Moms Expand Clark Park Clean-Up To All Of Everett

About two years ago we introduced you to a group of moms who were tired of finding needles and trash strewn across Clark Park in north Everett making it unattractive and keeping families away.

Their solution at the time was to enlist the help of bikers and neighbors to discourage drug use and loitering and make the park attractive again.

That same group of moms is still at it but have expanded efforts to clean up other areas of Everett and are looking for like-minded people to join them twice a week on Wednesday and Saturdays.

“If it doesn’t get done it just keeps getting worse,”said Cate Harrington. She is one of the original moms and helps arrange the clean-ups. “We don’t have any agenda or judgement, we just want our kids to be able to be safe in their parks and neighborhoods.”

Today a group of seven Everett residents were cleaning up the area off Center Road near La Palmera Restaurant and the Home Depot. They collected 75 needles and five large bags of garbage in about two hours. A few weeks ago they collected a dozen large bags of garbage under the 41st street overpass at Broadway.

The group gets help with donations of sharps containers and gloves from hospice nurses at Providence Hospital and other private people or they purchase the clean up items on their own.

They are asking people interested in helping to join the clean up effort and no you don’t have to be a mom, anyone is welcome.

On Wednesdays they meet at 7 PM at Clark Park and then go clean nearby alleys in the Bayside neighborhood area. On Saturdays they meet at 10 AM at Clark Park and head out together to tackle large projects such as the area near Smith Street and 39th, the 41st street area and out by the Home Depot in south Everett. Each event lasts a couple of hours.

You can contact the group at their Take Back Our Neighborhood Facebook page. They are happy to answer questions and let you know how you can get involved or set up a similar effort in your Everett neighborhood. “This is our hit,” said Harrington. “To make things safer for the kids.”