OCOEE, Fla. – A popular pathway for students in Ocoee is in disrepair and a local church is getting results this weekend before school starts back up.
Sandwiched between houses and backing up to Spring Lake Elementary School is a long stretch of walkway known as Pig's Alley.
"Many students walk right through this alley. So the last thing they see before they enter the school is this alleyway," Deputy Chief Stephen McCosker with the Ocoee Police Department said.
The alley is not owned by the city of Ocoee or Orange County.
"It is truly community space and I think as a community for far too long we've neglected it," Pastor Keith Tower with HighPoint Church said.
Tower said the neglect is obvious as you walk through the alley. Broken glass and beer cans are on the ground, fences are falling apart and there is graffiti everywhere. Some of it is painted over, but more graffiti usually pops up later.
This pathway is called "Pig's Alley" & it's a popular way for students to get to Spring Lake Elementary in Ocoee @news6wkmg #News6 pic.twitter.com/a5Lun3a6Fu
— Amanda Castro (@AmandaNCastro) August 4, 2017
"In our walking through, we've found everything from crack pipes and broken whiskey bottles to vulgar graffiti and gang signs," Tower said.
Now Tower and HighPoint Church want to get results and give Pig's Alley a little TLC.
Tower, a former Orlando Magic basketball player, is teaming up with other churches, the Ocoee Police Department and local businesses Saturday to clean up the alley. Volunteers will spend the day repairing fences, picking up trash and giving the walkway a fresh coat of paint.
Tower told News 6 that artists will come out after the big cleanup to paint encouraging murals on the fences for students to read as they walk to school.
"They can walk to school not reading vulgarities and curse words. They can walk to school knowing people in their community believe in them and are for them," Tower said.
Pastor Andrew DeClercq added that this will help students start the new school year on the right path.
"Have them and their parents feel safe that their kids are safe coming back to school," DeClercq said. "Really create an environment in this alley that's going to be more positive for kids who are going to school coming up in a couple weeks."
HighPoint Church was asking for volunteers. The cleanup effort began at 8 a.m. at Spring Lake Elementary School in Ocoee.
Officials told News 6 Saturday that they planned to change the path's name to "Blue Jay Way."