Building a strong community in Lynn

LYNN – Lisa Wallace of Neptune Street Court has proven that she knows how to get her community together. A woman with a vision, Wallace has committed herself to bettering her neighborhood in as many ways as she can and she does it with ease.One Community One Voice, an organization that was put together by Wallace and involves six other community members, is something of which Lynn residents are immensely proud. Disappointed by the lack of care some areas of Lynn receive, Wallace sought out help from her community and received nothing but support.?I knew I couldn?t do it alone,” she said. “So, I called upon our (Ward 6) councilor Peter Capano, and with his help we figured out what we could do with things around here, starting with residents taking pride in their properties and then escalating to the train tracks.”Partnered with other non-profit organizations such as Bike to the Sea and Youth Build, Build Day touched Lynn with different repairs but in time, One Community One Voice would like to reach out to other towns.Henri Soucy and Clay Larson of Bike to the Sea worked alongside Wallace and her crew to revamp Lynn?s train tracks in the hopes that the MBTA will lease the property for the community to enjoy. Wallace and Capano have met with Bike to the Sea, talking about expanding through Saugus and out to the waterfront. Wallace says many things need to come into play first, but the future looks promising.Daisy Coronado, 14, who lives by Kiley Park in Lynn, found out ways to help her community by participating in build day, and Makayla Mclean, 15, from West Baltimore Street, “just wanted to make the area better.”Also participating was 2013 Classical graduate Sean Reid, who has been involved in the making of One Community One Voice. He said that the organization, founded by Wallace, started with small meetings about things like flooding issues and eventually grew to community building and neighborhood revitalization.?We have this unique perspective of actually getting our feet dirty while fixing parts of the neighborhoods of Lynn,” Reid said. “I?m going to continue doing this because I truly want to see this city grow and better itself and it starts with our neighborhoods.”Wallace said that Neptune Street Court had its problems until she took it upon herself to try and find ways to fix them.?This area rarely gets assistance,” she said. “We?re the largest ward with the least amount of voters, but that doesn?t mean that we?re any less important.?I?m just trying to give my neighbors better resources and show them that we can have better than this,” she said.?If we can pull this off in Lynn, we can do this anywhere,” she said. “I just want so many things to change here even if I had to do it with my own hands. My children and every other parent and resident deserve this.”