The 'Broken Heart' of South Bend, IN

Welcome to our new blog, The 'Broken Heart' of South Bend, Indiana - A Declaration of Community Outrage & Grassroots Action


South Bend, Indiana (located in St. Joseph County, on the northern border of the state) "tries" to work with what it's got to make our city livable. However, I think there are quite a few people and organizations, including business leaders, elected officials, city departments and county government agencies that can work a whole lot harder!

With current budget crunches, police department cash flow problems, loss of funding for neighborhood revitalization programs, employee lay-offs, etc., the people who run our city have more work than ever on their plates. Now is the perfect time for us, as concerned citizens, to hang out some community "dirty laundry" that either goes (or will go), unknown, unnoticed, unfixed, unenforced/under-enforced or just plain swept under the rug - for everyone to see.

What will happen with these problems and issues is any one's guess. But a wise person once told me, "the squeaky wheel gets the grease" and I've never forgotten it.


What will you find at this blog??

South Bend citizens who want to make their voices, photos, videos, concerns, outrages and actions about/in and around our "21st Century City" heard. We will try to verify when possible that issues raised on this blog are legitimate. Please keep in mind that since many matters are centralized to certain areas and neighborhoods, we hope contributors, readers and commenter's will help us sort fact from fiction. There's always more than one side to a story and we invite everyone to share their feedback and opinions. Updates, actions, solutions and resolutions to problems are encouraged and appreciated. If you feel more comfortable and for the sake of personal safety in some instances, anonymous submissions and commenting will be allowed.

For a perfect example of a community blog that helps get citizen concerns publicized and addressed, I encourage everyone to check out this blog, The 'Broken Heart' of Rogers Park in Chicago.


What won't you find at this blog??

You will not always find perfectly crafted sentences or grammatically correct sentiments. Thankfully we do have a spell check that we will attempt to remember to use. We will also not always be "playing nice" - face it, somethings in city life aren't kind or pretty. After all, putting hanging flower baskets up on light posts doesn't make it any safer to walk city streets after dark.


Why start this blog??

A few things come to mind....

We are tired of sitting by and idly watching our neighborhood fall into decay. We are tired of watching the "For Sale" signs go up and the houses sit vacant and unattended to for months. "For Sale" inevitably turns into "For Rent" because no one wants to buy a house in this area anymore. "For Rent" inevitably becomes occupied and quickly turns into a new hot spot for code violations, drinking, fighting, children & toddlers with no supervision, oh, and don't let me forget - open-air drug dealing!

We are tired of sitting in our living room and watching car after car speed down our residential street (in a School Zone nonetheless) at 40? 45? 50? mph, while children play on the sidewalks within arm's reach. I know it will shock all of you to also know these speeding cars include Police Vehicles. Our street also allows parking on one side of it, which compounds the problem and makes leaving your vehicle out in front of your own house a crap shoot. Hmmm... park my car vs. having it smashed in the rear to bits by someone (most likely by the abundance of uninsured drivers in the neighborhood) who will most likely then drive off. Believe me when I say that I am speaking from experience on that one folks.

Then, there is that special and most recent event that holds a special place in our hearts called the "Portage Avenue Detour". City officials have been gracious enough to have chosen our narrow, SCHOOL ZONE (Bergan Street)- with no posted speed limit signs!!- as the detour off of Portage Road from now until NOVEMBER while they build the MUCH NEEDED Roundabouts. Unable to help myself, I must comment on how much more entertaining and enjoyable participating in funeral processions will be once the roundabout is completed directly outside of the city's 2 oldest and largest cemeteries! (I fear roundabouts in St. Joe County are a whole 'nother blog unto themselves.) But, back to the topic of our street becoming a detour route.... You can only imagine how much I love taking my son out to the bus stop at peak traffic time, especially now that it's barely light outside in the mornings. Maybe the city should have issued all the neighborhood school children safety orange reflective vests to wear outside while the detour is in effect.

Let's not even go (for now) into the plethora of murders and other violent crimes that seem to be spiraling out of control lately. Or, the fact that Elkhart County's Meth Labs seem to all be relocating to SJC....

So there you have it! A brief preview of the reasons for starting this blog and that was just off the top of my head. Now it's your turn...


Let's get started!

First, send me your issues, problems, topics, rants, photos, videos, and more (related to South Bend) to brokensouthbend@comcast.net

Second, forward a link to The 'Broken Heart' of South Bend, IN to anyone you know of living here in St. Joesph County. We need to get the word out about this new citizen forum!

Third, check back often to read about our topics and get involved by posting your own thoughts and comments.


Thanks in advance to all my readers and in the immortal words of the king of all neighborhoods, "Won't you be my neighbor?"