BILLINGS — Teenagers and staff from the Tumbleweed Runaway Program teamed up with Billings City Code Enforcement to clean up graffiti near the Sixth Street West underpass Wednesday.
Phoenix Raether was one of the Tumbleweed teens helping out, and he focused on figuring out different ways to combat graffiti in his town. On Wednesday, the group used gray paint, but Raether thought of another idea for the future.
“Maybe paint it in a different color, like really bright or something. I don't know. All we can do is try,” Raether, 18, said.
Watch video how these teens are wiping out graffiti:
Tina Hoeger, code enforcement district manager, praised the efforts of the teens.
“They're grabbing the paint, they're getting out there, they're covering what needs to be covered,” Hoeger said.
They were able to wipe out the graffiti in a safe location off of the street, including parts of the Laurel Road overpass.
“It's nice and safe, it's off the roadway, so everybody's, they're not interfering with anything,” Hoeger said.
Hoeger said they are always looking for support and volunteers to help with their projects around Billings.
“We love to partner with everybody in the community and get these things done,” Hoeger said.
As summer approaches, she anticipates additional projects will need volunteer assistance.
“We need extra help. We need the support of volunteers,” Hoeger said.
Georgia Cady, the executive director at Tumbleweed, believes the initiative is perfect for the teens in the program.
“We just thought this would be a great way for our youth to give back and to the generous folks at Billings,” Cady said.
Hoeger agreed that the community involvement is crucial.
“If we all pull together, we could keep it clean and keep it healthy and safe for our entire community,” Hoeger said.
Cady highlighted the benefits for the Billings community.
“They can see some of the good that our youth also give back,” Cady said.
Raether thinks that cleaning up the graffiti is important.
“It's just trying to make it better for everybody and lives in the town,” Raether said.
