“it’s all about connecting”

Amie Jallah from the Metropolitan Community Development Corporation and Wheaton Neighbor Corps joined us at the Town Hall meeting last night and made a wonderful connection that she shares here in this short video. This story shows that answers to many of our community’s questions are already here just waiting to be discovered…and sometimes all it takes is being in the same room together (and LISTENING to each other) to make an amazing connection!

Town Hall!

The Neighbors Campaign was well represented at last night’s County Executive’s Town Hall meeting in Takoma Park!

Amleset, Martha, Mohammed, Miguel, Megan, Ayad, Sebastian, Chris & Pedro (missing: Amie, Rosa, Maria and Ira)

Even though it was a cold, rainy night and some of us had been at the IMPACT Now event at 6:30 in the morning…thirteen of us came out to share our thoughts, ideas and questions with the County Executive. It was a full house at Takoma Park Middle School and lots of local media folks were there, as well as plenty of County staff on hand to answer specific questions and connect with residents. See Reemberto Rodriguez’s pictures here.

Rosa kicked things off by thanking the CE for his support of the Neighbors Campaign and explained that she enjoys her role as a Community Connector and hopes funding continues (with maybe even more hours in Wheaton ) She was also interviewed by Univision for the local news!

Then Pedro asked a great question about what the government can do to help residents like him in the Long Branch neighborhood that are looking for construction jobs in this bad economy — especially Latinos that he feels give so much back to our County. Others in the audience agreed with his message and gave him a warm round of applause. The CE responded that he hopes the economy will turn around soon and construction will re-start.

Miguel stood up a few minutes later and spoke about three concerns that he has: school transportation, funding for non-profits and vocational programs for youth. The CE told him they could look into the distance kids at Glen Haven Elementary are walking and possibly make a recommendation to the school system to add a bus. He could not promise more funding for non-profits given the budget situation, but praised the work of IMPACT and Neighbors Campaign! Finally, he stressed the need for youth to first finish high school, but did agree that more affordable vocational programs were needed.

Last, but not least, following up on a similar question from another audience member, Maria asked what help there is for families facing foreclosure. She related that as a Community Connector she hears many stories about neighbors that cannot pay the mortgage, especially those that have lost their jobs. The CE requested she get in contact with the Office of Consumer Affairs representative that was at the meeting, as they can provide information about resources available for residents dealing with foreclosure.

Martha and Mohammed had questions ready also, but they ended the meeting before they had a chance to ask them…I’ll share another amazing outcome from the meeting in the next post (including a video).

Thanks to everyone for coming out and sharing your observations about your community with the County Executive!

The difference one door knock can make…

If you have ever wondered what an impact door knocking can have, please watch this short video.

Venus, a resident at Peppertree Farms Apartments in Aspen Hill, explains how one door knock led to her participation in the Neighbors Exchange and the hope it gave her as she continues her job search!

Sharing Information in Aspen Hill

On Tuesday night, we hosted our first Neighbors Exchange in the Aspen Hill neighborhood at the Wheaton Seventh-Day Adventist Church! Over 50 neighbors joined us and participated in three small groups focused on different issues (access to health care; applying for emergency services; job resources).

We were excited after door knocking on Saturday and Monday with the Neighbor Corps members — lots of neighbors at Peppertree Farm Apartments expressed interest in attending!

It was clear from our conversations with these neighbors that there are not many occasions for them to meet each other and exchange ideas or concerns.

Rachel (from the County's coalition of ESOL providers) talking to a resident about options for learning English in her neighborhood

Here are some examples of the kind of information sharing we did during our short time together:

* In the jobs circle, Carol shared that the store she works at (TJ Maxx) was hiring.

* And our friend Yanira from Montgomery Works told us that the Target in Wheaton is hiring — to apply, go to the store and complete the on-line application. And don’t forget to talk to a store manager while you are there.

* Damaris found out some of her neighbors were interested in learning Spanish and she offered to teach them!

* Gilbert helped out a fellow neighbor by explaining the Medicare process and different programs available to seniors.

And the sharing will continue:

* Community Connectors Ann, Rosa and Maria made appointments with residents to come in to the Neighborhood Service Center on Friday to apply for services and talk about their specific needs.

* Participants left with information and a free tote bag thanks to Nesreen from the Census department.

* After listening to the small group discussions, Pastor Steve Murphy (who lent us the space — thanks again ) is interested in offering a financial literacy program for community members.

Thanks to our resource partners and Neighbor Corps members who came out to help facilitate and connect with residents!

Ready to go door knocking?

That was the question we posed to the Wheaton Neighbor Corps group on Saturday morning. And they responded with a loud yes!

what a nice looking group of door knockers!

After a morning of practice and role playing, we headed out to the Peppertree Farm Apartments — a large (nearly 900 units!) complex off Bel Pre Road, right next to the Wheaton Seventh Day Adventist Church. We chose this area for a few reasons: first, Martha from Neighbor Corps lives there. Second, we held an information session there this summer and had good response from residents interested in learning more about the Campaign. Third, we connected with the pastor at the SDA Church next door and are pleased to be partnering with him to offer a Neighbors Exchange on Tuesday night there!

I’m pleased say, that in less than 2 hours we knocked on over 300 doors and spoke with over 70 neighbors.

Ann, Maria and Maryna

When we re-grouped, we discussed things to improve about our door knocking. A number of participants felt that we should do more fun events to get the word out and to make neighbors feel comfortable getting involved — and I agree

We all agreed that going out in pairs is key: this lets us work off each others’ strengths and then no one person is responsible for conveying all the key messages. I definitely appreciated my partner Amie! She was very good at explaining the big picture of the Campaign and persistent with even the most reserved residents.

Yamileth, Walkiria and Frankie

We will be heading back out this afternoon to keep getting the word out about the Neighbors Exchange! Let us know if you want to join us.

Practicing Mutual Support

This week at the Neighbor Corps session, we went door knocking. But before we headed out to the Peppertree Farm Apartments in Aspen Hill, we spent the morning practicing. We went over the forms to fill out after having a conversation, what information to leave with residents, where to refer neighbors in crisis…a lot of “technical” stuff.

To make sure we didn’t get caught up with those details and forget the less tangible part of a door knock, we also did an exercise to practice providing mutual support. We stole this idea from the training Ray, Frankie, Noelle and Sebastian did in Long Branch two weeks ago

We gave each Neighbor Corps participant a “character” — one side of the paper had their needs and the other side showed what they had to offer the community. They had 10 minutes to talk to each other and figure out what matches they could make. For example, Miguel (pictured above) was looking for a job and he found a neighbor who had a lead for him. He also connected with a young man trying to start a basketball league — which worked out well because Miguel’s two children want to start playing.

While this was a contrived situation, nearly everyone was able to make a mutual connection — one in which they both contributed and received. Now we hope to continue this type of matchmaking in the community!

 

First Long Branch Neighbors Exchange!–In it together

More than 30 Nob Hill and Park Montgomery residents got together last night as part of Long Branch’s first official Neighbors Exchange! With various resource partners in the areas of jobs, healthcare and emergency services on hand, neighbors had some their most pressing questions answered. But even with representatives from Montgomery Works, Centro Familia, the TESS Center, Holy Cross Hospital, Montgomery Cares in the room, residents quickly came to appreciate the value of sharing their own personal experiences and struggles with neighbors going through the same things each and every day.

At one point, Martin Zelaya of Nob Hill stood up and told the group of the unbearable pressure he feels to find a job after his wife gave birth to their first child just 5 days ago. To prove to Martin that he’s not alone in feeling helpless, Hugh Bailey of Montgomery Works asked the group, “Has anybody ever felt ashamed for being unemployed?” Nearly every residents’ hand shot up. Within minutes the group had agreed to meet again next Wednesday to continue to get to know each other and find ways they can support each other along the difficult road of searching for employment.

Especially for those who have just recently entered the country and don’t speak English, it’s easy to feel all alone and like nobody else is facing the same daily struggles. But once again last night proved that if only we get to know one another a little better, we realize just how similar we–as well as our greatest challenges–are.

–Sebastian

Just knockin’ in the rain!

Photo op of the group (dry) before heading out

Despite the nasty weather, 28 area residents spent Saturday morning knocking on hundreds of doors in two Long Branch apartment complexes: Nob Hill and Park Montgomery. But before hitting the streets we cozied up inside the Long Branch Community Center Conference Room for a 2 hour training. After Long Branch Coordinator Ray Moreno set the mood by singing Stevie Wonder’s classic “Love’s in need,” Executive Director Frankie Blackburn gave a quick primer on the Campaign goals, emphasizing TWO in particular: connecting neighbors 1) to each other and 2) to emergency services.

Then, we led a short exercise to illustrate that each of us has skills and interests that can be put toward benefitting the greater community. Each volunteer was handed a placard with a short description of a random persona, including three attributes (skills, interests, hobbies) on one side, and one need/desire on the other. Participants then took 10 minutes walking around the room trying to match up their assets with others’ needs. One of the many great connections was made when State Senator Jamie Raskin (a 15 year old basket ball player in the exercise) led a couple other similar aged kids over to meet a basketball coach, looking to start a summer league, and a local Baptist minister who was willing to let the kids play in the church’s basement gym–quite the group!

Volunteers getting into character during asset exercise

We then finished out the training with a few quick role plays, demonstrating the three most common door knock interactions–1) Nobody answers  2) Somebody answers but doesn’t have time to talk and 3) The person answers, is interested, and wants to know more! But even with the great acting prowess of Frankie and Ray (as Ray is known for saying): “There’s no better way to learn then by just doing it.” So that’s what we did.

With 14 pairs of Neighbors Campaign-teeshirt-clad IMPACT volunteers scattered throughout the 141 units of Park Montgomery and the 397 units of Nob Hill, 284 doors were knocked! But even more impressive, of those 284, over 100 actual conversations were had!!! While some of the conversations were little more than a resident asking for the volunteer to return at another time, some were much more–sometimes lasting over 40 minutes! Despite the innumerable troubles that our neighbors face every day during these tough economic times, Saturday’s conversations reminded us of the importance of us all joining forces to put our individual attributes and skills toward the collective good.

Now we’re getting ready for our first Neighbors Exchange in Long Branch, which will take place on Wednesday November 4 from 7-9pm in the New Hampshire Estates Elementary School Main Gym. Saturday’s doorknock was certainly a great start to getting the word out but still much more is to be done! Call Sebastian Brown anytime at 240-247-0286 for details on when we’ll be going out in the next few days to knock on some doors and meet our neighbors.

Speaking Vietnamese, the Wheaton Library, Bus Stops, the Wheaton Regional Park, Knowledge of the School System…

What do all of the above have in common?

They were all identified as community resources by the members of Neighbor Corps this past Saturday.

After spending the morning formulating a common vision for Wheaton (see post here), we then turned our attention to what resources we as individuals bring to the community. For instance, Ann speaks Vietnamese; Roxanne knows lots about government contracts; Miguel can fix just about anything in your house or car; Ayad can build you a computer; Martha is a great cook; Huwey is a great event planner…you get the idea!

Julio explaining which assets he contributes to the Wheaton community

This process was just the beginning — at the next session we will be going out into the community to door knock and meet even more residents who each bring amazing gifts and talents to our community.

After thinking about our individual assets, everyone then jumped in their cars and went out in small groups to look at the community around them with fresh eyes. They came back with lists and lists of community resources: parks, bus stops, schools, churches, local businesses like restaurants and grocery stores.

Rosa, Roxanne and Mike won the asset “scavenger hunt” not only beacuse of the quantity of assets they identified, but by noticing specific things like: there are many home-based businesses in Wheaton; there are spaces that may be available for use on the weekends for community activities; there are a number of senior care facilities, but few for our young residents.

By taking stock of what resources we already have available in our community, we hope to build upon them to reach our common vision for Wheaton.

You can see more pictures from our Neighbor Corps session here. And help us with our community resources list of by adding what assets you see in Wheaton in the comments section.

 

A Common/Colorful Vision!

During the Neighbor Corps session last Saturday, we all drew our visions for Wheaton in 2012 (see photo above and check out more pictures available here).

After listening to everyone’s ideas, we broke up into small groups to discuss what all the visions had in common.

Here are the highlights from that comprehensive, common vision for Wheaton:

*A welcoming, safe community where neighbors are connected to each other to share information and support one another

*A hopeful place with equal opportunities for its diverse residents

*An engaged community that identifies its own strengths and weaknesses

*A healthy neighborhood that builds the self-esteem of children and youth

What’s your vision for Wheaton?