Armed with a paint brush, Contra Costa County Supervisor John Gioia is on a mission to battle recurring graffiti vandalism targeting a family’s property in Rollingwood.

On Feb. 28, Gioia posted on social media about his effort to help the immigrant family deter people from repeatedly tagging the front-yard wall in front of their home at the corner of Rollingwood Drive and Fordham Street. The family has attempted to paint over the graffiti many times in the past, only for the vandalism to return. 

While the Contra Costa County Public Works Deparment will address graffiti on public property, this particular wall is on private proverty. And so two weeks ago, Supervisor Gioia took it upon himself to paint over the graffiti, using paint donated by Republic Services.

He also gave the family about seven gallons of leftover paint “so they could quickly paint over any graffiti that reappears.”

“Evidence shows that immediately painting over graffiti helps deter future tagging,” Gioia said.

On Tuesday night, the wall was tagged yet again, so Gioia plans to return to the property with his paint brush. This time, he’s inviting members of the community to join him in the effort to support the homeowners. Volunteers are encouraged to meet the supervisor at the corner of Rollingwood Drive and Fordham Street at 1 p.m. on Thursday. 

“Let’s show our support for this homeowner against those who commit these illegal acts which bring down community standards,” Gioia said.

Gioia is also calling upon the community to report graffiti on a publicly-owned wall or building to Contra Costa County Public Works at (925) 314-7000.

“We need to stop this, it’s happening in a lot of places across our country,” Gioia said. 

He said he hopes people doing the graffiti will get the message that “they are causing harm to families and to the community, and bringing the community down.”