I live here. I work here, she says. The children of North Riverside have little beauty in their lives. The streets are filled with trash and junk. Poverty marks most of the houses as clearly as paint.
Few flowers bloom, unless one counts the weeds sprouting among the numerous abandoned vehicles.
The children needed more. They needed a garden. In 1986, Kerr convinced the city to grant North Riverside a critical care initiative. For six months, the city conducted code violations sweeps, and added police presence to the neighborhood. It helped, she says.