Councilman Claude Mattox
Arizona Republic - My Turn

December 2007

A bright future for Maryvale

Tucked within the West Valley, the Maryvale community consists of 200,000 residents living within 56 square miles of our nation’s fifth-largest city. It’s a unique, inner-city neighborhood made up of a much younger community than Phoenix, as more than one-third of its population is under the age of 18. It is also different from Phoenix as the majority of Maryvale residents are Latino, have more children and experience crime more than the average resident. In addition, the community has a higher dropout rate that results in fewer college graduates and lesser earning potential.

It’s a cycle that could possibly continue into a downward spiral for the worst. Ask any Maryvale community leader to describe their neighborhood and they can tell you everything I described above. They’ll also tell you that Maryvale’s problems of crime stem from:

But at the same time, these community leaders are passionate about their neighborhood and they describe a story of a proud community that not only knows its weaknesses, but sees its potential and strongly embraces the need for positive change.

ASU’s Center for Violence Prevention and Community Safety recently published a study titled “Making Strides in Maryvale” that provided a thorough analysis of the scope and nature of crime and violence in the Maryvale community. The study provides an overview of the neighborhood along with its challenges, and most importantly, a positive call to action that identifies resources and interventions.

Its findings reinforce what community leaders and stakeholders have known all along. Maryvale has strong leaders, positive organizations and a keen sense of pride. If you take this combination, along with support of active government officials, criminal justice agencies, businesses, educators, and civic and social groups working together with common goals in mind, the community will become a viable urban core where residents choose to live, work and play.

The West Phoenix Revitalization Community Advisory Board is just one collaborative group that has identified nine priorities for the Maryvale area. They are: housing, transportation, collaboration, civic engagement, community image, youth and family support, education and workforce development, economic investment and community safety. The Maryvale Police Precinct has identified targeted areas of high crime and as a result of increased patrols, crime is decreasing.

In addition, the U.S. Department of Justice has selected a Maryvale neighborhood as the city’s newest Weed and Seed site to prevent and reduce violent crime. The program provides communities the tools to fight violent crime and to take back their streets by working with law enforcement to weed out criminal activity. The program also enables communities to partner with service organizations, educators and others to strengthen the community and prevent crime. Maryvale residents are already seeing impressive results because of the program.

The revitalization effort in Maryvale is changing the entire dynamic of a community. I’m glad to be a part of this effort, because this community represents our future.

Councilman Claude Mattox represents City Council District 5. He has been a businessman in Phoenix since 1983 and a small business owner since 1991. He can be reached at council.district.5@phoenix.gov or 602-262-7446.