Since 1992, volunteers have covered up vandalism throughout Paso Robles. The team now consists of seven dedicated workers who remove or cover up graffiti for 2 to 3 hours per week.
Carloyn Carter joined the cleanup crew in 2008, after noticing vandalism in her own neighborhood.
“The Police Department sent out a letter to all of our houses saying that if you see graffiti, report it to dispatch,” Carter said, “So I reported it every day and then I just decided - Why don’t I take it off too?”
She then recruited fellow volunteer, Mary Fellini, to help with the dirty work.
“Carolyn is a hound dog. She hounded me until I said, sure, I'd love to do it,” Fellini said.
Since their group of volunteers has grown from 2 to 7, they feel vandalism around Paso Robles has decreased some.
“There is a lot of graffiti. There used to be a ton more,” Carter said.
“We try and do it within 24 hours of a report. So that makes me even happier because we want people to know that we're listening to them,” Fellini said, “So the sooner we can get it removed, the less likely somebody is to come in and see it and add to the graffiti,” Fellini said.
Jose Castro, Building Maintenance Worker for the City of Paso Robles, said before the volunteers stepped in to help, responding to vandalism reports throughout the city fell on workers like him.
“All of our city buildings/properties, they do the work that we wouldn't have time to do since we're busy with all of our maintenance duties to take care of our city and all of our city properties. So we are extremely blessed and grateful to have our volunteers do that,” Castro said.
Not only does it lessen the load on workers like Castro, but it instills volunteers like Carter and Fellini with a sense of pride in their city.
“It’s very rewarding, especially when you travel and you see cities that are such a mess from graffiti…You're driving along the highway and seeing walls full [of graffiti] and you think, my God, I'm so proud of Paso,” Fellini said.
To submit a graffiti report within the city of Paso Robles, click here.
