Excellent work to you all!
Russell B Lane
612-578-4809
On May 10, 2010, at 9:49 AM, "Ed Felien" <<email obscured>> wrote:
Yes. Let's get organized!
Early in March I posted on this list a statement of my understanding of the
problem. We have, what I called, a disconnect in our community. On the one
hand there are the artists and activists. They are generally white and
organized in block clubs. On the other hand there are the communities of
color--African-American, Latino, Hmong and Somali, that are disaffected and
alienated, and they are generally not organized into block clubs. Their kids
join gangs as a form of social networking, for protection and because they have
little else to do with their time.
Normal block club organizing is not going to reach these kids. Social welfare
agencies are not going to reach these kids because the kids are not going to
walk in and knock on their doors. We need to go to them. We need to show them
options for education, public health, recreation and employment that they
probably are not aware of.
I believe strongly we need a community organizer to doorknock our community and
find these families and kids and help direct them to agencies that can help
them.
On March 17 a group of us met at a PPNA community meeting and formed the
Powderhorn Community Block Club Coalition. We agreed to pursue a strategy of
finding a fiscal agent and eventually funding to support the hiring of a
community organizer.
Here is the current draft of the proposal to hire a community organizer:
Problem:
Young men are killing each other on the streets in the Powderhorn Community. We
know that young men who are incarcerated for violent crimes generally are
uneducated, have no job and have low self-esteem. A high percentage also have
suffered a head injury, come from single parent families and have chemical
dependency problems. Many of these problems can be solved or ameliorated by
referral to appropriate agencies. Hennepin County provides referral services
and support for those programs, but the problem is that the young man must go
into a County office and ask for the help.
Proposal:
There are plenty of agencies that are willing and eager to help kids in
trouble, but the problem is getting the kids connected to those agencies. We
need to hire someone to knock on their door, take them by the hand and sit by
their side. We need a Community Organizer who will work closely with existing
block clubs and help organize new ones to identify troubled youth and assist
them in accessing appropriate agencies. The Powderhorn Community Block Club
Coalition will hire a Community Organizer to assist block clubs in identifying
youth in trouble and helping their families direct these youth to proper
agencies. If a kid is not doing well in school, the Community Organizer could
find a tutor; if a parent is out of work, find a job; if there is a public
health issue like drugs or abuse, then refer to an agency and take them there.
Background:
In 2006 Southside Pride reported:
On July 4, a 19 year-old man identified as Preston Bobo, a member of the
Rolling 30s Bloods street gang, threatened Louis Gates that he was in gang
territory at 35th Street and Chicago Avenue. Gates, frightened, phoned his
friend Joseph Rogers to pick him up. Rogers arrived and went to speak with
Bobo, who was an acquaintance. Shortly after, Gates watched Bobo shoot Rogers,
who died in Toniโs Market & Deli after crawling there for help.
From Southside Pride, February 2010:
Nineteen-year-old Walter Lee Dolley of Minneapolis was shot on a sidewalk in
the 3400 block of Chicago Avenue around 11 p.m. on Jan. 8. He died from
multiple gun shot wounds, but why he was targeted is still under investigation.
This block has known tragedy before. It is the block where Tyesha Edwards was
murdered in November of 2002. A stray bullet from a gunfight between Bloods and
Crips on Chicago Avenue went through the wall of her home where she was sitting
at the dining room table doing her homework with her little sister Lakia. The
bullet hit Tyeshaโs heart. She collapsed and died almost instantly. Myon
Burrell, age 16 and a Rolling 30s Bloods member at the time, was convicted of
that crime.
From Southside Pride, April 2010:
James King, 20, was shot and killed in the early afternoon of March 17 at Lake
Street and Clinton Avenue South, according to a Minneapolis Police Department
Criminal Complaint. Witnesses told officers that prior to the shooting, Brandon
Jermaine Lewis, 20, rode his bicycle past King, did a U-turn and rode back to
the victim. King and Lewis exchanged a couple of punches, and then Lewis pulled
out a black, semiautomatic handgun and fired at King. The bullet entered his
chest and terminated near his heart. A second gunshot entrance wound was found
in the victim's lower back. He fell face down on the sidewalk. Emergency
medical personnel were unable to revive him.
Budget:
Staff: Community Organizer: $50,000 a year plus 15% benefits.
Supplies: $5000
Administrative costs: 15%, $8250
Total cost of program for one year: $63,250.
One of the sources for possible funding discussed with Council Member Glidden
would be the Byrne Awards of the Department of Justice, particularly Category
IV, the hiring of civilians in law enforcement and public safety related
agencies. It is possible that funding at the County, State and City level has
not completely dried up. The best way to go forward with this on a governmental
level is to write a strong mission statement, form a non-profit advisory board,
find a fiscal agent, then write a job description for the Community Organizer
(C O), then find either government or foundation funding, then hire the C O.
Private foundations that would probably be appropriate would be the McKnight
Foundation, Wilder, Catholic Charities, and so on.
Pillsbury House has tentatively agreed to act as fiscal agent until we see if
it works and form our own non-profit organization.
Here is my letter of understanding with Noel Raymond of Pillsbury House:
Dear Noel Raymond,
The Powderhorn Community Block Club Coalition is very appreciative of the
agreement of Pillsbury House to act as fiscal agent (subject to approval of a
formal contract) for our project to hire a full time Community Organizer for
the Powderhorn Community to assist block clubs in organizing; in helping
troubled youth find appropriate social and recreational facilities; and in
helping families find employment and public health options.
The Powderhorn Community Block Club Coalition is a group of Powderhorn
residents who met at a Powderhorn Park Neighborhood Association (PPNA)
neighborhood meeting on March 16. We agreed that block clubs are the important
first step towards a safe community, but we also realized that block clubs do
not always reach the most troubled families in our community. We agreed it
would be very helpful to have a community organizer to help doorknock to form
block clubs but also to work with those troubled families that need help with
daycare, healthcare, employment, etc.
There are essentially two different sources of funding for hiring a community
organizer: private foundations or government agencies. Certainly the argument
could be made that this should be a government function and, therefore, funded
by a governmental agency, and maybe eventually it will progress to that stage,
however, in order for us to begin to establish street credibility with the
youth and families that are most disaffected and alienated it would be much
easier to explain the motives of a sponsor if it was a charitable foundation
rather than the Minnesota Department of Corrections or Hennepin County
Probation or the Minneapolis Police Department.
We assume Pillsbury House will receive funds on our behalf and disburse them to
the Powderhorn Community Block Club Coalition to pay a Community Organizer
hired as an independent contractor.
It will be the responsibility of the Powderhorn Community Block Club Coalition
to hire and supervise the activities of the Community Organizer. In addition
to members of our group being on the committee to hire and supervise the
Organizer, we would hope that Pillsbury House would assign a staff person to
assist us with that, and we would ask PPNA and CANDO (the Central Area
Neighborhood Development Organization) to help us as well.
This is a brief memorandum of my understanding of the agreement between
Pillsbury House and the Powderhorn Community Block Club Coalition as it is
developing.
Thank you very much for your support and advice,
Ed Felien
This is where we are at this point. Our group would welcome criticism and
suggestions. Let's sit down and talk about this. Do you want to have a
meeting at PPNA a week from Wednesday on May 19 at 6:30? Is that time and date
convenient?
Nothing is going to happen if we just sit around and complain. We need to get
organized!
Ed Felien,
612 822 4662
<email obscured>
Rest of post
-----Original Message-----
From: mpls-poho@forums.e-democracy.org
[mailto:mpls-poho@forums.e-democracy.org]On Behalf Of Kristin Green &
John Ratigan
Sent: Monday, May 10, 2010 7:12 AM
To: <email obscured>; Haddayr Copley-Woods
Cc: mpls-poho@forums.e-democracy.org
Subject: Re: [Mpls-PoHo] shooting today
Everyone,
I want to be part of the solution, and agree that this community is mine, ours.
I am also afraid of my kids getting hurt here. I want to get together with you
all and DO something. When should we have the gathering Megan wrote about?
Sincerely,
Kristin
--- On Sun, 5/9/10, Haddayr Copley-Woods <<email obscured>> wrote:
From: Haddayr Copley-Woods <<email obscured>>
Subject: Re: [Mpls-PoHo] shooting today
To: <email obscured>
Cc: mpls-poho@forums.e-democracy.org
Date: Sunday, May 9, 2010, 10:50 PM
Megan,
This is a beautiful post and a terrific cry to organize.
I would love to be part of a solution, but I have NO idea what to do.
-- Haddayr Copley-Woods
32XX 15th Av. S.
On Sun, May 9, 2010 at 9:12 PM, <<email obscured>> wrote:
Hi everybody,
I have lived in the NE corner of the park for the last 6 years. I could talk to
you about the countless incidents of violence I have experienced, witnessed,
and heard about in my time here. Instead, I want to focus on what I hear my
neighbors saying, both in this forum and out in the streets.
As a neighborhood, we are feeling many things: Vulnerable, angry, and
frustrated at the violence we live with here. We're also feeling scared,
particularly because of the violence increasingly happening during the daytime.
We're scared for ourselves, for our kids, and for our quality of life.
I think the events of the past seven days really highlight the disjunction
between what happens here when we're at our best (the May Day festival) and
when we're at our worst (shootings in broad daylight). We are all feeling the
trauma of violence in our community. Last week we said "Happy May Day"; today
we're saying "Mayday! Mayday!"
I would like to propose that we start a conversation about how we can harness
the incredibly progressive, creative energy of this neighborhood into a vehicle
by which we can:
1) Work through our collective feelings of trauma and anger; and
2) Simultaneously claim our common neighborhood space as places of peace.
We're so much more here than tired arguments about gun violence and the need
for increased police presence. We are the artists, scholars, parents,
activists, and city dwellers who choose to live, work, and shop in this place.
This is our community, and we have choices. If you would like to work toward
the community we want to be, rather than working away from the community we are
scared of, let's start this dialogue. Please feel free to email me personally,
if you wish.
Thanks,
Megan
Megan Moylan
Powderhorn , Minneapolis
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Kristin Green
Powderhorn Park, Minneapolis
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Ed Felien
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