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HomeMy WebLinkAbout04-05-17 Community Relations 0 TIi 4 ti U d W PEACE a 1865 OFFICE OF THE CITY CLERK KAREEMAH FOWLER,CITY CLERK COMMUNITY RELATIONS APRIL 5, 2017 6:00 P.M. Committee Members Present: Regina Williams-Preston, Gavin Ferlic, LaQuita Hughes (citizen member) Committee Members Absent: Randy Kelly, Karen White Other Council Present: John Voorde, Jo M. Broden, Oliver Davis (late), Tim Scott (late), Dr. David Varner(late) Other Council Absent: Others Present: Alkeyna Aldridge Presenters: Blu Casey, Isaac Hunt, Jan Brown Agenda: Reducing Violence by Building Peace NU Black Power PEACE WEEK Group Violence Intervention Community for Peace and Nonviolence Miscellaneous Committee Chair Regina Williams-Preston called to order the Community Relations Committee meeting at 6:00 p.m. She introduced members of the committee and proceeded to give the floor to the first presenter of the meeting. Blu Casey, President of NU Black Power, stated, The NU Black Power movement of South Bend, Indiana is an organization by the people and for the people of the African American Community of South Bend, Indiana. Our mission is to provide a platform for those in the African American community to come together to help educate and empower each other as a community. We also help encourage black youth to become leaders in the community and provide supportive economic investment for black businesses. We also want to end the school to prison pipeline in the City, and gain access to financial and political resources to provide support in our community. Most importantly, we are an active voice to issues facing the African American Community of South Bend, Indiana. A lot of people ask, `Why NU Black?' or `Why choose Black Power to represent?' I grew up learning a lot about Black History. I learned about our struggle and I am very prideful of that. I watched the movie called Panther and that talked about the Black Panther Party. A lot of people try to put a negative stigma on the Panther Party when it 455 County-City Building•227 W.Jefferson Boulevard•South Bend,Indiana 46601 Phone 574-235-9221 •Fax 574-235-9173•TDD 574-235-5567•www.SouthBendIN.gov JENNIFER M.COFFMAN ALKEYNA M.ALDRIDGE JOSEPH MOLNAR CHIEF DEPUTY/DIRECTOR OF DEPUTY/DIRECTOR OF POLICY ORDINANCE VIOLATION CLERK OPERATIONS was actually a very positive thing. One of the resources we use today, giving free breakfast at school, was actually invented by the Black Panther Party. It got destroyed because of a thing called COINTELPRO. Active COINTELPRO has created things like the War on Drugs, where a lot of black people end up mass-incarcerated. Our organization stands for Neighborhoods United, which works for revolution, and that means change. Change in our communities, change in our schools, and change in our cities. There is a lack of leadership and a lack of structure in the Black Community. The reason we see so much violence in the black community is because of poverty. People are robbing each other because they have no real means of survival within the community. We try to break it down to our youth that there is a system made for you to fail. Once we understand that, we learn to reverse that cycle so we will no longer fall into the trap. (Councilmember Tim Scott arrived at the meeting.) Our mission is to save lives and build leaders. This week, we started a week called `Peace Week' and it is basically youth violence awareness. There's a big conversation about gangs but South Bend doesn't have real gangs. Gangs have structure, rules and regulations. Our city doesn't have that. Our city has groups of kids that have no resources. We have no community centers for them to go to and participate in. I was in a group called F-Block more than five (5) or six (6) years ago. There was a community center at Fremont Park which I have not been able to use since the 3rd grade. I asked all my homies on the block, `If we had that community center, a full library, a computer lab and programs out there to work around us, do you think we would have been fifteen(15) years old having guns, selling drugs and shooting dice at the park?' Everybody said no. There was no attention paid to us so we had to turn to the bigger homies on the block. That's where NU Black Power and Fremont Park come together and bridge that gap. We have a class called Young Royalty, which there is always the word of the day: BLACK. That stands for Building Leadership and Community Knowledge. We tell the kids about their history before slavery. Many don't know that we were kings and queens and taught many different things before we came to this country as slaves. Many want to start our history as slaves but we take it deeper than that. We want the kids to know they are kings and queens, not thugs or the n-word. We had a class today where I broke down BLACK. I said we're in a building right now. To have a building,you have to have walls and a foundation. To be a leader, you have to have respect. You have to have respect for yourself, your fellow man and the people around you. The `and' is the bridge that is bringing together the community and the knowledge. You have to have a foundation for the youth and community to attach to. We have to have Black Power, Black Love and Black Unity. Once we have that,we'll be able to come together and become something real in our community and not just what you see on the news, which is mostly negativity. Councilmember Oliver Davis arrived at the meeting. Committee Chair Williams-Preston asked, Could you briefly explain the Street Smarts effort? Mr. Casey replied, That's actually a combination of both Fremont Youth and NU Black Power. Sometimes we get personal with the kids and ask what specifically is going on at home. We tell the kids there is no such thing as bad,just poor attitudes and poor life choices. When they go to school and they have an attitude problem,the teacher wants to label them as bad. We come in and ask why they are feeling that way. In some situations we find out a kid got in trouble for fighting when it was actually him who was getting bullied, and no one was doing anything about it. We try to be that proactive bridge. A lot of people I know between the Black Lives Matter rally I did last year and the `Fire Knepper' campaign think we are a reactive group,but we are a 2 proactive group. It just so happens that we have to be reactive to make sure our leaders and institutions are held accountable by the community. One time we occupied a bus corner for a family that had a deaf and blind man harassing their children saying the n-word, so the police came and found out he was a sex offender. Being there for the community when no one else is there is what we're about. Schools need due process. Dr. Omar Johnson is a very good scholar and says we have to have people be present in the office when these kids are called to the office. Councilmember Tim Scott stated, I think the center at Fremont is under the Housing Authority. What we need to do, and I'll take initiative on this, is refresh that. They went through an organizational change and up to that point,they wouldn't give any resources or time after. They were a nine (9)to five (5). It was shut down and they wouldn't even look at volunteers. I think we need to look at that again.Now that they have new organization and new structure, I think we can do that. The last few years, we haven't gotten anywhere with this so I would like to move forward with this. Committeemember Jo M. Broden asked, Tell us a little bit about your structure as an organization. Are you a not-for-profit? What's your funding and what's your sense of numbers served? Mr. Casey replied, A lot of kids and advocate members that are already working with kids find out about what we are doing on Facebook. One of our members,Antonius, brought in eight(8) kids and helped them out. (Committeemember Gavin Ferlic left the meeting.) Our company as a whole is a non-profit. We just got 501(c)(3) status on one of the things we do called `Rise Up,' which is an alternative to gangs. We have ten (10) members right now and are not accepting any new members because we are still working on creating a structure. We will be doing a thing called `Black Power Summer,' one (1) of the first things we will be doing to kick that off is a trash-pick-up. We are looking for fifty(50)people to do that. We also have a Black Intelligence Panel and we are also planning an `I Have a Dream Speech' ceremony for the anniversary of that. Committee Chair Williams-Preston then gave the floor to the next presenter. Isaac Hunt, Regional Manager for Group Violence Intervention, stated, Today we are going to talk about what social services do and how they do it. There are seventy-two (72) partners in the City of South Bend. Our motto is `Take a step, you're not alone, and walk with me.' There is a point of contact for each partner, and response rate is typically within twenty-four(24)to seventy-two (72)hours. The GVI strategy is a three (3)pronged approach: the community, social services, and law enforcement. I would like to emphasize that social services is not law enforcement. Clients receive services confidentially. We do not share information with law enforcement. We mentor and currently have thirty-five (35) guys that meet bi-weekly and deal with adequate/in-adequate thinking. We deal with men, but women as well. Maintaining employment or dealing with sobriety, we replace that toxic structure with a healthy one. Gangs are not illegal, it is the activity of the gang that makes it illegal. A lot of the young men don't want to be involved with what they are in. The unemployment rate for young men ages eighteen (18)to twenty-five (25) in the Latino and Hispanic communities is very high in the City of South Bend. We work with kids, making sure they have food to eat and do their homework because it helps the whole nucleus of the family. We may be helping the individual, but they still have to go 3 home. So if we are able to assist the whole family, we are able to change the whole structure of that family. Blu was talking about the school-to-prison pipeline and that is very real. We need to address that. So we have a support and outreach regimen and have learned a lot from other cities across the Country. The Department of Justice has just named the Group Violence Intervention Strategy as the number one (1) strategy in the United States. There are different models of the Group Violence Intervention, following most closely what is called the Boston Model. We also want to get into what is called the Highpoint Model, possibly expanding into situations of domestic violence or different robberies. The main purpose is to direct sustained engagement with core offenders while the community, social services and law enforcement act together. In that manner, our aim is to focus explicitly on homicide and serious violence with Community Moral Engagement. This is help for those who want it. A lot of people have Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder in our neighborhoods and I don't think we realize how serious that is. No one is helping with that internal trauma these kids have. We have to figure out how to eliminate that trauma. This is a strategy, not a program. A program stops and ends. This is the bloodline of the City of South Bend. Our community cannot tolerate the violence. The social services component has been lagging. There are still people not wanting to get help and they are the ones that need it the most. We are really pushing restorative justice. In South Bend right now we have one hundred and fifteen (115) clients. The relationships are mutual and neutral, not hierarchical or professional. We deal with the violence that matters. We talk about violence. We get in depth about violence. We try to get them to understand how much the violence affects not only them, but the whole community. We all assume responsibility, and we have to figure out where it lies with each of us. This is not about these folks getting a job, it's about the moral values. Our doors are always open. We redefine what life means to them. Most of these individuals have had severe trauma in their childhood. We find success by delivering a message that is believable and authentic. It's about being organic with the individuals, building partnerships and leveraging our resources. Committee Chair Williams-Preston asked, How long has GVI been around in South Bend? Mr. Hunt replied, We are going on five (5) years now. Councilmember Oliver Davis asked, What would it take to have another one (1) of you, and what you do? Mr. Hunt replied, Right now, I've put in a proposal for outreach training. We are probably only one (1) out of twenty-three (23) different cities that has this currently. Councilmember Davis then asked, Out of those cities, are there any funds that come from the City? Mr. Hunt replied, Almost all of it. Other cities are directly funded by the City. Councilmember Davis requested that Mr. Hunt provide information about those cities. Councilmember Jo M. Broden asked, Do you in any way connect with the Read for Life program at the JJC? 4 Mr. Hunt replied, I take clients for GVI seventeen (17) years old and up, so there is a `gap' with those younger kids. But we are creating a JDAI which is the junior version of GVI, which is relatively the same set up. Councilmember Broden asked, What is your priority in terms of scaling up at this older level or a younger early intervention? Mr. Hunt answered, Both need to be done, but more needs to be done at the younger level. We have the older level locked down. Councilmember Davis asked, Do you see monies coming from the school systems?And how many people do other cities have, doing what you're doing? Mr. Hunt replied, There are so many social services that need money and there isn't enough. We spread it and use it effectively. We need to come up with a collective idea to provide wrap- around services for individuals. Committee Chair Williams-Preston gave the floor to the next presenter. Jan Brown, Community for Peace and Non-violence, stated, This organization started several years ago with the Peace Churches. It used to be just pastors getting together over lunch and just talking about how to live out Jesus' way of life. It has evolved into something different. Still based on that mission, I am Interim Coordinator. We see ourselves as a catalyst to promote what others are doing. I would like to change our bylaws a little to build our resources. In the last couple of years,the focus was restorative justice. The spring-board was the school to prison pipeline day-long seminar at IUSB. We have an educational event every other month. We've worked with teachers in the South Bend Schools who use restorative justice. We had a meeting with an administrator from South Bend Schools and they got very excited about restorative justice. Dr. Spells has some background in restorative justice. With all due respect to the school district, we have a long history of punitive attitude toward kids with problems. Often times the school administration just wants to get them out of the building. There needs to be a coordinated approach to the trauma and problems. I tell kids all the time to grow up to be a productive citizen and pay taxes because that means I can retire. The gun violence resolution recently passed was a step. My main concern is the institutional racism and economic disparities. These are things that many people don't even know or question. We need to look at how people can change with the removal of the barriers. As a community, I would hope we could get stakeholders to communicate together to make a change. Councilmember Davis asked, When does your organization meet? Are they open to the public? How do we get on the email list? Ms. Brown replied, I will add your email to my list. We do the meetings on the second Saturdays of every month. They are open to the public. Committee Chair Williams-Preston extended the meeting time to allow the last three (3) presenters. 5 Ann Coglianese, Guidance Counselor at Rise Up Academy, stated, We are doing restorative justice as best we can. What we are working on are trauma suspensions. Let's face it, schools are ground zero for all of this stuff. We have circles every Friday and Monday and our students just have a conversation with the teacher about anything, and a lot of the times things come out. This way, teachers are able to identify the students who are in trauma. Circle could be five minutes, or they could go longer. We are having a big tri-corporation at Clay High School on June 26, 2017. We have a speaker, actually the woman who wrote the book Circle Processes, is coming to South Bend. This event is free and Rise Up is hosting it. We are hoping to integrate this, not just into our schools, but from kindergarten to high school. Because when we get these kids at Rise Up, these are the kids the other schools have not been successful with. We've had girls that got in a knock-down, drag-out fight, both of these girls are seniors, and we find out this issue was something from the seventh grade. The circle process is working well. Marsha Heck, IUSB, stated, Mr. Hunt said it is a strategy and not a program. So what we're doing with circle process, is it is a process, not a program. We are working with many others to take a proposal to the school board in May to model what has already been done and setting that up in the entire district. Circle process is the action of restorative justice. Restorative justice is a process of dealing with problems and things that go wrong. Circles process is one of many approaches to achieve restorative justice. Think about a time when someone harmed you. What did you want in that moment to make it right? The first reaction is to get even. But, does that help in the long run? When we punish people and send them away,they leave the community and then there are these problems that remain. This is a community approach to speak truth in love,hoping to stop the cycle of violence. My students have been volunteering where they help participate in the circles process. My hope for South Bend is that we coin a term called `Circle for Peace Zones.' First, a couple schools would do it,then soon the whole district would be a part of it. Ellyn Stecker, 1036 N.Niles Ave., stated, I'm here to represent the Michiana Peace and Justice Coalition. We formed from a group of people who are opposed to the use of war to resolve conflict. We see at the national level how that happens. Our goal is to educate ourselves, our representatives, and also our community about the cost of that war to the community. We do this in a variety of ways and we work with a variety of groups. I do have information I can leave here, and we also have a website. Councilmember Davis asked Ms. Stecker to email fellow council members information. With no further business to discuss, Committee Chair Williams-Preston adjourned the Community Relations Committee meeting at 7:13 p.m. R ectfully b Reg na Williams-Preston, Chairperson 6