us new eyes and new hearts.\u201d<\/p>\n
For all she does, and all she\u2019s planning to do in the future, The Philadelphia Citizen is honoring Elizabeth with its Block Captain of the Year award. She will be honored alongside her fellow Citizens of the Year at a dinner celebration on April 22, at Fitler Club Ballroom. (You can read about all of this year\u2019s winners here,<\/a> and find out about tickets and sponsorships for the star-studded event here.<\/a>) The modest honoree says the recognition gives her the opportunity \u201cto tell the story of what\u2019s happening here, because what\u2019s unfolding on our block and in our neighborhood is a miracle.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019m not surprised that my neighbors, roughly 50 years old, are helping. I\u2019m always surprised by the 17- to 19-year-olds.\u201d \u2014\u00a0Neighbor Steve Hoke<\/p>\n An unexpected pandemic silver lining <\/p>\n Elizabeth\u2019s life was very different before the pandemic.<\/p>\n An event planner, she and her longtime partner Raheim Brown, an educator, were raising her then-preteen twin daughters and focused, as most busy people are, on their family responsibilities, not the betterment of the community at large.<\/p>\n Then Elizabeth inherited her childhood home on the 4500 block of Fernhill Road. The family moved into the house with the plan to sell or rent it. Neither she nor Brown had a desire to resettle in the neighborhood where they\u2019d both been raised.<\/p>\n \u201cLife on the block was \u2026 kinda messy, honestly,\u201d she says. \u201cIt felt fragmented: lots of litter and trash on the sidewalks, zero gardens, broken concrete, homes in need of TLC, overgrown invasives, territorial neighbors who put chairs in parking spots, kids screaming or fighting, public alcohol and cannabis consumption. It wasn\u2019t unsafe if you minded your business, but there definitely wasn\u2019t a sense of a shared purpose, little warmth, and it felt like everyone was just kind of getting through each day.\u201d<\/p>\n Covid-19 changed their plans. That\u2019s when the pay-what-you-wish caf\u00e9 was one of Elizabeth\u2019s first neighborhood projects. Because of health protocols, people were limiting their contact with others, leaving many feeling isolated. Elizabeth thought that establishing an outdoor neighborhood gathering spot with simple beverages available in a self-serve format would help neighbors connect. Nothing fancy \u2014 a kettle and a burner and other basic supplies were the only things needed to launch the idea \u2014 and nothing permanent.<\/p>\n So that\u2019s what she started. On her own front porch. \u201cOur goal was that neighbors would get to know each other, just know the names of people on the block, just say hi,\u201d Elizabeth says.<\/p>\n Then, like many of her ideas, the project snowballed. It started simply but soon grew into something much larger and more significant with an impact she could never have imagined.<\/p>\n Neighbors started making porch visits a part of their routines. Elizabeth\u2019s twins, Eva and Nya, now 19, decided to put time spent watching baking shows to good use and tried their hands at making cookies and cake pops. The idea for a \u201cpay what you wish\u201d caf\u00e9 was born. One neighbor, a handyman known as Big Al, offered to help build what Elizabeth calls an \u201cIKEA-style outdoor kitchen on the patio\u201d in exchange for treats and a place to watch \u201cThe Young and the Restless.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cIt was an act of bravery for people to share what they had and to trust that they\u2019d still have enough.\u201d \u2014 Mekia Elizabeth<\/p>\n \u201dAs we learned each others\u2019 names, we started learning each others\u2019 stories,\u201d Elizabeth says. \u201cIt\u2019s a really diverse neighborhood, economically, racially, culturally, and there were people three blocks over who might never have interacted before. We started to see magic happening and people connecting.\u201d<\/p>\n Others soon wanted to join the project. Someone donated a toaster oven. Some provided cups; others donated saucers. A few offered favorite recipes, while others provided baked goods.<\/p>\n \u201cPeople were practicing sharing. At one point, we had to turn things away because we were just getting too many things, but that was also exciting because I\u2019d never seen such community,\u201d Elizabeth recalls.<\/p>\n The generous giving was particularly noticeable during a time of crisis.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s not like this was a bunch of people who had extra money to throw around,\u201d Elizabeth says. \u201cIt was an act of bravery for people to share what they had and to trust that they\u2019d still have enough.\u201d<\/p>\n Neighbor Julie Hoke first learned about the caf\u00e9 when she met Elizabeth. Having a front porch of her own, she had a difficult time imagining the setup at Elizabeth\u2019s and Brown\u2019s house.<\/p>\n \u201cI walked over there and I remember being totally stunned at how beautiful it was,\u201d Hoke says. \u201cI was just inspired. I was like, \u2018Tell me, how did this happen?\u2019 And she told me who did the electricity and who built the floor and who would come by to get a coffee or whatever, and it was so fun to meet the people that helped build it.\u201d<\/p>\n The name of the caf\u00e9, fittingly, is St. Harmony Caf\u00e9. Despite the word \u201csaint\u201d in the name, the program isn\u2019t affiliated with a specific religious denomination. Instead, the word reinforces that this is a sacred space for the community, a place where \u201cwe celebrate diversity and take great pride in having neighbors of many religious backgrounds doing life together,\u201d Elizabeth says.<\/p>\n Harmony is one of Elizabeth\u2019s favorite words.<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019d been hoping to help people reach a common ground, where we could see each other more fully and have more harmony with each other,\u201d she says. \u201cIt wasn\u2019t about making everybody want one particular thing. It was seeing value in each other.\u201d<\/p>\n She never imagined that a neighbor with restaurant experience would come forward to provide free training to aspiring baristas, or that these busy young people would give their time to serve others for little more than a free sweet treat or other small reward. The \u201cpay what you wish\u201d system soon followed, with the collected funds going towards other community projects. The caf\u00e9 was so successful that they were able to help one hardworking barista with a $2,500 college scholarship.<\/p>\n Elizabeth definitely never imagined that, years after its launch, the caf\u00e9 and \u201ccaf\u00e9 life\u201d would still be flourishing and, in fact, growing. Most recently, local teens have begun performing for caf\u00e9-goers.<\/p>\n \u201cWhen I saw how the community could come together, I knew this is what I was supposed to do,\u201d Elizabeth says.<\/p>\n \u201cShe\u2019s constantly building connections, plugging people in, hearing what they care about and what their vision is, and seeing how we can help each other and do it together.\u201d \u2014 Neighbor Julie Hoke<\/p>\n Taking pride in the park <\/p>\n The pandemic also prompted Elizabeth to consider how the community could improve its relationship with Fernhill Park, an appreciated but perhaps underused resource. Hoke says Elizabeth joined the Friends group \u2014 she\u2019s now co-chair \u2014 and brought with her \u201ca lot of energy and momentum and ideas that I don\u2019t think would have occurred to me. She\u2019s constantly building connections, plugging people in, hearing what they care about and what their vision is, and seeing how we can help each other and do it together.\u201d<\/p>\n Among the ideas she brought to Fernhill, in 2022: planting a fruit and vegetable garden, even though \u201cnone of us knew what we were doing,\u201d Elizabeth says. \u201cWe didn\u2019t even have water.\u201d<\/p>\n Then the pastor of nearby New Hope Temple Baptist Church \u2014 \u201cSomeone I knew only to say \u2018hi\u2019 and \u2018bye\u2019 to,\u201d Elizabeth says \u2014 asked her if she\u2019d thought about establishing an after-school program, and offered free use of the church\u2019s parish house.<\/p>\n \u201cHe gives me the keys and says, \u2018I just feel called to give this to you,\u2019\u201d she says. \u201cAnd I\u2019m like, \u2018OK, now there\u2019s an afterschool club in the parish house.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n The snowball effect that had engulfed the caf\u00e9? It came rolling around for the afterschool program, too.<\/p>\n \u201cSomeone says, \u2018I\u2019ll tutor\u2019 and someone else says, \u2018Oh, I\u2019ll make lunch for the kids,\u2019 and it turned into a thing. One neighbor makes tacos for 40 kids every Tuesday, paying for all of the supplies and bringing it over and we serve it!\u201d Elizabeth says. \u201cWe have a professional animator in the neighborhood, so now we have an animation club. We have professional dancers, so we have a dance club. These people don\u2019t have children who are this age. They\u2019re doing it for the future of our community.\u201d<\/p>\n Navigating challenges <\/p>\n Of course, while it all seems seamless now, change hasn\u2019t been easy.<\/p>\n
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BLOCK CAPTAINS IN THE NEWS<\/p>\n