The Amarillo Barrio Neighborhood Plan, approved in April 2018 by the Amarillo City Council, consists of 19 written goals and 36 strategies. Currently, the Barrio Neighborhood Planning Committee (BNPC) is working on 9 projects in motion. The first two projects, mentioned in our previous column, were the two murals on the 10th Avenue underpass, coming this summer, and the 10th Avenue lighting project with decorating lighting, sidewalks, and trees, in three phases.
Two other projects include the free Barrio Wellness Clinic and the Barrio historical map. There are two clinic host sites: RHN Medical & Dental Group, 3113 South Ross, and the Christian Heritage Church, 900 South Nelson, in Amarillo, TX. The Barrio Wellness Clinic was developed in order to address three chronic issues, infant mortality, diabetes and obesity, and the lack of free medical and dental facilities in the Barrio, except for the BSA Care Xpress Urgent Care. The clinic kickoff was held on December 1, 2018 at the RHN Medical and Dental Group with 91 participants. Since then, a total of 183 adults and children have received free medical and dental screenings provided by the TTUHSC School of Pharmacy Students, RHN staff, a BSA Care Xpress medical provider, and local agencies. The next two clinics will be held on October 5 at RHN Medical & Dental Group and on November 2, 2019 at Christian Heritage Church from 9 am to 11 am. In 2020, five clinics will be held at these two sites.
The Barrio Historical Map was created in 2019 in order to recognize 27 highly ranked historical sites and 10 churches found inside of the Barrio and 18 businesses located inside and outside of the Barrio neighborhood. This map contains logos and descriptions of each pre-selected business and photos and descriptions of these historical sites. Some of the historical sites include the Llano Cemetery, from the 1880’s, Our Lady of Guadalupe Catholic Church, built in 1918, and Sanborn Elementary School, built in 1922.
Two thousand Barrio historical maps will be printed and distributed to the Hispanic Chamber of Commerce, Amarillo Chamber of Commerce, local hotels on I-40, and at the Barrio Bash. You can also find this map and a historical hunt ticket at the Amarillo Barrio Neighborhood Plan Facebook page on July 13. A historical sites hunt will kick off on July 13 at the Barrio Bash, 10th and Roberts Street. You can pick up a historical map, a historical hunt ticket, and buy prefilled historical hunt tickets for $10.00 each at the BNPC booth at the Barrio Bash from 4 pm to 8 pm. Each person will visit 10 businesses from the historical map and receive a BNPC stamp for their ticket at each location. Completed tickets need to be turned into the Wesley Community Center, 1615 South Roberts each Friday, beginning July 19. Ten tickets will be drawn for ten $50 Visa cards on July 19 & 26 and August 2 and 9, 2019. The grand prize includes tickets and dinner for 6 people at a Sod Poodles game on August 17, 2019, sponsored by the FirstBank Southwest.
For more information about the Barrio Wellness Clinic and/or the Barrio historical map and hunt, please contact Teresa Kenedy at tckenedy@gmail.com
