East Oakland community comes together to pick up trash, beautify park

OAKLAND, Calif. - An East Oakland community turned out Saturday to clean up a popular park that is notorious for blight, trash and illegal dumping.

Volunteers of all ages joined forces to make Elmhurst Park on C Street cleaner and more inviting - one trash bag at a time.

Twelve-year-old Saeed Alderson helped out for the first time.

"To help the people and the homeless people to keep the environment safe," Alderson said when asked about the importance of cleaning up the community. 

Ansar El Muhammed, who works with a nonprofit that runs a food insecurity program called 144000 Elect Foundation, grew up in the neighborhood. 

"We have to take care of the environment, the neighborhood, we want the children to be safe. A lot of violence has taken place throughout this neighborhood throughout the years. Things that I had to experience," he said. "I don't want to see that going on."

The District 7 Community Cleanup is hosted on the first Saturday of every month, led by several groups, including Forever Oakland and the Street Sense Car Club.

Clean up in Oakland park notorious for blight, trash and illegal dumping.

Councilmember Treva Reid said illegal dumping in her district has become a public health crisis.

"There are two districts in this city that carry the weight of illegal dumping. It's my district and a district in West Oakland. Nearly 50% of all service requests for illegal dumping impacts us," said Reid. "I want my neighbors to come home and see a beautiful, clean thoroughfare after a long hard day."

Reid encouraged anyone who wants to help tackle the community's trash problem to join the city's Adopt-a-Spot program.

The city honored Forever Oakland with a proclamation for its 25 years of community service and commitment on Saturday.

"It feels really good because it's a beautiful day," said Forever Oakland President Alphonso Guevara of the work completed on Saturday. "We can come out here, do barbecue and have fun, have the kids out here playing football, soccer."

After the trash cleanup, volunteers took donated food, including Domino's Pizza, and distributed it to unhoused people in nearby shelters and on the street.