Last Day at PRC

Tomorrow will be the last day of my internship at Phoenix Revitalization. I know I am beginning to sound like a broken record but I have had a great time there! I have learned so much in my short time there and I have met many great people. I have been able to apply so many things I have learned at ASU and I am officially sure that my choice to enter the nonprofit field was the right one for me.

Although I say goodbye to my internship tomorrow, I have been hired on to do some contract work. I have spent my internship time getting the Leadership Academy curriculum ready to publish, and I must say the final product is coming around nicely. Also Saturday May 7th I will be teaching my first Leadership Academy, I am very excited! I hope to stay with this organization as long as possible and I am very thankful for the opportunities I have been given there.

Graduation!

I got my cap and gown last night! I will be wearing a teal green hood for Public Administration, it is sort of a strange color combo, but I'm still excited. I have two assignments left and I will be officially finished. After three years it is hard to believe the end is sight. To all of you that will also be finishing, congratulations!!!

Business Partners Breakfast

Last week Phoenix Revitalization Corporation had their first business breakfast. This event was in direct response to the economic strategy in the quality of life plan. The quality of life plan was developed by residents, it identifies what stratigies should be taken to improve Central City South. Since the completion of the document resident groups monitor each strategy to see what progress had been made and what still needs to be done.

One of the things residents expressed in terms of economic development, was that as residents they were committed to supporting existing local business. As a result PRC invited local business owners to attend a breakfast meeting to discuss what the residents are working towards and to encourage business owners to join in the process.

The most interesting part of this meeting was the discussion with two Phoenix police officers that are working with residents on crime suppression. Both of these officers worked in this area when crime was at is worst, and even cited that at one time they would not enter this area alone. Business owners that had also been in the area for decades also discussed how much better the area has become in recent years. There is still work to be done, and as a result of this meeting it seems like the police department and local business owners will work together on additional crime suppression in the area. This was a great way to build more relationships in the community, I'm looking forward to attending the next one in October.

Recycling Plant Fire in Central City South

The link below shows pictures of the fire that was just a few blocks away from my internship. I have never seen so much smoke in my life and standing just a block behind my work we could see the flames! Thank you to the nearly 100 fire fighters who were able to put out the fire and keep residents safe!

http://www.azcentral.com/photo/Community/PhoenixCentral/18741

Phoenix Public Market

As the semester nears an end I am finding myself eating in front of a computer more and more often. Today stopped at Phoenix Public Market on my way to the downtown campus. I ordered a BLT with avocado and I must say it was fantastic!!! Added bonuses of my meal include the fact the Phoenix Public Market is a nonprofit and they give a 10% discount to ASU students. Just thought I would share, in case you are hungry and stuck at school :)

The Cost of Un-Fair Housing

Today I attended a conference hosted by the Arizona Fair Housing Partnership. This event was housed at the Disability Empowerment Center in Phoenix. Attorney general Tom Horne briefly spoke about housing discrimination cases that have been perused by the Attorney Generals office. In addition a senior management official for HUD named Rebbecca Flanagan gave an excellent presentation about the federal fair housing act. This conference was attend by many nonprofit organizations that provide housing assistance as well as many owners/and property managers of multi unit housing facilities. The last hour of the conference allowed participants to ask specific questions about fair housing legislation and for clarification on weather or not they would be in violation in certain cases. I found today to be a great learning experience. The thing I found most interesting was that majority of fair housing complaints and law suits involved persons with disabilities. One man from the disability empowerment center explained how there is a huge population of disabled young people living in nursing homes because there is simply no housing available with accommodations that they need to live independently. This man expressed that these people are living in nursing homes at the cost of the tax payers while property owners have vacant properties that if slightly modified would allow these individuals to move in. He expressed how this was bad business for everyone and that as a disabled man his "green (money) was as good as the next guys". He also expressed that at any time anyone can become disabled; therefore we should make these accommodations for others because we may need them someday too. This is an example of the "true cost" of unfair housing.

Career Services Event: Employeer Pannel:Nonprofit, Foundations and Government Careers

On Wednesday I attend the Nonprofit, Foundations and Government Employer Panel at the downtown campus. There were five people on the panel that provided information on their organization or agency as well as career advice to participants. First was the southwest recruiter for the CIA. She explained the many types of employment opportunities within the CIA as well as how their internships worked. For those of you who are looking to change career paths and become a spy, the internship program is only for freshman and sophomore's. Sorry!

Second, was a woman from the City of Phoenix Head Start Program. She did an excellent job describing the difficulties of running a federally funded program within a city agency. In addition she discussed the many job opportunities in her department including family support case workers, head start preschool teachers and teachers assistants.

Third, was a woman from the State of Arizona Department of Administration. She has developed an internship program that links students to various state agencies for college credit internships. She will even help you to find an internship that fits your interest and passions.

A gentleman from the Rodel Foundation of Arizona spoke about his journey from classroom teacher, to a principal to the program director of the MacRo Math program that provides funding for increased math education and math curriculum training for teachers in high need schools. It was inspiring to hear him speak about starting as a teacher and touching 30 children's lives a year and now touching thousands of children's lives a year.

Last was a public interest advocate from Arizona Public Interest Research Group. As a marketing major at ASU she was planning to enter the for-profit world after graduation. After an internship with a large airline she discovered that this was not the environement she wanted to work in. Later she took an internship with a local advocacy group and remains happily working in this field today.

Each of the panel members had something in common, they chose a career path that they loved. Although each of them gave different advice, they all had a common theme don't choose the job that makes you the most money, choose the job that brings you the most happiness.

Capstone Sweet Capstone

I am currently working on research for my MPA capstone assignment. I am writing a case study on the public value of community based policing. I chose this topic because I am particularly interested in the work of the community action officers in the City of Phoenix. In order to research my case study I have interviewed community action officers in several precincts to gain some perspective on the work they are doing in specific communities. I must say I have been very impressed with the work of these officers. They work closely with residents to solve quality of life issues and teach residents how to prevent crime in their communities. If you would like to get involved in your community through Block Watch, Neighborhood Patrol, or simply attend Coffee with a Cop I highly recommend it. You can find contact information for your community action officer on you precincts website. This is a very meaningful way to get involved in your community.

Community Garden Conference Day Two

Day two we spent our morning with the CEO of Native Seed Savers in Tucson. He gave a compelling presentation on the importance of saving seeds like farmers in the past have. He explained how now that seeds are commercially grown we have lost aver 80% of the seed variety that were in our country after the reveloution. Today there are types of tomatoes, cucumbers, corn, etc that no longer exist because the seeds weren't saved and the corporate owned companies stopped producing them. This presentation gave me a whole new outlook on food security in our country, if you are interested I would encourage you to visit the Native Seed Search Website at http://www.nativeseeds.org/

We spent the afternoon touring community gardens in south and central Phoenix. We went to Desert Marigold School, which basically operates a small farm that the students help care for. They sell their produce at an after school farmers market and at local farmers markets off campus. We also went to the Garden of Tomorrow in south Phoenix and saw how this community garden in the most troubled part of South Phoenix brings people together twice a month to enjoy fresh produce, have a barbecue and listen to the community band.

This conference was a great experience. I am not a gardener but I have always wanted to learn. Even as a novice I left this conference with plenty of tools that the Central City South community garden organizers as well as myself will use to grow beautiful and bountiful gardens.

Community Garden Conference-Day One

Day one of the conference was great. The key note speaker was the CEO of St. Luke's Health Initiative Rodger A. Hughes. He gave a great presentation on how he has changed the way he gives money in order to to focus on sustainability and community empowerment. He no longer uses traditional grant guidelines. Instead the outcome is outlined and the communities can take any steps they see fit to reach the outcome. St. Luke's Health Initiative has used this method to fund many community gardens and have found that it has built more connective communities and the work sustains far beyond the funding. His approach to building communities is unlike any I have heard of and I have been very impressed with this organizations work.

The rest of the day was spent in several learning sessions on assets based community development, good and bad insects in the garden and a speaker who is using his community garden to rehabilitate his crime ridden neighborhood. The food was prepared by the Chef at Rio Salado College who teaches courses on sustainable culinary techniques. All of the food served at the conference center was locally grown and produced. In addition all silverware, cups and plates were compostable. We ended the evening with a sunset tour and dinner at the botanical gardens. Day one was great fun and I learned allot!

Southwest Regional Community Garden Association

I love this internship!!! PRC wears so many hats in this community the learning opportunities are endless and often. I have been asked to represent my organization at the Southwest Regional Community Garden Association Conference. We provide technical assistance and financial support for 9 gardens in the Central City South area. Soon I will hopefully be given full reign of the project, so this weekend will be a huge learning opportunity for me, as I have never successfully grown anything in my life.

I will be attending four to five breakout sessions of my choice, a dinner with a night stroll at the desert botanical garden and a tour of many community gardens in the phoenix area. More to come on how it went!!!

Operation Wounded Warrior Queen Creek Arizona

A friend of mine told me about Operation Wounded Warrior a few weeks ago. This is a small 501(c) 19 organization that is operated out of the American Legion Post in Queen Creek. This organization is all volunteer based and 100% of their proceeds go to providing hospitalized soldiers with basic supplies and support. Their mission is to provide health and comfort items to military service personnel in medical facilities. Because all proceeds go to the soldiers, this organization has limited resources to get their word out so I thought I would share.

More information can be found at their website http://www.operationwoundedwarrior.org/ or on Facebook.

Careeer Services: Resume Writing Workshop

I attended the resume-writing workshop that is organized by the career service department. I found this workshop to be extremely helpful. The presentation gave me many good ideas on how to improve my resume. In addition, it discussed many common resume mistakes, many of which I have been guilty of making myself. One of the most helpful components of this workshop was the sample resumes provided. Each person was given a sample resume for the field they are trying to enter and their education level. The graduate level resume for someone entering the nonprofit field was unlike any resume sample I had ever received. Because it was related to my field of study I had the opportunity to use some of the language provided in the sample resume to improve my own.

After leaving the workshop, I immediately updated my resume. In addition, I took it back to career services and had it looked over again. As a result, I now have the highest quality resume I have ever produced. I also took all of the documents I received from career services including a resume words sheet, information on how to write a cover letter, sample resumes, etc. and put them in a binder for future reference. Not only have I referred back to this information several times I have also shared it with friends that are looking to improve their resume.

Making Home Affordable Event 3/24

Yesterday my Co-worker and I volunteered at the Making Home Affordable Event. Phoenix Revitalization Corporation runs an affordable housing program that monitors properties for the FDIC; therefore, we try to volunteer at events such as this when possible. There were many lenders and credit counselors at this event. People were able to come set up appointments with their lender and a counselor, it was like a one stop shop for all things mortgage related.

This event is sponsored by the Department of the Treasury and the U.S. Department of housing. Over the past year and a half, this event as served sixty cities across the country. I was assigned to administer the exit survey. While speaking to people about their experience there, their responses were expected. Some were happy and felt as though their questions were answers and they would be notified that their modifications had been approved within a few weeks. Others were disappointed because either the bank could not help them or they were sent away due to lack of documentation. Overall, this event was very well organized and majority of the people I spoke with were happy to be able to speak with their lender in person. This seemed to be a great way to help a large group of people in a short time.

Central City South Newsletter

Central City South is a community that is service rich. Organizations including Chicanos por la Causa, Friendly House and the I.G. Homes Boys and Girls Club are all housed in this community. However, in the past very few residents of this community accessed these services either because they didn't know they existed or they were simply apprehensive to walk through the doors. In order to combat this problem Phoenix Revitalization Corporation developed the Central City South Community Newsletter.

This newsletter is full of information about events and services within the community and in surrounding areas. In addition, local businesses and neighborhood associations can advertise in the newsletter free of charge. This professionally printed full color newsletter is hand delivered to 17,ooo residents bimonthly. It is also e-blasted to anyone who wishes to have a copy sent to his or her email. This tool has become the most successful piece of Phoenix Revitalization’s effort to connect community members and service providers. Residents and stakeholders look forward to the delivery of the newsletter, and for many this is the only tool they have to access information about their community.

Community Connection Fair

This weekend I spent some time at the Community Connection Fair in Matthew Henson Park. I enjoyed having time outside interacting with the Central City South Community. This was a great event, over fifty vendors were there handing out infomration on health services, city services and recreation opportunities. There was a great band and other entertainment, food and lots of give aways. I spent the day handing out dental health bags with the Tooth Fairy! (Thaks to Delta Dental) The kids loved it, the adults were appreciative of the goodies and I got to spend a beautiful spring day with the Tooth Fairy! Needless to say it is nice to get out from behind your desk once in a while and spend the day out and about.

Hope VI Project in Phoenix

The city of Phoenix was awarded the Hope VI grant to rebuild the historic Matthew Henson Public Housing. Since the completion of Matthew Henson Village construction to create the new Krohn West Hope VI community is in progress. The objectives of the Hope VI project are as follows:

HOPE VI Purpose and Criteria

• Reconstruct severely distressed and obsolete public housing units
• Revitalize neighborhood and create economic investment in the area
• Create incentives to encourage investment and form public / private partnerships
• Develop job linkages, training, and educational resources for area residents
• Establish mixed-use, mixed-income development and create homeownership opportunities
• Attract commercial and retail businesses

I have had the pleasure of spending some time in the new Matthew Henson Facilities and the Hope VI community center. In my opinion, this grant money was well spent. Matthew Henson Village is a clean and cozy neighborhood, full off fantastic amenities. Matthew Henson Park has a clubhouse, a playground, and a pool complete with a splash pad for young children. The Hope VI center offers plenty of community meeting places and many individual development classes for community members. In addition, there is a childcare center, a computer lab and a job resource center.

The thing I was most impressed with is the Senior Tower, an independent living affordable housing facility for seniors. Walking into the tower I was extremely impressed; the beautiful lobby looks that of an upscale hotel. It has soft couches, a fireplace and plenty of open meeting places for socializing. In addition, there is a pool with a large patio with tables, chairs and a barbecue.

In a small section of Henson Village, several of the original buildings have been preserved as a historical landmark. The small, rectangular buildings that once filled this area are in stark contrast to the beautiful work the City of Phoenix has done with this project

United Way Office Supply GIve Away

My organization was invited to an office supply give away today at Valley of the Sun United Way. They had collected gently used office supplies and invited nonprofit organizations across the valley to come and take whatever they could use. I left with binders, file folders, tape dispensers, paper trays, high quality office stamps and more! Everything we took was like new and will be put to good use. This idea is so simple and it could make a positive impact in many communities. We are accustomed to clothing and foods drives, but think of what a difference someone’s old office supplies could make in the life of someone who is working to open a small business or nonprofit. Just thought I would share.

Sherman Park

I had the opportunity to drive trough Central City South with my mother this week. One of the main reasons that I enjoy working with Phoenix Revitalization is that my mother grew up in this area, and always speaks with fondness of her childhood there. I was hoping to get a better understanding of where her houses were located mainly to find out if any of them were in the neighborhoods that PRC serves.

To my surprise, the first house my mother and her family lived in was in a neighborhood called Sherman Park. Sherman Park is one of the eight original neighborhoods to work with PRC. As we drove down the street, I suddenly recognized a house in the middle of the block. It was small, with stucco (which was unusual for the time it was built) and had a silver tin roof. Although I had never seen this house in person, my favorite picture of my mother as a child was taken in the front yard, so I instantly recognized it. My mother went on to tell me that her grandfather, my great grandfather built this house and the house next door. It was very neat to see that a little piece of my family history is still standing in the community that I am working with today. This is a great reminder of the rich history of Central City South that needs to be preserved.

Hope....

Central City South is a community that has been around nearly as long as Phoenix itself. This community is just south of downtown less than four miles away from the state capital. In its prime, Central City South was a close-knit working class community filled with locally owned grocery stores, dance halls, barbershops and more. According to residents who have spent their life there, this community was once incredibly closed knit and supportive of one, and other. As the suburbs were developed, and the airport grew Central City South became more isolated. Crime and blight rose and economic opportunity rapidly declined. Today Central City South his home to over 50% of the city’s public housing, suffers from an unemployment rate significantly higher than the national average and has seen some of the highest crime rates in all of Phoenix.

This week I was lucky enough to hear a resident of the Matthew Henson Senior Towers speak about growing up and growing old in Central City South. She showed a picture of the restaurant her father opened that was in stark contrast of the Central City South of today. This picture showed about 15 people sitting in her fathers small restaurant. They were black and white, young and old, all smiling and happy to be there. In the company of the high school football coach, people who lived in the neighborhood, and the elementary school music teacher was the world famous boxer Joe Lewis, the current mayor and the current governor. This resident went on to explain that aside from the heavyweight champion, those in this photograph were regulars at her fathers restaurant. In the Central City South of today it is not likely that the residents and high ranking public officalls will be casually dining together in this community. This disconnect is creating a loss of history and millions of untold stories of longtime phoenix residents. Today, in many ways the points of pride and the accomplishments of this community such been buried by fear and a loss of hope.

To close her presentation this resident began to describe her involvement with Phoenix Revitalization Corporation’s quality of life plan. The purpose of this plan was to bring community members together to create a document outlining the changes they want to see in their community and to discuss how residents like themselves are a valuable part of this change. There hopes for their community were things that most suburban areas take for granted. Things in the final quality of life plan include having a grocery store in the community, sidewalks in neighborhoods and streetlights to deter gang activity. It seems it would be easy for this resident to feel angry to see her community decline so drastically, but the message she sent was that of joy. She explained to her audience that the quality of life plan brought her hope that her community would once again band together and create a community even better then that of her childhood. Since the quality of live plan many funders have come to support Central City South, more and more community members are becoming involved with their neighborhood associations and the crime rate is dropping. It is amazing what a little hope can accomplish.

Communities For All Ages

Phoenix Revitalization recived funding several years back to develop and pilot the Communities for All Ages initiative. This iniative focuses on creating communities that are inclusive of all ages by using an intergenerational apporach in all aspects of community development. Communities of all Ages is really just about changing the way we think about how we provide services and interact with our community. The basic idea is provide all ages the opportunity build social capital by engaging with other generations.

The social implicationd of this program are simple. An intergenerational apporach encourages people to interact across generations in a way that they may not otherwise. Majority of our interaction with those outside of our generation is with family members such as grandparents; however, developing intergenerational programs allows generations to interact outside of the family unit creating a more unified community. Grassroots communitity movements that involve all ages will likley be more successfull because all steakholders are given a voice and and are more invested in their community.

There is also a budgeting implication for communities that implement this initiative. In example, creating walkable comunities that accomodate bikes, scooters and wheelchairs will create a more active and vibrant community. In our society it is common for elderly adults to move in with their children, so why don't we build houses with ramps and handrails initially rather than having to remodel when eldlery are moving in. In addition, Communties for All Ages communities ensure that all age ranges from childern to elderly are involved in town hall meetings, sit on advisory boards or are a members of the city council. In the long run this may save money because decsions about youth and eldelrly services are not simply made for these age groups, but with these age groups.

If you would like more information on the Communities for All Ages initiative their webiste has a ton of fantastic information! (www.communitiesforallages.org). It also provides pictures and information on Communities For All Ages sites ten of which are right here in the state of Arizona. Although the initial idea for the iniative came out of Temple Universities Center for Intergenerational Learning, thanks to funding from the Arizona Community Foundation this initiative was truly brought to life right here in our state and has now spread nationally. Suppooring this initiative is simple, thik about how your orginizations can increase sustainability by taking an intergenerational approach to their programs and services.

Phoenix Revitalization Corporation "The Mission is Simple"

The mission is simple "Revitalizing Neighborhoods, Connecting Generations."

As I arrived at Phoenix Revitalization Corporation for the first time I found my self in front of a quaint little building surrounded by the Matthew Henson Village and the Valley Christian Center near Buckeye and 7th ave. I felt right at home as soon as I began my internship. This very small organization operates with only four full time employees and a handful of part time and contract staff.

I am lucky enough to sit at a desk in the center of the office, where I can be sort of a fly on the wall. All day I see people working on several projects, supporting community members that drop in for assistance or simply to talk, and rush off to meetings across the city. This organizations simple mission allows them to wear many hats. They run the Affordable Housing Program for the state, employees sit on several boards across the valley, and they have created a community action team to create and implement a revitalization plan. They also produce and distribute a community newsletter to more that 11,000 community members to highlight events, services the successes of community members in Central City South. The goal is simply to empower citizens of Central City South to improve their community. PRC simply sets them up with the support and resources to do just that. I have enjoyed getting to know this organization and this community, I am looking forward to learning even more!