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The Office of Community Services (OCS) is seeking expert reviewers with a broad array of direct community economic development experience to help select grantees for the Community Economic Development (CED) program.
The grant review process is mutually beneficial for the Federal government and the reviewers. The Federal government and taxpayers benefit from expertise and knowledge of the reviewers, ensuring that OCS projects address relevant and emerging issues in the communities they serve. At the same time, reviewers obtain knowledge about the Federal grant award process and grant application requirements, which can be taken back to the community and applied when developing proposals.
If you or someone you know is interested in serving as a reviewer, please review this linked brochure or visit the Reviewer Recruitment website (direct link: www.acf.hhs.gov/programs/ocs/resource/ced-reviewers) for more details and then contact OCS@reviewops.org.
To avoid conflict of interest, individuals from organizations that are applying for CED funding this year will not be accepted as reviewers.
If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to email OCSRegistrar@icf.com.
By Rasheedah Jackson, Development Director, MCDC
Member organization Memorial CDC is hosting a conference June 27-29 to share best practices in community development. In the following guest blog, MCDC Development Director Rasheeda Jackson reflects on the organization’s history and successes and plans for the conference.
The Vision
Twenty-three years ago, Pastor Adrian M. Brooks Sr. was given a powerful vision from God that would redefine the role of Memorial Baptist Church (MBC) within the center city of Evansville, IN. At that time, the church had a small membership of about 50 people, and the community was distressed. The members of Memorial were diligent in sharing the good news and meeting the spiritual needs of the community, but it was apparent that people were living in despair. Blight, poverty, and addiction were just some of the challenges that they were facing. Memorial Baptist Church, with its strong roots in the community, was called to be an agent of change. Pastor Brooks and his 50 faithful members made a commitment to be public servants and a church that would be involved in every facet of peoples’ lives. From that commitment birthed the Memorial Community Development Corporation (MCDC). The purpose of the corporation is to create enriching opportunities in economic development, health services, housing, education, and financial services, social services, and youth development. MCDC would be vital to the transformation of Evansville’s center city.
“So you see, faith by itself isn’t enough. Unless it produces good deeds, it is dead and useless.”
-James 2:17
The Harvest
Within the first five years of its ministry, Memorial Baptist Church and MCDC experienced an abundance of growth. The church membership grew to over 1,200 and there was an emergence of center city revitalization. Blocks of dilapidated housing and abandoned warehouses were eliminated and replaced with the new Memorial Baptist Church, two senior housing complexes, a health center, childcare facility, multi-family townhouses, and a Subway restaurant. In addition to development, more than 50 ministries providing various supportive services were being offered. Memorial established itself as a pioneer for holistic ministry in action. Residents began to look to Memorial as a solution to their issues. To date, Memorial has developed over 100 units of affordable housing; built and sold 13 single family homes; employed hundreds of youth; supported children and families through childcare and educational programs; provided repair services to homeowners; created access to fresh produce through the Urban Market; purchased a shopping plaza, and chartered a community credit union. God has positioned Memorial to be leaders and advocates poised to meet the ongoing challenges in the city of Evansville.
“For I know the plans I have for you,” says the Lord. “They are plans for good and not for disaster, to give you a future and a hope.” Jeremiah 29:11
The Conference
Memorial Baptist Church and MCDC have accomplished a lot. While demonstrating the impact a church can make in the community through faith and hard work. That is one of the reasons Memorial was inspired to host a conference this summer. Last November, Dr. Stacey Spencer, pastor of New Directions Community Church in Memphis, Tenn., and keynote speaker for the conference, hosted a meeting amongst five faith-based organizations from across the U.S. who spent two days sharing experiences and best practices in community development. The feedback that Memorial received from the participants at that meeting helped us to realize the wealth of information and resources we had to share. It was decided amongst the leadership team that a conference could be very beneficial to others that want to make a difference.
“Putting Faith to Work” is a conference that is not just for churches or faith-based organizations. This conference is for those who have a desire to make a difference and have a heart to serve their community. People should attend because it is a great way to expand their network, garner additional resources, and get one-on-one assistance. A range of businesses, corporations, and other non-profits will be represented at the event. The conference will offer small class sizes to allow participants to be engaged and interact with the presenters as much as possible, also attendees will receive a flash drive of all the learning materials and resources provided. It’s very important to us that our attendees walk away with good information. Another exciting component to this conference is the variety of sessions. There are four tracks: housing, economic development, youth programs, and special topics. Each track has three levels: novice, intermediate, and advanced. The courses are structured this way to reach a broader audience. Presenters represent local and regional communities and bring a wealth of knowledge from their areas of expertise.
Participants can expect to hear from some dynamic speakers and community development practitioners that have a track record of doing amazing work. I am particularly excited about the plenary session because each speaker is truly a community development all-star. Their biographies are available on the MCDC website. Outside of the conference, participants can experience great food, scenery, and entertainment in Downtown Evansville.
The conference will be held June 27 – 29, 2017. The event will take place at Tropicana Casino on Day 1 and Day 2 and at Memorial Baptist Church on Day 3, concluding with center city tours and Memorial’s annual luncheon. Those interested in registering should visit MCDC’s website for all info pertaining to the conference, including registration. You may also contact Development Director Rasheedah Jackson at 812-423-2500 or by email.
Just last month, the Congress allocated spending to the federal government for fiscal year 2017 (FY17). Now the process starts anew for FY18 which spans October 1, 2017 through September 30, 2018. The Trump administration released the 2018 Budget of the U.S. Government: A New Foundation for American Greatness on May 23, 2017.
The headline from the Center on Budget Policies and Priorities conveys the crisis if the President’s vision of greatness is enacted, “Trump Budget Would Increase Homelessness and Hardship in Every State, End Federal Role in Community Development”. The budget offers up large tax cuts for the wealthy along with increases in defense spending and border security. It proposes to pay for these tax expenditures and expenses through deep cuts to federal safety net and community development programs. The President’s budget proposal begins the process. It is a proposal and these drastic cuts and bad proposals can be stopped with your advocacy as outlined below. Congress writes the actual budget and directs funding through appropriations, not the President.
If enacted by Congress, this budget would cut $54 billion from programs designed to meet human needs and develop communities in FY18, and $1.4 trillion over 10 years. These cuts include transportation, workforce development, community economic development, housing, aging, clean water and air, youth and other non-defense discretionary spending.
Diane Yentel, President and CEO of the National Low Income Housing Coalition said in a blog post, “If enacted, Mr. Trump’s budget would exacerbate the growing affordable rental housing crisis in every state and community across the nation, and it would represent a clear departure from the belief that everyone deserves an affordable place to call home.”
The budget proposes the complete elimination of programs and agencies:
For FY18, the impacts at various federal agencies are sizeable. The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) receives a $2.6 billion or 31 percent cut as compared to FY17. The Department of Labor’s reduction is $2.5 billion or 21 percent. The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) is cut by $7.8 billion or 16 percent. The Department of Commerce cut is $1.5 billion or 16 percent; while the Department of Transportation is cut by $2.4 billion or 13 percent. The Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) cut is $4.3 billion or 12 percent; and Energy by $1.7 billion or 6 percent.
Indiana’s loss from the elimination of the CDBG program is $60,543,482 and the HOME program impact is $18,671,931. In addition to the program eliminations listed above, the budget proposal eliminates Section 8 Housing Choice Vouchers for more than 250,000 low-income households. The budget requests $17.6 billion to renew housing vouchers— $771 million less than policymakers provided for 2017 and $2.3 billion less than estimated need in 2018. In Indiana, more than 4,000 vouchers representing real families would lose assistance next year.
The Public Housing Operating Fund is cut by $500 million, while the Public Housing Capital Fund would be reduced $1.31 billion. The Indiana impact is $20,217,861 less for operating. Related policy proposals include increasing tenant rent contributions for public housing to 35 percent of a family’s monthly income and eliminating utility allowance reimbursements. The budget document includes policy proposals affecting the Rental Assistance Demonstration (RAD) initiative including lifting the cap on participation making Section 202 Housing for the Elderly units eligible for participation. The budget request proposes cutting funding for Homeless Assistance Grants, Housing Opportunities for Persons with AIDS (HOPWA) and Housing for Persons with Disabilities. Homeless Assistance grants are cut $133 million.
The budget proposal decimates the US Department of Agriculture’s programs. Funding for Single Family Direct Loans, Rural Housing Repair Loans, Farm Labor Housing Loans, and Section 515 Multifamily Rental Housing Direct Loans would all be eliminated. 502 Direct Loan and 504 Home Repair Programs provide low-cost loans for the purchase or repair of housing for low-income borrowers that live in rural communities. The budget preserves the 502 Guaranteed Loan Program, where loans made by intermediary lenders are backed by the government, but at a much lower level than what was budgeted for FY17. Section 523 Rental Assistance would be cut by $55 million.
The President’s budget calls for restructuring the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) in ways that impair its ability to protect consumers and pursue bad actors defrauding consumers. If enacted as proposed, the CFPB's current funding of $650 million would see an immediate 22 percent cut in FY18. In calling for structural changes, the budget mirrors efforts on Capitol Hill—such as The Financial CHOICE Act of 2017—which would leave countless consumers susceptible to predatory products, services and behaviors. Read about Prosperity Indiana’s recent efforts on Capitol Hill dealing with the CHOICE Act on the Indiana Assets & Opportunity Network blog.
Safety net programs experienced large cuts as well in the proposed budget. For programs that are managed jointly between federal and state governments, such as the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) and Medicaid, there is a massive cost shifting to the states that would put growing pressure on state budgets in the years to come. SNAP faces a $4.6 billion cut in FY18 and a cut of over $190 billion over the next decade. Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) is reduced by $1.2 billion in FY18. Much of the savings from TANF and SNAP come from the administration’s proposal to tighten eligibility requirements for benefits and “encourage” work.
The proposal includes changing the funding formula for Medicaid and the Children’s Health Insurance Program, making $600 billion in cuts over 10 years. Included in the Medicaid changes are setting annual limits on federal payments to each state in 2020. The budget proposes to expand on the drastic proposals in the American Health Care Act (AHAC/Trumpcare/Ryancare). The budget proposes to restructure the financing system for the Medicaid program by capping federal Medicaid funding on a per-person or per-state basis. This results in a reduction of federal Medicaid funding and tens of millions of people becoming uninsured according to Congressional Budget Office analysis.
Social Security disability programs are reduced by $72 billion over the next 10 years. These cuts result in changing Social Security Disability (SSDI) from 12 month retroactive payments when someone is accepted to the program to six month retroactive payments and creating a sliding scale for families receiving Supplemental Security Income (SSI) who have multiple recipients within the household. Changes to SSDI also test “new approaches to increase labor force participation” with work requirements.
Across federal agencies, other drastic cuts reduce resources for building resilient families and vibrant communities. These include the elimination of federally subsidized student loans, as well as the public service loan forgiveness program for nurses, policy officers and teachers.
Programs focused on climate change, water quality, and chemical safety, and “safe and sustainable water resources,” would be substantially reduced. Estimated cuts to the EPA reduce funds to Indiana by $8.9 million that protect public health. The EPA budget proposal includes $100 million in cuts for the Clean Power Plan, international climate change programs, and climate change research and partnership programs.
Prosperity Indiana urges you to act and voice your concern to Congress.
Reach out to your members of Congress. The only way to stop these drastic cuts is by calling your Representatives and Senators and telling them you oppose the President’s budget proposal and why. Include details on how cuts impact you, your programs and your community. Share personal stories and data on the impact federal programs. Use the Prosperity Indiana's Policy Action Center to find your member of Congress and contact them directly. Get advice on storytelling from Prosperity Indiana’s Ways and Means podcast.
Other strategies for advocacy include inviting members of Congress and their staff to your organization, your housing development or program so they can see the impact these programs make. Write an op-ed in your local paper. Sign your organization onto the most recent letters urging protection of key programs. Find the list from Prosperity Indiana’s partner, the National Alliance of Community Economic Development Associations here.
Stay up to date on the budget process, the latest developments, and ways to engage with Members of Congress and stop bad policy and drastic cuts from being included in the final budget. Join in membership today. Signing up is the best way to stay informed and be alerted when it is time to act.
Relationship Manager II
Position Overview:
At PNC, our people are our greatest differentiator and competitive advantage in the markets we serve. We are all united in delivering the best experience for our customers. As a Relationship Manager II within PNC's Community Development Banking organization, you will be based in Indianapolis, IN.
The Relationship Manager must be focused on client opportunities by providing ideas and insights based on an understanding of the client's needs and their financial well-being.
See full job description for more details.
PNC Bank
101 W. Washington Street
Indianapolis, IN 46255
OneWest, President and Chief Executive Officer
The CEO will report to the Board of Directors and will be responsible for providing strategic leadership, administration, and management of OneWest. The CEO will work collaboratively with the Board of Directors to execute a highly strategic vision dedicated to West Louisville. In addition, the CEO must be a visionary leader and be able to lead and facilitate fundraising and other programs and initiatives to enhance and sustain the organization’s financial goals and mission-driven opportunities.
Click here for the full job announcement
Interested individuals are encouraged to apply immediately and should submit a cover letter and resume.
Send materials via email to: execsearch@nonprofithr.com
To obtain further details about this opportunity, contact:
mmathis@nonprofithr.com
Local Initiatives Support Corporation (LISC)
Program Officer for Workforce Development
LISC is seeking a team-oriented individual to help deploy a wide range of strategies and services related to the neighborhood-based workforce development agenda in the Indianapolis LISC office. The successful candidate must have a proven record of accomplishment, being highly motivated, highly skilled, quality-minded, and detail-oriented. The candidate will need to be flexible and adept at multi-tasking and adjusting to changing business requirements.
Click here for the full announcement
Interested parties should submit a resume including salary requirements, by 5 pm Friday, June 9, 2017.
Send resumes and/or inquiries to:
Tedd Grain, Deputy Director
Local Initiatives Support Corporation
tgrain@lisc.org
The mission of LISC is to help resident-led, community-based development organizations transform distressed communities and neighborhoods into healthy ones — good places to live, do business, work, and raise families. Click here to learn more about LISC.
The Indy East Promise Zone has partnered with the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development Center for Faith’ Based and Neighborhood Partnerships. The capacity building and grant writing training event will be held from 9am to 4:30 pm to provide free training Wednesday, May 31, 2017.
This training will focus on strategies to enhance community and organizational development and the art of successful capacity building.
Trainings will include:
If interested, click here to register!
Location:
University of Indianapolis
UIndy Hall
1400 E. Hanna Avenue
Indianapolis, IN 46227
While nonprofits excel at providing work opportunities “that matter,” their employees oftentimes sacrifice salary or additional perks available to those in the private sector.
Most of the time, the intangible rewards of work outweigh the downsides of working for an organization on a tight budget.
But when an unexpected hospital visit or a car repair bill hits, it can often snowball into a full-blown financial crisis. When faced with those expenses, the lure of fast cash available at a payday loan store may become tempting.
Sadly, this short-term solution often extends far deeper into its users’ pockets than originally promised. Because payday lenders encourage multiple renewals of loans -- leading to interest payments frequently many times greater than the original loan amount, the product is generally considered a debt trap. Nearly 76 percent of payday loans are quick re-borrows or renewals.
Payday loan payments consume 36 percent of the typical borrower’s biweekly paycheck. However, the average payday borrower can afford only 5 percent a paycheck, making it difficult to pay the loan off in a standard two-week loan period. In Indiana, the average payday borrower takes out approximately nine loans per year. According to a recent report by the National Consumer Law Center, this recycling of the same debt results in typical payday loan fees in Indiana averaging 382 percent annual percentage rate.
But programs like the Community Loan Center -- affordable small dollar loan alternatives -- have recently become available.
Seeing the devastating impact of payday lending products, Prosperity Indiana has partnered with Community Loan Center of America to offer a ‘turnkey’ alternative to payday lending. Community Loan Center (CLC) loans are made to employees of participating employers, and borrowers repay through payroll deduction. All funds loaned are provided through a community-based loan fund, offered by a nonprofit acting as a local lender, not the employer.
CLC loans are unsecured and have a one-year term for a maximum $1,000 loan with an 18 percent interest rate and an initial $20 loan fee.
As a result, the CLC employer-based model meets the same short-term lending needs of payday lending without applying the burdensome fees, interest, and repayment period associated with payday loans.
The CLC program also complements other sources of financing by reporting borrower payment history to credit bureaus, which can increase borrowers’ FICO scores. Improved FICO scores help CLC borrowers qualify for other conventional financial products in the future, like credit cards, mortgages and preferred insurance rates.
Highlights and benefits of the program to participating employers include:
CLC loans also rarely end in default. Nationwide, the program has originated more than 10,000 loans with a loan loss of less than four percent.
Through Prosperity Indiana members, Brightpoint in Fort Wayne and HomesteadCS in Lafayette, this opportunity is now available in 22 Indiana counties in Northeast and West Central Indiana.
One participating employer in Lafayette is LTHC Homeless Services, a nonprofit that provides housing and supportive services to individuals and families who are experiencing homelessness.
LTHC Executive Director Jennifer Layton said, “As a nonprofit we are always looking for new ways to increase our benefit package to support our staff of 24. Partnering with the Community Loan Center Program was a great opportunity. This program allows my staff to overcome emergent needs as they arise and can assist them with building their own credit. It’s a win-win for LTHC Homeless Services and my staff.”
Prosperity Indiana plans to bring the CLC program statewide by expanding the network of lenders, working with local lenders to recruit more employers to the program and assisting local lenders to assemble operating and loan capital to serve new borrowers. It is currently seeking local lenders to bring the program to Central Indiana and other areas of the state.
If your organization is interested in being a lender, which comes with capital requirements, or becoming a participating employer to provide this free benefit, please let us know.
This program is open to any employer: nonprofit, for-profit and governmental entities. Establishing a stronger case for market demand could aid Prosperity Indiana in finding the right local lender to bring this service to your organization and community.
For more information about this program, please contact Prosperity Indiana’s Assets & Opportunity Network Manager Kelsey Clayton.
Jessica Love is the associate executive director for Prosperity Indiana and works with the executive director to provide team leadership for staff. She is responsible for developing and managing organizational systems for Prosperity Indiana to ensure effective management and control. She also provides one-on-one technical assistance to Prosperity Indiana members, informed by her media and grants management background. With 15 years experience in the nonprofit sector, Love’s consulting work focuses primarily on resource development and creating processes and tools for effective management and program compliance.
People & Places offers an opportunity to come together and figure out how an unprecedented national context impacts the all-too-familiar challenges facing place makers.
During the conference, strategies will be presented to examine how threats to federal spending, tax reform, immigrant rights, and consumer protection could affect disinvested places and communities of color and what we can do about it. How are place makers offering support to those targeted for deportation? Are rural communities positioned for greater support? Less? What are the place-based implications for healthcare reform?
The goal of People & Places is not to answer these questions, but rather to build a platform and process that gets us one step closer to solutions.
People & Places will feature 35 sessions with more than 100 speakers from communities across the country.
Keynote Speaker: Angela Rye is a Principal and CEO of IMPACT Strategies.
She is also a CNN Political Commentator and NPR Political Analyst, featured as an influential politico, lawyer, and advocate by several publications and outlets. As a prominent political strategist, Rye offers regular on-air commentary for several media outlets.
Rye served as the Executive Director and General Counsel to the Congressional Black Caucus (CBC) for the 112th Congress. Prior to working for the CBC, she served as Senior Advisor and Counsel to the House Committee on Homeland Security under the leadership of Congressman Bennie G. Thompson.
Conference Dates: May 31 – June 2
Location: Arlington, Virginia
Minutes from DC – Crystal Gateway Marriott, 1700 Jefferson Davis Highway, Arlington, VA 22202, United States
Registration: Go to https://ww2.eventrebels.com/er/Registration/StepRegInfo.jsp?ActivityID=19627&StepNumber=1
Regular registration is open until May 30, 2017.
Onsite registration is available during the conference, May 31 to June 2, 2017.
Explore the Agenda: https://peopleplaces.topi.com/#agenda
Hosts: National Association for Latino Community Asset Builders, National Coalition for Asian Pacific American Community Development, National Urban League, Network for Developing Conscious Communities, National Alliance of Community Economic Development Associations
Guest blog post by Amanda Lopez, Transform Consulting Group.
In 2013, after a lot of advocacy of several stakeholders, the Indiana General Assembly passed legislation to form the Indiana Early Learning Advisory Committee (ELAC).
BACKGROUND
The state statute outlined specific responsibilities for ELAC: annual needs assessment on the state of early learning in Indiana, assess the collaboration and coordination of state agencies involved in early learning, advise development of a new pre-k program called Early Learning Matching Grant (EEMG) framework and make recommendations.
The Governor appointed seven members representing the public and private sector. It did not take long for the seven appointed members to realize that their responsibilities far exceeded their capacity. As a result, ELAC formed seven workgroups to focus on key issue areas.
By forming the seven workgroups, ELAC now includes approximately 150 members representing a variety of disciplines, experiences, expertise and communities.
PURPOSE
ELAC is working to ensure that children ages birth to 8 years and their families have access to affordable, high-quality early childhood education programs that keep children healthy, safe and learning.
All of ELAC’s work is focused on making a difference in these four community impact areas:
In order to accomplish this impact, ELAC and the workgroups are focused on five key strategies.
ELAC has spent the first few years really trying to understand the current state of early learning in Indiana. By looking at where we currently are, ELAC has been able to make best practice recommendations for the future. Here are some quick facts to consider:
Resources
At the beginning of 2016, ELAC launched a new website that summarizes the work completed and new resources developed. Some resources that you may want to check out include the new ELAC County Early Childhood Profiles available here:
Other Resources to Check Out:
CONNECT
There are many ways that you can get involved.
1. Join a workgroup. Check out the seven workgroups and see if there are any natural connections to your work, expertise or passion. Then contact the ELAC project management support team to learn how to get involved.
2. Join a local coalition. Many communities have identified early childhood education as a top economic and education priority for them. They have formed local coalitions to organize around addressing early childhood education and connecting to the resources and partners of ELAC.
3. Attend the upcoming Indiana Summit for Economic Development via Early Learning Coalitions on Monday, June 5th in Bloomington, Indiana at the Monroe Convention Center. Why would business and community leaders get together to talk about early childhood education? Because they know that early education is an economic driver and workforce development strategy. Register today to be at the forefront of great things for Hoosier economies. http://www.elacindiana.org/indianasummit/
If you have any questions and would like to learn more / get involved, contact Amanda Lopez with Transform Consulting Group (317) 324-4070 x 5 or A.Lopez@transformconsultinggroup.com. They provide project management support for ELAC that is funded by FSSA Office of Early Childhood and Out-of-School Learning.
ANDERSON — Since last August, community leaders and residents have been developing a plan to improve the quality of life in the near west side neighborhood.
Don Knight | The Herald Bulletin | Rachel Mattingly with Prosperity Indiana talks about forming working interest groups that will tackle specifics about quality of life in the 46016 neighborhood at the Anderson Impact Center on Thursday.
Approximately 50 people gathered Thursday at the Anderson Impact Center to get an update on progress and to discuss the next steps.
The Sweet 16 Neighborhood consists of the area comprising the postal zip code and census tract 46016. It includes an area from Brown-Delaware Street to Raible Avenue and from 10th Street to 30th Street.
Rachel Mattingly with Prosperity Indiana said a steering committee has been working since August and they’re asking residents what changes they want to see over the next 10 years.
“A lot can change in 10 years,” she said.
Mattingly said Prosperity Indiana conducted one-on-one interviews on how to improve the quality of life in the neighborhood.
She said the next step is to form working interest groups that will tackle specific topics and bring recommendations to the larger group.
“They will be creating strategic plans in various topic areas,” Mattingly said. “Small groups of dedicated people working together to make a difference.”
The specific topics to be addressed include: youth activities; education; job training; housing; infrastructure; crime and drug abuse; business development; and transportation.
Shelly Delong said there are abandoned houses throughout Anderson, but especially in this neighborhood area.
“It’s frustrating for people who want to maintain their properties when there are abandoned houses all around,” she said. “People want to see the neighborhood cleaned up.
“It starts with us as residents of Anderson,” Delong added.
She said when it comes to attitude, people tend to talk negatively about Anderson.
“Anderson is a good place and we’re going to make it better for our kids,” Delong said.
Archie Cotton said the community must work together to restore hope in young people in the neighborhood.
He said weaknesses cited by residents — including a lack of activities and a lack of guidance for young people in single-parent homes — was the focus of the YMCA's decision to gradually change from youth to senior citizen programming.
Cotton said strengths include the Geater Center, Impact Center and the new Girls and Boys Club.
He said churches should be working together to develop programs for young people and to provide opportunities.
“Youth want stability,” he said. “They want programs that are promised to continue and not come to an end in a short period of time.”
The Rev. Ray Wilkins said there is a negative perception of the community and there is now an opportunity to change that perception.
“The drug culture is a bigger problem than we want to admit,” he said. “People can’t get a job because they can’t pass a drug test.
“As a result young people are living with their parents and grandparents,” Wilkins added. “Don’t bury our heads in the sand. We do have that problem.”
Follow Ken de la Bastide on Twitter @KendelaBastide, or call 640-4863.
Topics of concern for the Sweet 16 Neighborhood steering committee:
• Youth activities
• Education, to include post-secondary education.
• Job training
• Infrastructure and greens space
• Crime and drug abuse
• Transportation
• Business development
Story By Ken de la Bastide
Published in The Herald Bulletin, May 6, 2017
http://www.heraldbulletin.com/news/local_news/residents-working-to-improve-neighborhood/article_5b8b3b47-26f7-56fe-bb0f-1a1e74e6750f.html
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