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TUCSON - A one-day graffiti paint over and scrub down makes an enormous impact to the Amphi neighborhood.

Graffiti Protective Coating's Lupe Mercado says the Ward 3 clean-up looks to send taggers a message that graffiti is not welcome here. He says, "We reached out to the community and the community has responded."

He says G.P.C is teaming up with Tucson Police to make life difficult for taggers, "We have provided TPD with the tool that helps them eliminate it now. We're tracking and mapping all the taggers and now they catch a tagger and we have a history on them. Documents, photo's, GPS."

Volunteer participants also received training, tips, and materials that will aid in future prevention and cleanup efforts

"There's graffiti everywhere," says son Rene Mercado. "And when they try to paint it out, it just keeps coming back. It gets even bigger and bigger and worse."

"I'm from California and it's bad there but Tucson is really bad," says neighbor Dale McCoy.

"The objective is to try to stop it for good," says the younger Mercado. "Graffiti just tells us that it's dangerous outside, especially at night."

"Community events like this one really demonstrate the spirit of unity, generosity, and resilience expressed so often in our community," says Council Member Karin Uhlich.

The next mid-town graffiti clean-up will take place April 10th with staging at Catalina High School.

For more information, call Linda Mehall, Ward III Council Office, at 791-4711.