Pastor sets out to make Jacksonville's most dangerous neighborhood safer

One man is setting out to do something the entire Jacksonville police force has been unable to do for years: make Jacksonville’s most dangerous part of town safe.

This is the 32209 zip code. Some call it Northwest Jacksonville, or the Moncrief area.

It includes such neighborhoods as Cleveland Arms and Washington Heights.

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Pastor Nashon Nicks, who grew up in the area, tells Action News Jax it’s time for new action.

It's all about survival, Nicks said.  But he's not just teaching kids tips on fighting. He said he's showing them life skills with Fresh Word Ministries.

"We're trying to get these folks motivated, we're trying to get these folks empowered," Nicks said.

That’s why he’s hosting a career and economic fair, hoping to do just that.

“It’s a great event to give our people, an opportunity for hope and to better themselves,” Nicks said.

But the fair will be at Washington Heights, where Nicks said “some people call it the hood. I call it home, in Washington Heights.”

A home that sits in the heart of the 32209 zip code.

“32209 is considered the most deadliest zip code in our city,” Nicks said.

The Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office said that last year, there were 120 homicides in Jacksonville, but couldn’t say how many of those homicides happened in the 32209 zip code. We did some digging and found that within the last 28 days, there were two homicides in the Washington Heights area alone.

Just this week, we reported on a woman getting shot in broad daylight. That happened in the Moncrief area, just down the street from Washington Heights.

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Exclusive security video shows the before and aftermath of that shooting, a scene Nicks said is all too common in that area.

“They’re going to take to whatever they’re exposed to. So if all you know is trauma, all you know is drama, all you know is criminal activity, if all you know is foolishness, then that’s all you’re going to project,” Nicks said.

It's why Nicks said the empowerment and job fair is all about exposing this neighborhood to something more than crime scene tape and police lights.

“We have the Army, we have the Navy, we have people that can help folks start businesses,” Nicks said.

Neighbor Kaniesha Shead thinks it’s just what the community needs.

“It will be a good opportunity for young people, for people with low income and people who are struggling,” Shead said.

Nicks hopes that after this event, many will take steps to start the change they have been looking for.

The empowerment and job fair will be this Saturday at the Washington Heights Community Center from 12 p.m. to 2 p.m.

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"I have lived here my whole life, never had a high school, got a high school and now they want to take it from our kids and put them in Fernandina again," the woman said.

The school district is giving parents the option to provide their own transportation to the school if they want to stay, but there’s an application process before it's approved.

There are also plans to make accommodations for students entering their senior year.

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