Village of Mahomet Code Enforcement Officer Ken Buchanan attends to varying violation complaints on a daily basis. But there are some violations, which spread Village resources too thin, so in February Buchanan reached out to Village churches to see if they would be willing to help with minor violations.
Mahomet churches often conduct outreach programs to connect with both spoken and unspoken needs in the community, so when Buchanan met with church leaders, they all offered support.
This summer, the Village received a complaint about overgrown bushes along Main Street. When Buchanan talked to the homeowner, he realizes she was an elderly woman, who did not have the strength or resources to take care of her yard, so he reached out to the Lutheran Church of Mahomet to see if they could trim the bushes and take care of her lawn.
The Lutheran Church of Mahomet, who has an evangelical team, which reaches out by taking care of lawn issues for elderly or the sick, agreed to clean up the lawn on September 6.
Several youth from the Lutheran Church joined the efforts to fulfill a community service requirement for their confirmation class. The class, which teaches youth to “be the hands and feet of Jesus” encourages children to help their neighbors in need.
Although some Mahomet residents have denied help from churches, Buchanan will continue to work to make the connection between residents who need help with their violation and organizations who are willing to help.
