“Citizens for a Better Norwood” organizing

Norwood has its share of charitable, social, political and civic groups, but Citizens for a Better Norwood members said they felt there was room for at least one more.

Member, Town Meeting Member and co-founder Gregory Orphanos said they started out just as a way to help get residents informed about what’s going on in the community.

“We’re just a handful of Town Meeting members and residents who really weren’t getting informed and we were basically chasing our tails on this project, that project or whatever we’re voting on,” he said. “The information we were getting wasn’t complete, and so it was like, we need to get a group together.”

Orphanos said there is no hardline political affiliation, and that anyone is welcome to join.

“We’re not Democrats or Republicans in that perspective, we just want information so we could vote the ‘right’ way,” he said. “That’s how it came about.”

Orphanos it all started with the 20 Vernon St. Community Preservation Act (CPA) project back in 2023 - 2024. He said it was felt that not enough information was coming out about the proposal, and so because that left a sour taste in their mouths, the group members formed Citizens for a Better Norwood.

The group has been going on for about a year now, and Orphanos said they’ve had a really great response from residents. Orphanos said the group is a 501(c)4 nonprofit, which is aimed at social betterment rather than a specific charitable cause. It also allows them to engage in political activities.

“We go to a lot of meetings, like at the Planning Board, but what we really like to do is hold events, like our recent Musical Bingo night we just had, which was a blast,” he said. “That was hilarious, and of course we have Norwood Day coming up on Aug. 29.”

Orphanos added that they are helping with the American Red Cross Blood Drive at the Norwood VFW on Sept. 10, as well as hosting Psychic Medium Cathy Ripley at the VFW on Oct. 25 and a food drive for the Norwood Ecumenical Food Pantry sometime in November.

“From the political and development side of things, we in particular want an over-55 community here in Norwood,” he said. “That’s what we’re going to try to draw some attention to come September.”

Orphanos said they want to promote and advocate such housing to get a developer here to build such housing in the Town. He said building momentum with resident input is the way they’re going.

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“Every Town around us has over-55 communities, and so I actually spoke with multiple developers and some of the big boys, because they’re all for building an over-55 community in Norwood,” he said. “When they approached the Town, they weren’t really welcomed, in that certain way.”

This is a big problem in Massachusetts, as many seniors are finding themselves overhoused. Basically, all the kids have moved out, and older residents are finding it harder and harder to maintain, clean and beautify their properties.

“Most of us are tired of cutting the grass and I think would prefer an over-55 community,” Orphanos said. “I think everybody’s tired of shoveling their driveways too.”

This is considered a good first step for overall affordability, as decreasing the number of overhoused individuals – i.e., seniors who no longer need/want the space and yards to mow – frees up more supply for growing families, with young children who may need to learn the importance and character-building benefits of yard work. This is one of the key arguments in the housing supply increase side of the housing affordability argument – https://gvimes.link/snraffhsng

For more information on Citizens for a Better Norwood, go to https://citizensforabetternorwoodma.com