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In Five Points, Winter Celebration Seeks To Develop Unity

WUOT News, Matt Shafer Powell

This time of year, neighborhoods throughout East Tennessee are breaking out the hot cocoa and Christmas tunes to celebrate the spirit of community and togetherness that many of them enjoy throughout the year.  

It’s a sentiment that’s easy to take for granted.  Unless you live in a place like Five Points.

Despite a rich cultural history, this neighborhood near the intersection of Martin Luther King Boulevard and Ben Hur Avenue has been plagued by generations of poverty, high unemployment and a stubborn reputation as a generator of violent crime.  Something like a holiday celebration might seem like a low priority.  “Other neighborhoods have lightings at the park or the trees or different festive ceremonies,” says life-long resident Tanisha Baker, adding such occasions are rare in Five Points. 

But that might be a good starting point for improving cooperation and unity within the community.  On December 16, the Knox County Health Department and the community-led group Five Points Up are hosting the neighborhood's inaugural Winter Wonderland event. “We’re hoping that this is an opportunity for members to fellowship and start a line of communication and gathering around positive events,” says Baker, who is a participant of Five Points Up.  

It can also lead to a healthier neighborhood.  A 2009 Robert Wood Johnson Foundation study found such events build trustful relationships between neighbors and help mobilize the community to confront health-related issues, like diabetes and obesity.  The Winter Wonderland event is being supported by the Knox County Health Department as part of a program to encourage at-risk neighborhoods to address environmental barriers to good health.  

But Baker says events like Winter Wonderland don't stop with physical health.  She says they can  help establish a sense of security and emotional well-being within the neighborhood.  “We want (residents) to feel safe, happy and respected and that creates a healthy community.”

In neighborhoods like Five Points, cooperation, involvement and faith in the power of community aren't given.  They are often earned through hard work, collaboration and persistence.

And sometimes, by just getting together to raise a mug of hot cocoa and saying “hello” to your neighbor.