Fresh Park a stepping stone for Elletson Flats
differently. For me, it was to come over here and take out all the negative energy on the land,” Chin said.
He continued: “It keeps my mind active, in good times or bad. People used to wonder and ask if a mad him mad.”
The bar was added when persons began to realise that it was a nice hang-out spot.
Every Friday, the people of Elletson Flats would link up, drink, and pull out the rusty jerk pan, and Fresh International would set up a small box.
Chin says that in the past, many persons associated the communities surrounding Elletson Flats with the reputed gangster ‘Dog Paw’, so persons would often be reluctant to attend events, or those events would be prematurely locked off by the police.
“It became an issue; we would get the feedback of a lot of things that happen around us, which mean we get the bad name. It created a stigma where they would ask, ‘Is Elletson Flats you live? It bad, mean you bad’. But as time progress, people start noticing the good,” he said.
Fresh Park “is a stepping stone to bigger projects”.
The community centre is being refurbished to influence sporting activities and youth involvement.
Chin says the one thing that the people are looking forward to is being able to host events that bring all the neighbouring communities together.
Marilyn Smith, a resident of Elletson Flats for over 50 years, expressed that the community has blossomed and is constantly flowering.
“Every now and then, you might hear people [arguing]. All when my head tek mi, we argue. But it is a peaceful area. We working for it to be a more attractive area for people to come interact, and not target,” Smith said.