Friendship Park, tucked behind the hospital in Prairie Township’s 43228 area, has become the center of growing community outrage as neighbors describe a sharp decline in safety that has made the once-welcoming green space nearly unusable for families.
Local residents are reporting a troubling pattern of vandalism, property destruction, and threatening behavior from groups of teenagers who have taken over the park, particularly after dark.
Broken glass scattered across play areas, human waste on playground equipment, fires set to benches and structures, and fences being climbed have left parents unwilling to bring their children to the park.
The situation escalated dramatically when a teenager was shot at the park in the middle of the night several weeks ago, an incident that rattled nearby homeowners who say they had no idea the violence had reached that level.
“Once again Friendship Park behind the hospital is causing issues,” wrote the original poster, identified as SkilledJaguar5598 in the Prairie Twp. 43228 Community Info group on Facebook. “I can’t even let my own child go play on the equipment because these people pee down slides and have broken glass in the park. It is truly becoming unsafe.”
Neighbors Push Back and Document the Chaos
Several residents say they have independently invested in surveillance cameras pointed toward the park to document incidents and build cases for law enforcement.
Tracy Myers, who lives near the park, said the Franklin County Sheriff’s Office was called out three separate times on a single Monday. She noted the situation had never been this bad before this year and called on neighbors to unite.
“Neighbors need to come together and take a stance that some young punk teens are not going to run us out of where we live,” Myers wrote. “Enough is enough.”
Adding to the frustration, resident Kelsey D. Burkett shared that after she posted about the park previously, a teenager created a Facebook account specifically to send her threatening messages.
Burkett, who noted she is moving away next week, called the situation heartbreaking. “So sad this park has ended up in chaos,” she wrote.
Resident Desiree Dunn, who lives directly adjacent to the park, said she had no idea a shooting had even taken place. The lack of communication and lighting in the area has left many neighbors feeling both unsafe and uninformed.
Calls for Lights, Police Presence, and Accountability
The community is urging township officials to install lighting in the park and establish a regular law enforcement presence.
Resident Jason Long advised neighbors to call the city persistently and escalate complaints, noting it took him nearly three years of consistent pressure to get movement on a separate loitering issue on Norton Road.
Some residents have expressed frustration with the police response as well.
According to SkilledJaguar5598, one officer told neighbors he could not act unless he personally witnessed the behavior and even remarked that he engaged in similar behavior himself as a youth, a comment that did not go over well with residents.
“I disagree with the statement ‘I did this when I was young’ because it’s still wrong,” Myers responded.
With school now out for the summer, neighbors fear the situation will only intensify before any real solutions are put in place.
