In Diligent Pursuit

8/2 — My Talk With The Mayor And A Tent City Update (from @ericsheptock)

amandamichelle — Tue, 03 Aug 2010 01:50:02 +0000

Eric is a friend in the fight to end homelessness; most especially when it comes to basic civil rights for homeless people in Washington, DC. The story he describes is typical of Adrian Fenty. I never thought i’d live some place or some time where or when a political figure blatantly violated the majority of his entire campaign platform. Alas, here I am. Fenty #FAIL

-Amanda

You can read about my recent conversation with DC Mayor Adrian Fenty on the need for affordable housing at www.ericsheptock.com or below:

Some of you received a shorter version of this message on July 31st. That portion is in brackets “[
]“. I’ve added some more recent developments such as an encounter that I had with Mayor Fenty this morning, August 2nd.

[ The tent city
at the
intersection of
7th, R and Rhode
Island in
northwest DC is
over 3 weeks old
now. Many people
are surprised to
see that it
hasn't been shut
down by the city
yet. It is
firmly believed
that Mayor Fenty
doesn't want the
images of
protesters being
arrested for
defending their
human right to
housing
plastered all
over people's
T.V. screens and
that that may be
the reason for
the longevity of
the camp. Let's
bear in mind
that he is
fighting for his
political life
and that such
images could be
his political
death knell.
Some of us were
actually
anticipating
getting arrested
and that may
still be a
prospect.


On the evening
of July 30th, a
DC Government
employee named
Pat Handy
stopped by the
tent city. She
works for DC
Government's
Dept. of Human
Services as the
Homeless
Outreach
Manager. She is
the
troubleshooter
for various
homeless
services. She
managed the
process on
September 10th,
2008, as
Franklin School
Shelter
residents were
made to sign
papers stating
that they knew
about the
impending
closure of
Franklin. (Some
people stood in
the check-in
line for 5 hours
that night.) She
managed the
process the next
morning as 50 or
so Franklin
residents were
placed quickly
(and in some
cases
haphazardly) in
Permanent
Supportive
Housing. She was
the one who was
called to tell
the homeless
people at 14th
and NY Ave. that
they couldn't
sleep on the
14th street side
of the building
anymore (right
after a homeless
person was seen
on T.V.
testifying
against Fenty
and his
administration).
And now she
might be the one
to close the
tent city.
However that is
not a clearly
cut-and-dry
determination.


Pat stopped by
the tent city on
her motor
scooter around
9:30 PM. She
explained that
she had seen the
tent city while
on her way to U
Street and
decided to stop
in on her return
trip. She asked
me why we were
there and I
explained that
it was in
protest to
Mayor Fenty's
broken promise
to build
affordable
housing there.
She called
someone on her
cell phone,
though I don't
know who. She
then said,"I
hope they don't
send me to close
this down".


Pat explained
the process that
would occur if
she were to shut
down the tent
city: If someone
in the
neighborhood
complains about
the tent city,
then Pat will be
contacted. She
would then post
a 14-day notice
at the tent
city. On the
14th day, she
would return
with the Dept.
of Public Works
and have them to
tear down and
dispose of
everything.


One of the
things that
stands out to me
is the fact that
someone in the
neighborhood has
to complain. On
the one hand,
the city could
lie and say that
someone
complained. This
would give them
the pretext that
they need to
move in and shut
it down. On the
other hand, we
could make
friends with the
neighborhood,
gain their
support and have
them alongside
us to protest
the closure on
the 14th day.


Then there is
the 14-day
notice. That
gives us plenty
of time to
contact the
media and to
have people who
want to retrieve
their belongings
come and do so.
It also gives us
time to mobilize
people to
protest and to
call Fenty on
the carpet about
his broken
promises, his
failure to meet
with his poorer
constituents and
his failure to
provide a
sufficient
amount of
affordable
housing as well
as other needs
of the
not-so-well-off
community.


Those of us who
have been
involved over
the past 3 weeks
and during the
planning phase
have discussed
our demands on
the Fenty
administration which
include an
interim use for
the land while
we wait for
construction to
begin on the
promised 94
units of
affordable
housing. The
ideas include an
eco-village and
a community
garden. Some of
us plan to reach
out to the Shaw
community to get
their input on
what the interim
use for Parcel
42 should be.
This process
should be
expedited due to
this most recent
development.


In closing, I
must say that we
haven't lost
this fight and
we won't so long
as we stand our
ground. In lieu
of the mayor's
apparent
character flaws,
immoral
decisions and
spurning of the
poor, we are
bound to garner
much support for
our cause. So
let's continue
to fight the
good fight.]

Pat Handy also explained to me that, so long as the tent city seems to be nothing more than a “homeless encampment”, it is her duty to shut it down. However, if the tent city is categorized as a “political action”, it is no longer her job to deal with it. (My guess is that responsibility for dealing with the “protesters” goes to the Special Operations division of the Metropolitan Police Dept.) This just goes to show how classist our government is — how it is that they divide people into different classes and then bestow different levels of privilege and punishment upon them, in effect using a double (…or triple…or quadruple…) standard. That said, it behooves us to remain “political” insomuch as that seems to be buying us time. (Even those who are there merely due to being homeless and needing a place to sleep can gain — in more ways than one — by posing as political protesters.)

I’d like to remind you of the fact that the tent city is run by donations. There are a few homeless people staying there. But those of us who are confronting the mayor about his broken promises remain involved (with me fitting into both groups). Donations have gone toward the purchase of water, ice, food and hardware. Feel free to call or e-mail me for info on how to donate. Cell: (240) 305-5255. E-mail: ericsheptock@yahoo.com .

My Meeting With The Mayor:

On the morning of Monday, August 2nd at 10:45 AM there was a ribbon-cutting ceremony at the new Watha T. Daniels Public Library which is across the street diagonally from the Tent City. There were over 100 people in attendance — among them: Mayor Fenty, Council Chairman Vincent Gray and Councilmen Harry “Tommy” Thomas, Jr.(Ward 5); Jim Graham (Ward 1) and Jack Evans (Ward 2 — where the library and tent city are). Coincidentally, the podium from which they each spoke was positioned so that it was facing the tent city — which was a victory in and of itself. It was impossible for them not to notice their poorer constituents now

Filed under: Call to Action Tagged: Homelessness, LinkedIn, Shock & Awe

Pledge Now

amandamichelle — Mon, 02 Aug 2010 17:55:06 +0000

Filed under: Uncategorized

Relief Centers for Citizens w/Power Outages

amandamichelle — Mon, 26 Jul 2010 18:58:41 +0000

PLEASE, if you know of any elders without power, take them to the nearest center. Actually, how about take them out for a treat while you’re at it? -Amanda

The D.C. Government is establishing the following Relief Centers in the wake of the severe thunderstorm yesterday. Citizens who are without power are encouraged to come to cool off. Cold water will be provided.

Deanwood Recreation Center
1350 49th St NE
Washington, DC
202-671-3077

Emery Recreation Center
5801 Georgia Ave NW
Washington, DC
202-576-3211

Chevy Chase Community Center
5601 Connecticut Ave NW
Washington, DC
202-282-2204

Harry Thomas Sr Recreation Center
1743 Lincoln Rd NE
Washington, DC
202-576-5642

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Filed under: Good Stuff, Interpersonal Relations Tagged: do something about it, events & opportunities, good stuff

“how fat is fat?” -OR- “why i’m wearing tube dresses this summer”

amandamichelle — Mon, 26 Jul 2010 00:10:43 +0000

for those of you who don’t follow me on twitter and aren’t friends with me on my [other] facebook page, you may not know that i have been on a campaign to #stopbeingafatty. yes, this is the campaign fka #antifatty. i decided to join my fellow ideacamper, @danportnoy, in his #dontbeafatty efforts, even through the name change. why? ‘cuz nobody should hafta try to stop being a fatty alone.

now, i know there are people screaming at me through their computers (btw, i can’t hear you). why on earth am *i* of all people on a campaign to stop being a fatty? well, for one thing, ‘cuz my latest exploits have included being a fatty. (more on what that means momentarily.) two of my friends have expressed concern about me using this hashtag to describe my efforts to get back into health. their concern is that they don’t see me as being fat, especially compared to themselves. while i fully understand, my response is that all this is relative, which they have already proven with their concern.

when the first friend spoke up to me, i did have to take a long, hard look at what i was saying. by no means do i intend to offend anyone, but damnit, i am definitely overweight! so what DO i mean by ”being a fatty”? i mean that: my clothes don’t fit, i can’t walk w/o stumbling over my thighs, i’m feeling sluggish, and i’m just generally too big for my frame (e.g. muffin top + belly roll). what causes such issues? fat. ergo, i am being a fatty by not doing anything about it. now, i’m on a mission to stop that.

the second friend and i had a more in-depth conversation about the matter. i feel the urge to paste snippets of this particular conversation:

her: You really have a twisted sense of what “Fat” is dont you?

me: nope, not at all. My clothes don’t fit, can’t walk w/o stumbling over my thighs, feeling sluggish, too big for my frame… fat is all relative. For me, fat is anything bigger than the size of clothes I currently own. For others, that’d be deadly.

her: Its easy for some1 as thin as u to say but in a society that condemns/marginalizes ppl who actually ARE fat, its not relative So I would caution you, in your use of the term “fatty” to possibly show a bit more sensitivity to people who actually are fat and actually facing life-threatening problems because of it

[i must pause here and note that i would define this as obesity, not just being fat]

me: and see for you to say that I’m so thin proves my point. Rolls & muffin tops are not signs of a thin person. And health probs? how about an a1c count of 5.8? Back when I was about the size I am now. I’m trying to keep from getting back to that.

her: I’m merely pointing out how your use of the word “fatty” might offend ppl. As I said, if u dont care, so be it. Keep using it

me: it is not my intent to offend. I actually adopted the term b/c I have another friend who is also on the same mission. he is definitely not what you [& friend] would call “thin”. and I don’t understand why I should have to meet some sort of threshold to be able to take on such an effort

her: It really bothered [friend]… and when I read ur tweets, I see why. So, w/ all of ur followers, u might be offending others

me: I do understand this. And I pondered it for quite a while. I can’t control how other ppl internalize MY journey, you know?

her: …there is an acceptable threshhold. I actually AM fat LOL every1 would agree so its more acceptable. when a slender person calls him/herself fat, some view that as offensive to people who actually ARE… I just thought that maybe, since you aren’t actually fat, you might think abt the derogatory nature of using the term to SOME

yeah, i know that was a lot. especially for twitter! but i felt it necessary to include it all, because this is really a big deal. i feel multiple ways about the issue.

first off, i do not want to hurt anyone’s feelings. more on that a few bullets down.
even so, fat IS relative. case in point => this is me at a size 10/12 (no, it’s not the best pic, but i didn’t take many pics during these days.):
- yes, it was july in new york city and i was wearing a jacket. yes, i was wearing a skirt w/ an elastic waistband. yes, that is my face under there. no, i was not recovering from the mumps. yes, my a1c count was 5.8 (so basically, two more slices of bread & i woulda been a bonafide diabetic. like all but one other person in my family.)
- i’m willing to bet that there are quite a few people reading this blog who are size 10/12, looking & feeling GREAT. i, however, lose my face. fat is relative.
i should not have to pass some sort of “fat test” to be allowed to acknowledge myself to be, or be heading toward, such.
if a person is offended by me doing so, that says more about his/her own mental state than it does about what i’m doing.
- while this perspective may seem a bit harsh, it’s very much true.
- no, i do not see my use of the word “fatty” as being derogatory. yes, i do see how some people might find it offensive anyway.
that said, let’s be clear here: i have not called anyone else fat. people seem to be doing this to themselves based on my expression of how i see myself. i have come to accept that this sort of energy is not mine to embrace. (see narrative therapy)

i would, however, like to know: how fat is fat enough to be called fat? how do we establish the standards for this? i’m not being facetious here; i do actually care. while i am the first to acknowledge my own asshole-ish tendencies, i do not wish to add to them. (stay tuned for the #stopbeinganasshole campaign. maybe. ::snort:: )

-Amanda

**some of you may be wondering how this post made it to this blog. well for one, i hid the other blog. for another, i think this really is a broader social issue that deserves attention from my professional network. as we work with young people, especially, i think we should have discussions about these issues. the same

Filed under: Interpersonal Relations, This Is Me Tagged: Culture, do somethin' about it, Goals, Growth, Shock & Awe

From idealist.org – Community Outreach Coordinator (part-time)

amandamichelle — Fri, 23 Jul 2010 17:06:35 +0000

For the full listing, visit: http://ow.ly/2fIQR

Community Outreach Coordinator (part-time)

Description:

We want to see every child succeed. How does it start? Involved parents.

GreatSchools, the nation’s premier provider of online K-12 information, has embarked on an ambitious project to provide quality educational information to DC parents. This project, a part of the GreatSchools Local initiative, brings comprehensive, audience-appropriate material to DC parents in conjunction with personalized workshops to help parents choose the right school for their children and support their children’s educational success.

Community Outreach Coordinators work to bring these resources and services to DC parents. This is not a “sit at your desk” job, as these individuals are constantly out in the community and always searching for ways to broaden and deepen the program.

This position reports to the GreatSchools DC Program Director.

Responsibilities:

• Serve as GreatSchools DC’s lead outreach staff member in Wards 5 and 6
• Assist in the development and distribution of the DC School Chooser and Neighborhood One Sheets, the primary in-hand tools of the program
• Be an on-call resource for DC parents through the GreatSchools DC parent hotline
• Promote, use and teach basic technology usage to parents regarding the GreatSchools Web site
• Conduct workshops for DC parents
• Maintain accurate records of family contacts and coaching events
• Build relationships with early childhood centers, schools and community organizations (Wards 5 and 6 specifically)
• Attend semi-annual Advisory Council meetings
• Represent GreatSchools DC at various community events and school fairs
• Support the Program Director’s efforts to maintain the program’s fiscal sustainability and effectiveness

Compensation and Hours:

This is a part-time position with hours ranging from 15-18 per week and will require scheduling flexibility around evenings and weekends. Compensation is $20 an hour, and there are no benefits available. Candidates must be able to commit to at least one full year from date of hire.

About GreatSchools:
GreatSchools is a national nonprofit organization whose mission is to inspire and guide parents to become effective champions of their children’s education at home and in their communities.
Parents turn to GreatSchools to find the right schools for their children, to get practical advice and information that will help them raise successful, college-ready kids, and to support the schools in their communities.

Founded in 1998, GreatSchools currently reaches more than 37 million people each year — approximately one-in-three American families with school-age children. With profiles of 200,000 public, public charter, and private schools serving students from Pre-K through high school and more than 800,000 parent ratings and reviews of schools, GreatSchools is the most comprehensive source of information on school quality today.

GreatSchools is supported by numerous foundations and corporations, including the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, the Robertson Foundation and the Walton Family Foundation. For more information, please visit www.greatschools.org.

Filed under: Events & Opportunities, Good Stuff, Nonprofits Tagged: do somethin' about it, Education, events & opportunities, good stuff, jobs, Nonprofits, youth homelessness framework

Shifting Winds – OR – Mission Expanded

amandamichelle — Tue, 20 Jul 2010 07:14:51 +0000

(Yes, I’m supposedly asleep. Clearly this was more pressing, so here I am. Just roll with me. Also, you should have read the title of this post out loud in your best imitation of the Rocky & Bullwinkle announcer.)

So as I’ve progressed in my professional-educational experience, the vision I have for fighting youth homelessness has morphed significantly. At first “It was all a dream…” (R.I.P. Biggie) of my house being a safe place for kids to come hang out or stay when they couldn’t go home. Then it grew into a vision for a full-fledged ministry for homeless youth, replete with housing, recreational activities, and supportive services. Then I learned a little bit about nonprofits & particularly about housing providers and scaled things back a bit. Then I saw some other folks doing things & decided it was all possible, so I expanded back to a version of the original idea, but this time with a possible school. Then I got REALLY smart, talked to some experts, and decided to focus on housing, mental health, and teaching youth to advocate for themselves (which is really part of mental health).

Yeah, that’s a hell of a lot of morphing. What can I say; it’s been 5 years? Well, technically 19, if you take it back to the dream.

This is about the point in my story when Mama J would ask for the point. Well, Mama J & friends, I think the vision is about to morph again.

Not too long ago, I had an epiphany (I blogged it somewhere, but it seems more appropriate to re-paste):

You can crown yourself CVO of OTB Ministries International, hire someone to be your ED for the local DC chapter, support OTB development on a PT basis while you go to work for USMD on a FT basis & get free tuition to complete your PhD with a research plan that supports your PT work building OTB. When you are done, you can launch into US expansion (or maybe even a location in Ayiti). During all this, you can maintain your sanity by living life as a poet & musician by night.

It IS possible. Radical, and possible.

That is all.

-Amanda

Now, I’ve been wrestling with this idea for a couple of years, in addition to my recent interest in pursuing a Ph.D. (Who knew research could be so much fun?) The more I learn about youth homelessness, the more frustrated I get about the state of affairs in the US, namely the lack of data and the lack of cohesiveness amongst service providers. So tonight, just as I lay down in hopes of meeting up with the elusive Lady Sleep, I had another epiphany:

I shall go for my free Ph.D., but probably not at U of MD, ‘cuz I’ve fallen in love with a different program. And the lake upon which it lives. (See those shadows? That’s due to the variations in the greens and blues of the lake. You know, the ones caused by God and not by pollution.) For my Ph.D., I will study the effects of guiding homeless youth to self-sufficiency through community-supported education, ideally visiting various settings to see if/how they engage members of the community in helping educate and support homeless youth as they move upward in life. My ultimate goal is to have a framework for ending youth homelessness that can be replicated in urban areas nationally (at least) and adapted to rural areas.

So, rather than trying to figure out how long I need to stay in various cities to start up satellite locations of one particular housing program, I can “get my travel on” and help cities develop resources and networks to address the needs of homeless youth in their midst. As much as we in the ::cough:: “industry” ::cough:: love to say we hope that housing providers will eventually go out of business, it is a rather unfortunate truth that there will always be parents who make horrible decisions, kids who leave home in search of something “other”, and other unpleasant misfortunes that result in young people needing some place to stay. With that in mind, cities will always need to be on top of their game in meeting these young people’s needs, and my goal is to be the best at helping them do so.

And now, I shall do the cabbage patch. You should join me. What’s that? You don’t know how? Psshhhtt.

Filed under: Good Stuff, Ideation, Nonprofits, This Is Me Tagged: Education, Goals, Law & Policy, LinkedIn, Nonprofits, Professional Development, Travel, Youth Homelessness

Requests for Proposals: Neighbors In Need & Preventing Childhood Obesity

amandamichelle — Tue, 13 Jul 2010 04:20:52 +0000

FYI…
-Amanda

Posted on July 10, 2010

Community Foundation for the National Capital Region Announces ‘Neighbors in Need’ Grants

The Community Foundation for the National Capital Region has announced grants totaling $973,000 to fifty-one D.C.-area nonprofits providing safety-net and mental health services to vulnerable local residents.
Awarded through the foundation’s Neighbors in Need Fund, the grants will support foodbanks, shelters, medical clinics, foreclosure-prevention programs, mental health care providers, and other safety-net organizations serving residents of the District, northern Virginia, and Montgomery and Prince George’s counties in Maryland. The fund has raised $3.6 million of its $5 million goal from Bank of America, Kaiser Permanente, the Morris and Gwendolyn Cafritz and MARPATfoundations, the World Bank, and others and has distributed more than $2.8 million, benefiting some 100,000 people across the region, to date.
The grants include $25,000 to the Arlington Free Clinic to provide two hundred low-income, uninsured residents of Arlington County with culturally and linguistically appropriate mental health services; $25,000 toSo Others Might Eat to support a behavioral services program for more than sixteen hundred poor and homeless people; $25,000 to the Legal Aid Bureau (also known as Maryland Legal Aid) to provide foreclosure prevention services and legal representation to homeowners in Montgomery and Prince George’s County; $20,000 to D.C. Central Kitchen for its food recycling and meal distribution program; and $15,000 to Calvary Women’s Services to support its women’s shelter.
“These new grants could not come at a better time,” said CFNCR president Terri Lee Freeman. “While the recession may be subsiding in some neighborhoods, it’s actually getting worse in others. For example, some parts of Washington, D.C., are experiencing 30 percent unemployment. And in some sections of Prince William County, Virginia, which is generally considered to be affluent, unemployment stands as high as 7 percent. In this time of crisis, the Neighbors in Need Fund is supporting basic human needs and critical social services.”
“Neighbors in Need Fund Awards $973,000 in New Grants for Safety-Net and Mental Health Services in Ongoing Response to Recession.” Community Foundation for the National Capital Region Press Release 7/07/10.

!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Posted on July 6, 2010 Deadline: July 1, 2011

Robert Wood Johnson Foundation Announces Call for Proposals for Active Living Research: Building Evidence to Prevent Childhood Obesity

Active Living Research is a national program of the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation that supports research to inform policy and environmental strategies for increasing physical activity among children and adolescents, decreasing their sedentary behaviors and preventing obesity. The program places special emphasis on reaching children and youth between the ages of three and 18 who are at highest risk for obesity — black, Latino, American Indian, and Asian/Pacific Islander children, as well as children who live in under-resourced and lower-income communities.
The program has released a call for proposals for opportunistic, time-sensitive studies on emerging or anticipated changes in physical activity-related policies or environments. Rapid-response grants are expected to accelerate progress toward policy and environmental strategies to prevent and reducechildhood obesity. For maximum impact, studies should be completed in as short a time frame as realistically possible and results disseminated using methods designed to reach local, state, or national decision-makers in time to help inform key policy decisions.
Preference will be given to applicants who are either public entities or nonprofit organizations that are tax-exempt under Section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code. Applicant organizations must be based in the United States or its territories. The focus of this program is the United States; studies in other countries will be considered only to the extent that they may directly inform U.S. policy.
A total of up to $1.5 million will be awarded under this Call for Proposals. The maximum award for a single grant is $150,000, with a funding period not to exceed eighteen months.
Grants are awarded on a rolling basis. Letters of Intent may be submitted at any time until July 1, 2011.
Contact:
Link to Complete RFP

Filed under: Events & Opportunities, Good Stuff, Nonprofits Tagged: events & opportunities, good stuff

#job – Senior Program and Policy Analyst for Youth #homelessness

amandamichelle — Fri, 09 Jul 2010 01:44:34 +0000

idealist.org – Senior Program and Policy Analyst for Youth.

So my favorite youth homelessness advocate moved back home to continue where he left of in Minnesota. (::waves to Rich Hooks-Wayman::) Alas, when one great person leaves, a great opportunity arises. I will say now that I’m going to do some poking around to see what kind of influence I can have on the hiring process because I am spoiled. Rich is the awesomest & whoever steps up to fill his position needs to be, not on point, but creating the point. I *will* judge you if you aren’t awesome.

That being said, if you’re interested in helping to shape national policy as it pertains to youth homelessness, click the link above & apply for the job! NAEH is an awesome place to be when it comes to fighting homelessness in the US & as far as I’m concerned, they are essentially THE biggest repository of all knowledge that exists on homelessness in the US.

Enjoy! (And I promise there’s a real blog post coming… eventually)

-Amanda

Filed under: Good Stuff, Nonprofits Tagged: events & opportunities, Homelessness, Law & Policy, LinkedIn, Networking, Nonprofits, Youth Homelessness, youthwork

Focus group: “Defining College and Career-Readiness for District Youth”

amandamichelle — Fri, 02 Jul 2010 23:10:42 +0000

Since we’ve been talking about how we can get our young people ready for higher education and general self-sufficiency, I think anyone who is available in the DC area should consider participating.

-Amanda

Good evening,

I hope this finds you well as the July 4th holiday weekend approaches. I would like to update you as to where we are with the development of our Education and Youth Development Plan and also invite you to join us for some upcoming conversations. (I apologize for those who may be receiving this message twice)

We’ve had numerous conversations with leaders in the field (more than 50 individuals from across all sectors both locally and nationally), hosted and scheduled several focus groups, and have begun drafting a document that captures the work we have undertaken map services for children and youth within District agencies. We are additionally beginning to formulate recommendations for ways in which we can better align efforts moving forward. We are still on track to begin a comment period in mid-August, to allow members of the community to provide feedback and input to our work before it is finalized.

Our next focus group, on July 13th will be around defining “college- and career-readiness” for our youth. Our Citywide Goal states that we want to see “All Youth Make a Successful Transition Into Adulthood”, but what does that really mean and what are the measurable indicators that tell us our youth are prepared for this transition?

We will continue to make changes and updates to our calendar in the coming weeks, including posting notes and agendas from all of our meetings. Please be sure to check our website for updates (we will do our best to keep it updated weekly): http://go.usa.gov/3A5

If you have any questions or comments please do not hesitate to reach out!

Thanks,

Ahnna

Defining “College and Career-Readiness” for our Youth (how do we measure whether our youth are working towards college- and career-readiness? What metrics should we look at and how do we define success?)	Southeast Neighborhood Library 403 7th Street SE	Tuesday, July 13th	6pm – 8pm
Ensuring Charter Schools are an Integrated Part of Public Education in the District * (how can the Deputy Mayor’s office and District agencies best connect students, leaders, and families within the charter community to city resources and services)	DC PrepPublicCharterSchool 707 Edgewood Street NE	Wednesday, July 7th	2 pm – 4 pm
To Be Determined	Savoy Elementary School 2400 Shannon Place SE	Tuesday, July 20th	6pm – 8pm
Ensuring Children and Youth Engage in Meaningful Activities	Cleveland Park Public Library 3310 Connecticut Ave NW	Thursday, July 29th	6pm – 8pm
Ensuring Our Children and Youth are Healthy and Practice Healthy Behaviors	TBD	TBD
Creating a Community Where Children and Youth Live in Healthy, Stable, and Supportive Families	TBD	TBD
Strengthening Parent and Community Engagement in Education and Youth Development (in conjunction with Ward 8 Education Council and MCS/DC PIRC)	TBD	TBD

*This conversation will be limited to representatives/leaders from public charter schools. We will have additional opportunities for parents and other community members who wish to discuss the needs and role of charter schools at a later date.

Ahnna Smith

Education Strategy

Deputy Mayor for Education

1350 Pennsylvania Ave NW, Suite 303

Washington, DC20004

202-258-6197

ahnna.smith

Filed under: Events & Opportunities, Good Stuff Tagged: events & opportunities, good stuff, Youth

Re-calculating And Re-assessing Tent City Supplies And Commitments

amandamichelle — Sat, 19 Jun 2010 07:06:56 +0000

I must say, Eric & friends = awesome radical moves. Check this out & see how you can participate.

-Amanda

Hello All,

As you know, Take Back The Land DC is planning a tent city in protest of Mayor Fenty’s failure to create an adequate amount of truly affordable housing. However, we will precede our direct action with a block party during which we will educate the public about DC’s affordable housing crisis. (People listen and learn best while filling their faces with tasty barbecued food.)

The block party will be from noon to 5 PM on Saturday, July 10th in the 600 block of “S” Street, NW (1/2 block from the Shaw/Howard Metro station). All who want to get involved in addressing DC’s affordable housing crisis are welcome!!!!!

HOWEVER, we need your assistance. Some of you have previously committed to bringing or sending supplies for the tent city (listed in the next message). Some have sent money to support this campaign, for which we thank you. Nonetheless, we are still in need of additional supplies — especially tents.

The remainder of this message is primarily for those who plan to donate supplies, as opposed to cash:

While we appreciate what you have done or plan to do, various circumstances have made it difficult to know for certain who is bringing what. (A promised 14-person tent had no poles.) For this reason, I would ask that, even if you have already stated what (usable) supplies you plan to bring, that you take a minute to send another message re-informing me of what it is that you plan to bring to the tent city. It is of dire importance that I be able to take a tally of the supplies.

Below this message is an former blog post that gives details of the event and has a list of needed supplies. (I’ve actually deleted some of the information from my blog so as to keep city officials from finding out too many details before the action is even begun.)

TO THAT LIST you can add:

plywood for the underside of the tents,
old tires for gardening.

Former message:

As you may know, members of Take Back The Land and ONE DC (organizing Neighborhood Equity) are working together to plan a direct action that will publicize and politicize the need for affordable housing and will hold the local politicians’ feet to the fire so as to make them follow through on their December 2008 resolution which declared Washington, DC to be a human rights city. The United Nations’ Universal Declaration of Human Rights declared housing to be a human right. Furthermore, many people are being made homeless by the present economic crisis, which makes it imperative that we act now to prevent any more people from becoming homeless and to rehouse those who are living on the streets and in the shelters of the richest nation on earth.

Since our attempts at getting the mayor to follow through on his promises to create a sufficient amount of affordable housing have failed, we see fit to organize a direct action that is sure to get his attention and to expose his broken promises. As it turns out, the DC Council has failed to put pressure on the mayor to do the right thing. We hope to get through to them too.

This just happens to be an election year. The mayor and 6 councilmembers are up for re-election. This creates the perfect enviroment for forcing our public officials to meet the most basic needs of their constituents.

It is with this in mind that we are planning the tent city. However, we have had a few bumps in the road. Take Back The Land, an organization which is heading a national campaign to make housing a “realized” human right through “liberations” of vacant houses and “defenses” of those who are in danger of eviction, designated May as a month of action during which people in various cities across the nation would take over vacant properties and put homeless people in the vacant houses. At ONE DC we determined that we didn’t have enough lead time and would need to do our direct action in June. Then we received some legal advise which indicated that local laws, being what they are, made the planned direct action an unwise choice for some people to get involved in.

So, we’ve altered our plans slightly:

We will have a block party on July 10th, beginning at noon. It will be in the 600 block “S” Street, NW, a half block from the north (Howard U.) exit of the Shaw/Howard U. Metro station.

We will use the occasion to publicize the local housing crisis and to do a political teach-in. The event promises to draw hundreds of people. Our hope is that a few dozen of those people will be able to get involved in the planned direct action and to possibly risk arrest, as it is this risk which is hindering our efforts. And, as long as people are afraid to be arrested, the politicians are able to hold us at bay while they conduct business as usual and the status quo remains intact. we seek to change this dynamic.

The scare came on April 17th, during our direct action training. Lawyers from the Center for Constitutional Rights gave about 30 aspiring activists some legal advice. They did their best not to scare us out of moving forward with our plans, as they were honest about the risks involved. They said that most people who do direct actions only spend a single night in jail, so long as the direct action is their only “crime” [sic] that they committed. However, those with prior felonies, too many civil disobedience (moral obedience) charges and those who are on probation or parole could be kept longer. Undocumented people could be repatriated to their country of origin. Those receiving public benefits such as food stamps, SSI or welfare checks could lose them. As it turns out, this was too much of a risk for those living in the poor, Black neighborhood which ONE DC serves. This is why the plans were changed.

In spite of the setbacks, we do still plan to have the tent city. It will begin on July 10th, right after the block party. The location will be on a site where the mayor had promised to put affordable housing, only to go back on his word. It will be announced at the block party.

However, your help is needed. We are in need of the following supplies. If you or someone you know is able to donate them, please send/deliver them to:

ONE DC
614 S Street NW
Washington, DC 20001-5130

Needed supplies include but are not limited to:

Waterproof tents (about 50)
Lights/generator/gas
Flashlights
Playing cards (for the times during which we are not engaging the public in conversation about our cause)
First-aid kits
Donated books (also for the lulls in the action)
Old bed sheets with which to make banners (about 50)
Paint
Tape (preferrably duct tape)

We hope that you are able to assist us in this effort and to attend the block party/direct action.

We also thank you in advance for your much anticipated participation.

–
Posted By Eric Sheptock to Tick Tock Eric Sheptock at 5/20/2010 05:37:00 PM

Filed under: Call to Action, Events & Opportunities Tagged: events & opportunities, Homelessness, take action