The cacophony of conversations floating through the lot was a mixture of Spanish and English. Latinas pushing strollers inspected the model with a mixture of awe and self-satisfaction, imagining the day, not so far off, when their children will flock to the center, which will include a classroom, water play area, community kitchen, multipurpose room, offices (with a meditation area) and, most exciting of all to the children, a basketball court and soccer field. One day each week, residents will be able to come to the center for free dental care.
All of it will go up within 30 feet of Tittle-Baker's home, the ersatz community center for nearly four years now.
Tittle-Baker made her rounds, smiling and giving hugs to nearly everyone, making introductions and answering questions. She alone knew everyone in attendance.
Along one edge of the dirt field, the neighborhood group Madres de Mesa (founded by Juana Ochoa) served a buffet, immense batches of macaroni and tuna salads, a five-gallon vat of refried beans, tortilla chips, doughnuts and several cakes.
It seemed an oddly backward scene--disadvantaged Latinas beaming with pride while feeding young, white, well-to-do professionals.
But the scene defines the accomplishments of Tittle-Baker and Area 5: The community center is about pride and self-sufficiency, eradicating welfare-style dependency and giving Area 5's residents not one, but many reasons to smile.
Tittle-Baker has racked up her impressive achievements with a lot of cajoling and pavement pounding. The price tag has been relatively modest: Grants amounting to $73,610 have been administered through other agencies. During the past four years, she's handled only about an additional $10,000 that came directly to her projects.
Groundbreaking for the community center is set for April 1. Completion is expected by June.
Tittle-Baker has found an unexpected ally in her quest to boost Area 5--punk rockers.
Kimber Lanning, owner of Stinkweeds Record Exchange in Tempe, spent time volunteering at "Club Bev" while studying social work at Mesa Community College. She was so inspired by Tittle-Baker's efforts that she arranged a benefit show at Tempe Bowl to raise money and collect toys, books and canned food for Area 5.
The show, which featured an eclectic mix of five Valley punk bands, raised $1,100 for Area 5 and gathered hundreds of pounds of food and toys.
Tears gather in Tittle-Baker's eyes as she talks about the impact of seeing 300 punk rockers convened to help the children in her neighborhood.
"If people saw these kids on the street, they'd think, 'Oh, they're just punk rockers.' But these kids are worth so much. We're constantly striving to build assets and teach values in the youth. One of the things that has hit me all along is that the kids have values, it's the adults that need to relearn and revisit their values and assets. There's these kids out doing this, and I'm thinking of all the adults that are sitting at home with their channel changers and griping.
"My generation is absolutely appalling to me. We were the Me Generation, everything was self-gratifying. We came forward with a history of family traditions and values and we threw them away. Now we have kids, and we're looking to the kids to take care of the mess we've created. It's time before we check out of this world that we step to the plate and say, dammit, we created this mess, we need to help straighten it out."
Contact Brendan Kelley at his online address, revlvr@goodnet.com
