South Baker Park bustled with yard games, raffle prizes, bubbles and hot dogs on June 12 for a neighborhood party organized by Building Healthy Families.

The evening’s activities were funded by a community violence intervention grant from the Oregon Department of Justice. Building Healthy Families chose South Baker Park because the neighborhood has experienced recent violence, including a murder on March 20, said Tori Hawkins, who works in family support and home visits for BHF.

Building Healthy Families is a nonprofit family support organization based in Enterprise with additional programs in Union, Baker and Malheur counties. BHF provides early childhood programs, youth development and mentoring, education programs, family resources and parenting education.

The BHF staff in Baker City distributed flyers in the South Baker neighborhood to advertise the June 12 party.

“We can bring neighborhoods together and celebrate community,” said Jillian Hawkins-Contreras, who handles communications and is a Spanish interpreter with BHF.

The recent violence, she said, isn’t a good reflection of this part of town — an area where she grew up and still lives today.

“That doesn’t represent 95% of this neighborhood,” she said.

The gathering ran for three hours and people dropped by to meet their neighbors, eat a hot dog, and enter the raffles to win water park passes or gift baskets.

“Some people have lived here for generations,” Hawkins-Contreras said.

Additional community partners were the Baker Relief Nursery and New Directions Northwest. Also, Albertsons donated cookies for dessert.

Hawkins said BHF would like to plan other neighborhood events in the city’s various parks, but those will depend on funding and community partnerships.

To learn more about Building Healthy Families, visit oregonbhf.org. Find local resources and programs under the “Locations” tab.