What Have We Already Accomplished?
Thursday, June 26th, 2008Well, if you look at it from our point, quite a bit! Not only have we gotten a few “physical” things, but have also made great connections to and with other organizations and entities! I am really impressed with the amount of work we have actually accomplished! It has been a great exprience and hopefully our work will continue to gather momentum and grow…we have indeed gone from the “roots” of our community to the “richness” of having made new connections.
The following report shows just exactly what we have been able to achieve.
1. St. Maries Resource Guide: The Community Resource Action Team has just completed compiling a Resource Guide for St. Maries. This guide will be distributed free to the public and includes a listing of available resources that will help provide community members with a listing of service agencies, county, state and federal agencies, schools, churches, recreational activities and local organizations. The guide, which will be available in July, is designed to help community members locate needed services easily and rapidly. The guide has been put together by a broad cross-section of the community and the actual printing will be done by a local printer who is currently working to establish a new business in St. Maries. The committee plans to update the guide bi-annually by selling ads or getting local sponsors.
2. Shoshone/Benewah County Resource Guide for Families: The Community Resource Action Team worked jointly with the Silver Valley Horizons to compile a two county Resource Guide for Families. Both Benewah and Shoshone County have historically high unemployment rates, seasonal employment and high poverty rates. The Resource Guide for Families is designed to list all of the services available to help low income families locate needed resources so they can meet their basic needs and become more self sufficient. This guide is being published as a joint, multi-county Horizons project and supported by local businesses. The guide will be available soon and will be free to the public. The information in this guide provides a listing of resources available in both counties. The committees working to establish the guide have plans to update it bi-annually by selling ads or getting local sponsors. This guide was a collaborative effort utilizing information from service providers, agencies, tribal services and the community. By expanding the resource information available for our community, low income families will be better able to help themselves and businesses, community members and service providers will have a readily accessible guide available to them.
3. Dreaming of Habitat: Through the Horizons program, St. Maries is currently exploring opportunities to establish a Habitat for Humanity program. There is a real need for safe, affordable housing especially for low income families in the community. Committee members have been meeting with a nearby Habitat Chapter and local officials to lay the groundwork for the establishment of a Habitat Chapter. There is a lot of excitement and enthusiasm within the community for this project. Becoming involved in Habitat will help our community become more aware of poverty issues and build a stronger bond between community members.
4. Intern Program: St. Maries has been selected to have a summer intern under a program sponsored by the University of Idaho Extension Service. Many of the action items identified during the study circle and action phase of the Horizons program centered around revitalization of our local parks and the development of a community center and youth activities. Community members feel strongly that we need to include our youth in planning for the future. The role of the intern will be to help St. Maries research the establishment of a new Parks & Recreation Department. The development of a sustainable Parks & Recreation program would benefit everyone in the community and help combat drug and alcohol problems in the area.
5. Skateboarding Anyone?? The Community Revitalization Action Team is working on establishing a skateboard park in the St. Maries City Park. Teens participating in study circles identified the need for a safe place for youth to skateboard. Youth and community members are currently being recruited to help serve on a committee to organize the project. Development of the park, which would be available to all youth in the area regardless of income, will provide a great leadership experience. Now that the idea has really taken off, more groups are getting involved and a diverse age group (from youth to seniors) is investing their time, energy and resources to see it through to completion. The City Council already has a spot picked out for us and a company has already been here for a demonstration.
6. Where do we go from here????? Horizons steering committee members are working closely with the St. Maries City Council to establish a standing committee that would work with the council to continue the action items begun under the Horizons program. The committee, chaired by a City Council representative, would utilize community members to help identify, coordinate and carry out community projects. This would be an excellent opportunity to sustain the Horizons belief that everyone in the community has something to contribute and has leadership abilities. The idea for this committee came from contact with a Horizons group in Montana. (Thanks for sharing your idea!!)
7. Drug & Alcohol Awareness: Local Horizon action team members are joining forces with the medical community, local law enforcement and community members to help combat drug and alcohol abuse in our community. The goal of the Idaho Meth project is to combat meth abuse in our community and Horizons team members are partnering with the organizing committee to help spread the word. By linking already existing groups together to combat the problem, more can be accomplished to counter the effects of abuse on families.
8. Summer Solstice Celebration: 148 people attended a free community breakfast sponsored by St. Maries Horizons on June 21st. Horizons leaders partnered with local Kiwanis members who utilized their culinary skills to serve breakfast to community members. Displays and sign up sheets were available to show off our action team projects and recruit more participation. Horizons also partnered with the local Hughes House Historical Society to provide a special display in honor of the local community Christmas tree located at the museum on Main Street. Our Horizons theme of “Roots to Richness” was symbolic of the tree and partnering with the Historical Society enabled us to celebrate St. Maries past, present and future. The breakfast created new links within the community and expanded resources available to us. It was a great way to recruit new people and groups to become involved in projects and have a great time!!
9. Rural Education Conference: One St. Maries Horizons representative recently attended the Rural Education Conference in Alabama. The conference centered on Poverty and Rural Education issues with an emphasis on place based learning. The program highlighted youth education programs that are designed to teach educational curriculum with an emphasis on practical learning. This was a wonderful opportunity to meet people from all over the country and share ideas on how to create viable new educational programs in our area. The information gathered at the conference will be shared with the local school district personnel. And it will hopefully help the youth climb out of the poverty they currently find themselves in. There were other representatives from northern Idaho attending the conference which will (and already has) increased the opportunity to network and share ideas throughout the region. She is now working on policy making committees for the Rural Trust to reduce poverty in Education and ensure that rural areas are able to achieve the same goals as urban areas as far as Educational opportunities are concerned. 10. Housing Opportunities: One of the goals of the Community Resource Action Team is expanding the knowledge about housing alternatives for low income families. They have been actively seeking resources and information about housing options available in our area. They have been busy forming new partnerships to help address housing issues. They are forming a network of local lenders, realtors, housing providers, service agencies and educational institutions which can help provide information and assistance to people seeking safe affordable housing. All this came from just a few people getting together and wanting to make things happen for their community! You should all give yourself a pat on the back and be proud of your giving spirit.
Thank you and
TTFN
Tala.