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We had a smaller turnout
for this meeting
now that we have entered the summer months. There were about 30
people,
including several grade school and high school students. Bob
started the
evening by welcoming everyone and explaining about the yellow cards
taped up on
the wall. The yellow cards were listings of services and
resources as
well as comments and ideas compiled from folks at our previous
meetings. This
has been an interesting process and we have certainly appreciated the
patience
of the community as we have gone through things to this point.
Tonight,
the yellow cards were taped up on the wall of the LdF cafeteria and
grouped
under headings: Issues, Solutions, Strategies, Programs, Best
Practices, Topics
for Discussion, and Other. The first activity was for everyone to
look
over the wall to see if any of the cards needed to be moved to a
different
category, or to add a card with an idea. People took their time
digesting the
array of ideas and comments and resources-it is amazing to see all that
we have
to offer in our area! Bob asked the high school students what
they
thought should happen after everyone had a chance to add their ideas to
the
wall. They said that everyone who had put up a new idea should
stand up
and tell about it. The next half hour was spent listening as
people
talked about their ideas. There were some great additions to the
list,
including ideas from the high school students. It was great to
have the
grade school and high school student there to get their perspective and
to hear
what they think needs to happen. One parent stood up and shared
that what
we need is to really listen to our children. We had the
opportunity to
put that into practice at this meeting. Jenna Hoffman, a high
school
student shared that she and her friends have talked about wanting to be
involved with town boards. Currently students are not allowed on
the
boards. The students want to be involved, and to show that they
can be
responsible and be a part of making change in their community.
“Nobody knows our views and concerns like us.”
Jazmyn Deragon shared
her view, that there
needs to be more options for youth. She would like to see a new
or
updated youth center with more activities. She shared that they
all have
dreams and want to do something with their lives, but it is hard when
there are
too many options for “getting into trouble” and not enough positive
alternatives.
The sharing of ideas
started the ball
rolling, and people continued to talk about different ideas, and what
they
thought the next step should be. Cam Martin shared again that she
would
like the opportunity to present her program “Bridging the Gap” to a
group so that we can decide if it is a resource we would like to
use. A
common thread emerged from the group of wanting to narrow down the
issues that
we were focusing on. There were so many cards up on the wall that
it was
overwhelming. Bob shared that we are at the hard part of the
process. He asked “If we have all these resources and programs,
what are we missing-looking at these issues on the wall, how come we
still have
so many problems?” It is hard to narrow ideas down, and to stick with
them until they have been completed. The missing part in many
groups like
ours, is the collective and individual will to see something from start
to
finish.
After some ideas had
been shared, it was
opened up for questions. People asked about the difference
between
solutions and strategies. Ernie gave an explanation of
them. A
solution is something you can act upon, and a strategy is ongoing and
something
that is known to work. He asked the question, “What brought you
here?” He said that the reason we are all here and all the cards
on
the wall are connected by a common thread. One person answered
with
“communication.” They wanted to help communicate with others
about what is going on, and to be a part of stopping the
miscommunication. Another person wants to see education occur for
those
who do not know what is going on in our community. Someone asked
about
the position paper that we will be writing towards the end of the
summer.
Bob said that the position paper will reflect our collective
voice. So
instead of just one person going before a town board, tribal council or
school
board, we will have all of our ideas collected with all of us there to
provide
support.
One common theme was the
need to
communicate more about what we are about and how people can become
involved. Kayla Norris, a high school student thought we could do
commercials that were super positive to get out the message of what we
are
about. People suggested using the community bulletin boards on
the radio,
billboards, buying ad time, trying to get more positive articles in the
paper,
and starting a website where ideas could be shared on different
topics.
One suggestion was to have a community wide multi-cultural event for
all
ages. This would be a way to draw people in and to share what we
are
about, and for them to learn about one another.
Nancy Livingston shared
that there are
common needs among all youth for positive development. They need
a sense
of belonging, mastery, self-determination and generosity. These
are needs
that we all have, but as youth, it is important for them to have these
needs
met as they grow and learn.
One suggestion was for
us to have a common
goal. It was shared that Marshfield Clinic and Howard Young have
now come
together with the common goal of “Community First.” Penny
Lindeman suggested that our goal could be “Children First.”
Sharon Belknap shared
her idea for grouping
the “Issues” to narrow them down to make it easier to focus.
The groups were: Parent Issues, Youth Issues (includes school based),
Racism
and A.O.D.A/Mental Health. At that point, we broke into four
groups, with
each group discussing one of these topics. We asked each group to
try and
come up with a “first step” for their particular topic. The groups
spent about 30 minutes talking about the next step, and then we came
back
together to share ideas. Below are the notes from each group.
Parenting Issues Group
Discussion:
Need: parent education,
primarily of their influence
& “nurturing” of racism and secondarily of the services &
programs available
- Parent ILI
-
To get to know each other
in fun ways
-
Always have food
-
Meet in different
locations throughout community
-
Help each culture learn
about the other
Example: kids on the rez
know their family heritage, they are grounded in it and are proud of
it; those
of euro descent know much less or very little of their German or French
or
English or other culture…
-
Maybe get together with
youth ILI groups
- Media-distribution of
facts & things of interest for parents & Parent ILI gatherings
-
Series of articles in
papers, including local community ones
-
“Did you know”
brief statements
-
Inserts in report cards
-
Inclusions in parent
newsletters
-
Brochures at clinics,
county
- Community-wide
multi-cultural fair
-
Long-term goal
-
Maybe be included in Vilas
County Fair and/or Hodag Festival
- Parent Mentor program
-
Provide support for all
especially new parents
-
Hotline staffed by
volunteers
-
Refer to programs in area
Youth Issues Group Discussion:
1.
Transportation and
Distance is an issue/barrier for getting to youth centers and jobs.
a.
Have
a bus system like Bad River, a bus that goes
back and forth to town every hour and you can ride one way for $1.
b.
More
available taxis
c.
Research
possibilities for transporting people
2.
New/More
Youth Centers
a.
Have
a youth center in each town
b.
Have
events at each of them that other all youth could come to
c.
Need
to fundraise
d.
Youth
Tribal Council is already working on raising money to improve the
existing
parks
e.
Is
there a way to involve the YMCA?
3.
Create
Student boards in each town
4.
ILI
a.
Start
younger and meet more often
b.
Have
it as a class for credit at LUHS-as a social studies elective with real
life
projects.
Racism Group Discussion:
“Cultural Unity in the Community”
Our goal is to build a
better community
through sharing cultures, developing stronger families and healthy
living
environments in which to live.
We will do this by:
- Decreasing racism through
education
- Improving communication
and participation within families and communities
- Developing a stronger
business community through educational grants and funds.
- Take care of our own by
contributing input into government initiatives.
- Be innovative in our
initiatives to remove past prejudices
- Be humanitarians,
volunteer, develop community service programs for families.
- Eliminate ignorance and
enhance cultural understanding whenever possible.
- We need a structure to
bring existing programs to the community in one accessible spot.
- Transportation to such
structure (perhaps casino shuttles or school buses)
- Buy in from the community
as a whole.
A.O.D.A/Mental Health
Group Discussion:
1.
Recruit more people to
attend the meetings.
2.
Education
about existing programs, create a community resource guide.
3.
Talk
about different program in school newsletters and in the newspaper.
4.
Put
stuffers into phone books and newspapers with information about
programs.
5.
Create
and tell people about opportunities for people to be involved who want
to be,
but may not have time for the meetings.
6.
Address
the different barriers.
7.
Technology:
computers are a way to be connected, but many families do not have
them.
Options: to write a grant for new computers, have businesses donate old
computers to families.
8.
Professional
development for teachers. Incorporate helpful curriculum to be
integrated
with projects.
After each group shared
their “first
steps”, we talked briefly how these will be the foundation for the
Action
Plans that will be developed at the next meeting.
The next meeting will be
July 10, 2007 from
5:00pm-8:00pm at the LUHS school commons area. We will once again serve
refreshments. The agenda for the meeting is:
Tuesday July 10, 2007. Lakeland Union
High School.
Vision Meeting: Complete
and review prioritization and gaps. Develop action plans for the four
topics:
vision and mission statement, strategic plan, goals and objectives.
5:00pm-5:30pm: Food
5:30pm-8:30pm: Meeting.
Bob
Kovar, Project
Director
Intercultural Leadership
Initiative
Positive Alternatives
Coalition
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