In walking around downtown Baton Rouge, it's hard to imagine the area being anything less than a hub of activity for local business owners and residents. However, it wasn't until recent decades that Mid City became what it is today.

By the early 1980s, many hospitals had relocated from downtown areas to suburbs. In Baton Rouge, the General was the only hospital remaining in downtown, but the mass exodus of business and homeowners left the area run-down and desolate.

The General recognized a significant problem within the community and decided to establish and fund the Mid City Redevelopment Alliance (MCRA) to focus on revitalization of the area's neighborhoods and businesses. This program, now celebrating 13 years of success, demonstrates a unique approach to hospital community service programs and how the General extends its tradition of caring past the hospital's walls.

Fifteen years ago, MCRA began a tradition of their own by creating a program called FIXUP! FIXUP! is the largest all-volunteer housing repair initiative in Baton Rouge and has repaired more than 250 homes and businesses since its startup with the help of more than 12,000 local volunteers.

Recently, FIXUP! has gotten a makeover itself and now focuses on repairing homes and businesses a block at a time in order to promote fellowship among neighbors. PICKUP! is a similar program started by MCRA in which neighborhood volunteers meet one spring afternoon to help pickup trash in the downtown area.

Today Mid City represents a close-knit community with more than 200 merchants, compared to the less than 12 that existed prior to when MCRA was founded. Forty percent of residents in Mid City now own their own home, thanks to financing classes provided by MCRA, and last year housing prices for the area grew 13%.

MCRA has given the Mid City community a new sense of self and something to take pride in. With all the huge strides that MCRA has made, none of them could have been possible without the support, caring and dedication of the residents themselves.