Hello!
I hope we’re all feeling a little more hopeful now that the news has settled and we can focus on our circles of control. I bring you a little story of hope, of someone who consistently puts in the work for his community.
Rusty Helton has lived in Tularosa for a few years now to be closer to family. After noticing how the village looked, once-cared-for but now in disarray, particularly in the medians, Helton got to work.
As mentioned in a past post, beautification efforts can seem pretty superficial in the grand scheme of things, when there’s so much else to focus on. However, new businesses and new opportunities are way more likely to come to an area that looks clean, safe, pretty, etc.
More importantly in my “humble” opinion, of course, is the human aspect.
Studies do show that less clutter in your personal space can help with depression and anxiety. For many people, that extends to outdoor spaces.
Personally, as an example, I don’t find HOAs ethical. You shouldn’t have to intrinsically conform to someone else’s standard of what looks acceptable just to live in your own home, but I’d be lying if I said the few houses in my neighborhood with 3+ broken down cars in their yard aren’t appealing to me at all. Don’t you have a garage? Don’t you have space in your alleyway????
Sorry. No judgment, but it’s definitely a little distressing to be around constant clutter.
Adding that to outdoor spaces and nature, which makes everyone feel at least a little bit better mentally, is a very positive thing for the residents of Tularosa. People who actually feel good in their bodies and feel good about the environment are, according to the National League of Cities, more likely to get involved in the place they now have pride in.
Keep Tularosa Beautiful was first started by then-resident Susan Flores in the early 2000s. In fact, under her, the small village even received an award for their beautification efforts.
I think it’s a great step, because the biggest thing I hear from everyone I’ve ever talked to about local politics or community initiatives is that a gigantic obstacle is trying to get people invested and involved. Mental health, the fact that we are all just exhausted from society’s ever-increasing demands on us, is a factor in that.
Another is lack of consistency, and unfortunately, since Flores was removed from the role, it’s been an uphill battle to start up the work again to its former glory, much less maintain it.
And yet, Helton had a steady supply of help, from the local Future Farmers of America, the National Junior Honor Society, and the Drama Club. He also had about 18-25 volunteers the first year he did this work, without the backing of 501c3 or any governmental funding, “although…taking care of the medians was basically a one-person excursion,” making the process exhausting.
There’s a lot more story behind the current iteration of Keep Tularosa Beautiful, but I think I’d like to try to keep from overwhelming you too far past 500 words from now on. I hope you’ll join me for the rest on Thursday.
Until then,
Salud.
No responses yet