Little Rock, Ark.’s, Project Impact started in 2022 and reengaged this year. It has been impacting areas of the city not even targeted for work while also affecting Little Rock’s overall crime rate.

Little Rock’s Chief of Staff Kendra Pruitt said, “We, at the city and the office of Mayor (Frank) Scott and his administration, have a goal of uniting and transforming the city through the lens of equality, and we realized some areas of the city need more love and attention than others.”

Pruitt said, for example, the city picks up trash once a week equally around the city, but maybe that’s not good enough in some areas. Officials looked at how to make an even greater impact on the city and analyzed what were the needs of certain neighborhoods.

“We realized certain neighborhoods need more time and attention and need to feel our presence more, and that’s how Project Impact was birthed,” she shared.

Most of those neighborhoods were in lower socioeconomic neighborhoods, and mostly brown and black neighborhoods, although Pruitt said they didn’t necessarily look through that lens when determining the areas that needed work.

Officials wanted to “address aesthetics first and foremost.” Pruitt, who was a senior advisor at the time, said there was data to support that the appearance of a neighborhood affects crime. During that period, Little Rock was experiencing an uptick in crime after the pandemic, like most cities. So it went hand-in-hand that reducing blight in those areas and making them more aesthetic would then hopefully see a reduction in crime while increasing neighborhood pride.

At first, no additional resources were used to carry out Project Impact; Little Rock used existing city departments’ budgets.

“As you know, all city budgets are tight,” she said.

So, for example, the city used the existing public works budget to add another trash route in targeted areas. Officials asked the code enforcement department, with its existing housing and neighborhood program, to focus and be more intentional in those identified areas, too.

“There was no special allocation for Project Impact,” Pruitt said.

However, the city did benefit from the American Recovery Plan Act (ARPA) from the Biden-Harris administration. The city received $5 million for community crime prevention work. It used a portion of that money — she thinks about $100,000 — for a day laborers program.

“What we heard was, ‘You want us to stop committing crimes and stop selling drugs in the park, but we need money fast.’ So we came up with a day laborers program for those who struggled to get work where they could show up on a Monday and get paid on a daily or weekly basis and work on Project Impact projects.”

Pruitt noted the approximate $100,000 allocated to the day laborer program was the only outside money used. The city contracted with a separate entity to manage the program. The city gave them the projects and city staff monitored the work to make sure it was “up to muster,” but laborers were paid through the separate entity.

First round

In 2022, Little Rock initially started on its south side. Pruitt noted, “And (we) made our way around. Every ward was touched. Even the more affluent neighborhoods, we discovered, had some areas that needed a little more love and attention.”

An example of some of the work that was done to beautify the neighborhoods included code enforcement through the housing and neighborhood program. The city made sure that the grass was cut so there was a lot of maintenance being done — as well as the extra trash pickup more than once a week. Big yard waste pickup played a major part, with residents being asked to put branches, trees and brush along the street. Little Rock also brought in large dumpsters for people to dispose of old sofas and other large items that had been lying around the house or yard.

Additionally, officials encouraged the police and fire department to engage with the residents more. If the police were on bikes, they should stop and talk to the residents and share the initiatives that the city has, such as the Eyes on the Rock program for those who have a Ring camera.

“It’s like a modern neighborhood watch program,” Pruitt explained.

Pruitt admitted when they have crime in those neighborhoods, people are often hesitant to talk to the police. But when the police officer develops a rapport with the neighbors, they know the officer; they feel like the city cares about them and their neighborhood, making them more likely to report crime.

“We had the firefighters do the same thing — to knock on doors and perform smoke alarm checks and carbon monoxide testing. To let the residents know about the programs that are available.”

Little Rock has another department that addresses needs for senior citizens. If they need a ramp to be put in, the city will help pay for that. So, both police and fire personnel are educating the residents about the programs and opportunities available to them.

Relaunch

“When we relaunched, our focus was on the 12th Street corridor. Interstate 630 divides the city in half. The north side would be the more affluent neighborhood, while the south side would be the more needy neighborhood,” she said, adding, “We were smarter in our approach this year. We learned not to spread the love around too much. That was the lesson that we learned the last time. Jumping around too much created a strain on our departments. This time, we have a specific focus and a full court press in those areas.

“We also identified that there are needs that go beyond our city departments, so we’ve partnered with utilities, libraries and other entities — so that we can take a real holistic approach. We’ve even included businesses adjacent to the neighborhoods. We found that some of the businesses were attracting crime. So our planning and zoning identified issues with those businesses, whether they needed permits or other things to get them up to code.

“If there were parks in those neighborhoods, we offered to bring paint so they can paint the parks, and we installed new basketball hoops on the rims. Facelifts holistically throughout the neighborhood, we know, makes an impact. The residents know that we, the city, are working for them, that we see them, and we want to make things better for them.”

Pruitt summed it up. “It also comes down to just checking on our residents. You know, during campaign season, people are knocking on doors. Well, in between, how are we engaging with our residents? Sure, we can do social media and send out mailings. But what about those people that do not know how to engage with their city government? We’re knocking on the doors and we’re telling them, ‘Hey, you pay our salary; we’re working for you.’ So we’re taking this opportunity to increase community engagement and also increase the growth of neighborhood associations so that they can lead the change in their communities. And hopefully create a spark that will continue the efforts moving forward.”

When asked what the response has been from residents, Pruitt responded, “We’ve had such great feedback. It’s been very well received from the various neighborhoods. They’re thanking us for the targeted efforts and that it’s instilled a sense of pride in their neighborhoods. Before Project Impact, we often heard from the underserved communities who historically have a distrust of government that ‘The government doesn’t care about us, that they intentionally overlook us.’ And we take that seriously. We want every community to know that they matter to us at city hall. We want them to see us and feel our presence. And they have been very receptive and extremely grateful.”

One thing that surprised Pruitt was that she didn’t get backlash from other neighborhoods that weren’t getting as much attention.

“Generally speaking, the folks understand that what’s good for one part of town will ultimately be good for us, too. Beautifying neighborhoods and decreasing crime helps the city grow and increases our tax revenue and tourism. So, generally speaking, people have come to understand that this administration wants to uplift our entire city (so) we can all be successful and all thrive, and we’re seeing large support for that.”

It’s hard to attribute any one particular thing to the decrease in crime because Little Rock took a holistic approach, but Pruitt thinks Project Impact has impacted the crime rate. Overall, the city has seen crime go down 6% over the past five years. Year to date, from October 2023 to October 2024, homicides went down 28%.

“We’ve seen a lot of great progress. I can’t say that it’s strictly because of Project Impact, but I definitely think that that’s part of the strategy. We’ve boarded up blighted homes or demolished them. The neighborhoods are well lit. We have more housing options, the police presence is stronger, and that all contributes to the lower numbers that we’re seeing.”

According to Pruitt, it kind of started like a passion project. “So if this can impact other cities, that’s just beautiful,” she said

Pruitt offers this advice for anyone thinking of doing a similar project in their city.

“Keep your eyes on the prize. Do what’s right, irrespective of what’s popular. You’re always going to find obstacles. You’re always going to find naysayers. But what I say, and what Mayor Scott says is, ‘Let’s do what’s right’ and charge ahead with the consequences of it. And that’s not failed us. It’s not always easy, but when you’re led by what’s right, it will work out.

“We’re constantly reminding our citizens that we work for them. So even though it might not be popular, when we educate them and they understand the benefits and they know the outcome, they’ll appreciate it and they’ll get on board. So just keep driving the ball down the field, and eventually everyone will come on board. Keep doing the work, improving the quality of life for your residents,” she advised.

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