Community Connector from CFA Videos on Vimeo.

What is a community connector? Watch and learn about how community connectors are working in neighborhoods across the USA.

The Buffalo, NY was experiencing some big problems. Being part of the “rust belt, ” Buffalo did not have many available jobs. According to the census, the population of Buffalo has dropped by more than half in the past 60 years. Houses were vacant and “left to rot.” Why was nothing being done with these houses? The problem:

With a bit of digging, they discovered that a sub-agency of the New York State Housing Finance Agency was in control of nearly 1,500 tax-delinquent properties in the city—about 200 of which were on the West Side—that were being left to rot. In 2003, the state of New York’s Municipal Bond Bank Agency bought the delinquent tax liens for those homes, which were then bundled and sold as bonds to investment bank Bear Stearns.

But there was one major problem: According to a report published in Artvoice, Buffalo’s main alternative weekly, the assessed value of the properties was much higher than they were actually worth. In effect, the state was using vacant houses in Buffalo to speculate on Wall Street.

Meanwhile, nothing was happening with the houses; the state was neither maintaining them nor selling them. ‘There just was absolutely no due diligence done as part of the transaction,’ Bartley said. “If there had been, they would’ve seen that bond was fraudulent.”

What a terrible situation! This rather disturbing scenario was entirely turned around for good. Awareness was raised, in part through several creative acts of vandalism, new jobs created for fixing up these houses, and what was once rotting house were turned into green housing. All it took was a little PUSH (People United for Sustainable Housing).

Click here to read the Full Article

“What can be done about this?” The following article from CFA’s partner, LINC New Orleans is a story of a church and community on their journey to rediscovering each other using of all things – a “pet care” event. When a church wants to re-engage community, here are three really helpful questions to consider (Asset Based Community Development questions) :

Musings in the Marigny 

By Laura Brenner

Phew! April was an action-packed month filled with house tours and our second annual Quad Community Event– Mutts in the Marigny! We had McFaith Feed & Pet Supplies (who recently moved into the Magnolia Physical Therapy building on Burgundy at Spain St.) and NOLA Bark Market from the Bywater had a wide array of toys and treats.  French Quarter Vet was a huge asset to novice and veteran dog owner alike with the “Ask the Vet” session at the event. This paired nicely with having Animal Rescue of New Orleans and LA-SPCA on site for neighbors in the Quad Community that were considering adding a four-legged friend to the family. Bitty Bobb’s Bacon Krewe, a mobile food pantry for dogs was there as well. At the end of the day, because of the efforts of many, each non-profit was able raise over $100 each.

Heaven’s Pets Crematorium was on site which paired nicely the Memorial Wall made by St. Paul Church Secretary and Marigny resident Linda Helmer, to remember pets that we grew up with and are,unfortunately, no longer with us.

Linda also made a great display of historic Marigny inspired houses for St. Paul Marigny’s mascot dog “Luther” and his friends “Shotgun” and “Two-bay” (types of historic houses found throughout the Quad Community).

Neighbors, church members, and St. Paul students mingled throughout the event enjoying the efforts of the St. Paul Community Coalition.  St. Paul teachers were out in full force, with Amy, Sarah and Sandy on the SPCC team, and Marie, Clark, Cal and Jason came out to show their support for the great day, and even got their dogs blessed!  Laurie McConnell was selling some of the great recycled artwork made by her talented 2nd grade students. The proceeds of the sales went towards Bitty Bobb’s Bacon Krewe.

Some of the students who attended were Amrei in Kindergarten, Chloey in 3rd grade, Shawn in 5th grade, Erica in 6th grade, Renni and Hope in 7th grade. I was able to catch up with some of the participants. Below are some reflections on the day:

“The [2nd Grade Recycled] art was very very pretty!  Next year, I would like to help our neighbors by sitting with Ms. McConnell and selling the artwork because [that] would help people get food for their dogs”.

“I liked the doggy kissing booth, that was really funny! I also liked the pet blessing.”

“There were a lot of adorable dogs in fabulous costumes!”

“Running into neighbors that I hadn’t seen in awhile.”

“Thank you for giving us a chance to get to know our neighbors and to share information about the programs at the LA/SPCA such as adoption and the community clinic.  We look forward to Mutts in the Marigny next year!”

“Mutts in the Marigny served as a chance for my 2nd graders to give back to the community.  Recycling gives them ideas and helps them think critically.  I hope to ignite two sparks: creativity and responsibility to our planet, it’s the only one we got”.

If you missed this great event, fear not! The St. Paul Community Coalition has other great events coming up! Stay tuned and happy spring!

Wendy McCaig May 14, 2013

We live in a society that is so individualistic, that it is nearly impossible for many to understand why communities matter.  All our energy and all our resources are focused toward increasing the individual’s capacity for success.  We have tutoring programs to increase children’s aptitude in school, job training programs to increase an individual’s skills in the work place, case managed care for those who are experiencing a housing crisis.

All these things are good and important, but what is often omitted from the equation is the societal systems that are impacting all these individuals.  The children we are tutoring, the adults we are training, the cases we are managing are all part of different forms of community.  All these individuals have families, friends, neighbors and co-workers.  While an individual’s capacity is very important for their success in life, few can thrive in this world without positive support systems.

Imagine being an unemployed single parent raising children in a community where there is nightly gunfire and frequent murders.  Imagine stepping over mounds of trash as you walk past the drug dealers to pick up your children from the bus.  Imagine being new in this neighborhood where people stay to themselves and avoid eye contact.  Imagine if the only time you leave your home is to go to the corner store where the main products are beer, cigarettes and junk food and you end up buying junk food all the time because you can’t afford a bus ticket to get to the grocery store three miles away.  Imagine that the community center was closed down, the playground unfit for small children and that there were no community activities other than an annual block party that often ends in confrontation among residents. Who would you trust, how comfortable would you be leaving your children with a sitter so you could work?  How would this kind of environment impact your individual capacity for success and that of your children?

Now imagine a group came into the neighborhood and got the community center reopened.  Imagine what would happen if they started bringing concerned neighbors together and empowering those neighbors to address the issues that the residents cared about.  Imagine those neighbors starting a family support team to provide peer support and encouragement to parents just like you.  Imagine this team of parents praying for each other, watching out for each other’s children, giving each other rides to the grocery store and creating a place in that community center where you and your children felt safe, cared for and valued.

Imagine what would happen if the school board tried to write your neighborhood out of the new school and this group of concerned parents found out.  Imagine this group fighting and winning the battle and all the kids in the neighborhood for generations having the advantage of a better school.  Imagine this group partnering to get new playground equipment, a computer lab and a mobile food pantry.  Imagine the parents in the neighborhood coming together to start a youth sports program and a group of neighbors who like to cook starting monthly community meals to help neighbors get to know one another. Imagine the seniors getting together for outings and fellowship.

I don’t have to imagine, I had the privilege of watching all this happen in Hillside Court over the past four years.  The changes in this community happened slowly and were driven almost entirely by the neighbors themselves, but none of it would have happened if Embrace Richmond had not listened to the neighbors and gathered them together so that they could strengthen their relationships with one another.  Healthy neighborhoods are made up of people who care for each other and work for the greater good of the community.

How do you measure whether a community is stronger?  I was immersed in the work in Hillside for years.  I was there when the man was gunned down in the streets right before our team gathering and I was there on MLK Day when there was a shootout right after we prayed for peace to rain down.  I know violence is down and that there is a sense of security that was not present four years ago.  Is this reduction in crime due to an increased awareness by the neighbors; or is it due to increased police presence; or perhaps it is simply a natural cycle that will soon spike again.  Measuring the long-term impact of community building efforts are very difficult.

Societal systems are complex and are often influenced by a multitude of factors.  So, as much as I would like to measure our four year investment in the Hillside community, I am not sure how other than to paint you the picture of what it was like before we got there and what it is like now.  I can introduce you to dozens of people whose lives have been enriched because they now have each other.  I can give you details on the number of individuals impacted by the seven different initiatives that are supported by more than 40 caring residents. They provide services to more than 500 individuals per year and I know all the residents of this community, which has over 600 children, have been impacted in some way.

However, all these facts do not come close to capturing the essence of how the spirit of this community has changed.  People went from being isolated and focusing on their individual needs to being connected and working toward the common good, often making tremendous personal sacrifices.    It is the spirit of the community that has changed and I am not sure how to measure that.  Today there is a spirit of hope, optimism and faith that was not there four years ago.

Communities First Association developed a list of measurable markers that I have found helpful for measuring when a community is being transformed.  I have tweaked their list a bit, so this is the Wendy version:

A community is being transformed when

• A community unites around a shared vision
• Neighbors use their gifts to help the neighborhood
• Leadership emerges in the community from the community
• Residents assume ownership for the on-going work of community transformation
• There is a growing sense of pride and community connectedness
• There is less dependence on outside organizations and resources
• Residents experience a sense of peace and joy (Shalom)

I once heard a pastor ask, “What would this neighborhood look like if God’s Kingdom were to come here in this place as it is in heaven?”  For me, transformation should lead to evidence of God’s Kingdom breaking through on earth.  I have seen and experienced an in-breaking of the spirit in our community development efforts through the years and I personally believe that it is only this divinely sent spirit that can transform individuals, communities and our world.  How can we ever capture that in a matrix of success?  I choose to simply stand in awe of it all achnoledging that it is not the work of humans alone.  We are simply participants in a divine mystery.

To read more articles by Wendy McCaig, please visit wendymccaig.com.

Watch video

This time God showed up at our first big community painting in Guadalupe. We joined forces with another community we work with in South Phoenix, Barrio Nuevo. The leader there, David Bennett, has house painting down to a science, having done about 60 houses in the last five years.  He brought over some of his friends from South Phoenix and some of his friends from outside of the community. Out little community of folks from Guadalupe playing basketball and tutoring joined them, along with some of our friends from outside the Guadalupe community. Altogether, we had about 80 people, with about 30-35 of them from Guadalupe.

We painted two houses – Francis’s house and Linda’s house. It only took the morning, starting at 8:30 and finishing at about 11:30.  In those three hours wonderful things happened. People met people and worked with them to make the community a little better. People smiled. People got to know a little bit more about each other. People shared work, paint, food, water and fun. Relationships grew. God was there.

This was another great step, on a number of levels. We were able to do a joint activity between a couple of our neighborhoods and the people who live and relate in them.  It was the first time we reached out into the Guadalupe community to do some painting as chosen by the community and with the support of the community. We combined many different people, from many different places to do the painting. It was fantastic.

In May, we are planning another such event. This time, we will paint in South Phoenix, Guadalupe and Central Phoenix. We will add in another community and another 100 people. And we will see what God does.

During the first three weeks of 2011, there were three separate shootings resulting in three deaths.  Gunfire was a nightly occurrence and when two teenagers were struck by stray bullets, the community had enough.  We hosted a listening meeting to talk about the violence.  What we heard was that the residents cared deeply about the children and wanted to keep them safe.  When Wendy asked if there was a group who cared enough to lead that effort, Patrice Shelton slowly raised her hand.

Patrice started a family support team made up largely of single mothers. Through that effort she met Denise and Lindsey. Denise and Lindsey were inspired by Patrice’s commitment to the neighborhood and each began leading their own community action teams. Lindsey began a cheerleading team for young girls who spread cheer through the neighborhood by visiting seniors and shut-ins. Denise started a cooking team that prepares monthly fellowship lunches for the residents to help break down isolation.  Lindsey’s husband saw what Patrice, Lindsey and Denise were doing and started a group for men. Tony then organized a group to help start a youth football team, the Hillside soldiers. Because of Patrice’s willingness to get involved, more than 40 residents per month are now serving Hillside Court, impacting the lives of over 1000 Hillside Court residents.

by Monika Grasley, Drirector of LifeLine Community Development Corporation of Merced County

“You are a racist!” These were the words of one frustrated community member to another, and a team accustomed to doing great things together came to a sudden stop.

Community transformation starts with community building.  In a community where conflict is avoided and disagreements end in separation, this was a difficult lesson to learn. I have observed over the years long-term friendships break over misunderstandings, and that emotional words create major hurts.  There is a lack of conflict resolution skills in this community and major roadblocks stand in the way for lack of trust.

When we needed to process this and learn to deal with misunderstandings I thought I had done my homework, I looked at the different ways of handling conflict, did my research, had individual conversations and went into the meeting with confidence (and some apprehension).

What I did not expect was what happened next! After I made some introductory remarks I opened up the floor for an honest conversation.  The first person who spoke said to me “Monika, you offended me when…..” Wait, that is not what I had expected.  I was not the one in the hot seat.   I did not want to be in the hot seat, but God ordained this moment and I had to make a decision; do I get defensive and justify my behavior, or do I model reconciliation, forgiveness, ownership and responsibility?

More than that, this occurrence and the rest of the conversation opened the door to deeper relationships, honesty, openness and forgiveness. We got to hear each other’s hearts and stories at a much deeper level. We learned to trust each other more. We gave each other space and permission.

As a result the community members went through an exercise of what they value most and came up with some ‘non-negotiables.’

In a community where people don’t trust each other, where backbiting is a daily occurrence, and where people are out for themselves, this lesson of trust has been life changing.

When we look for transformed communities we often look for the glorious signs, the big changes, the showy case study.  But in reality it is often the small things that change a community.

Words spoken in peace to each other, conflict that is resolved in healthy ways, trust that is being built and relationships that grow deeper are building stones for transformed communities.

By Jim Moynihan

Building relationships has been our primary activity for the first quarter of this new year. The community outreach seeds planted in 2012 have begun to bring forth new life in the form of new community and city reaching relationships and the deepening of existing ones.

It began with Pastor Steve Edwards of Kingdom Builders Community Church, with whom I have been doing Asset Based Community Development (ABCD) work for the past two years, introducing me to Andy Bigelow, a well-respected and long-time community activist in Hampton. Andy had not heard about ABCD in particular but had become aware of and impressed with the community development results Steve and I were seeing in the Downtown Hampton neighborhood where we’ve been applying ABCD principles and practices.

Andy referred me to Mike Monteith, CEO of the Peninsula Community Foundation which exists to provide individuals and organizations with opportunities to invest in our community in order to improve the quality of life for citizens of the Virginia Peninsula. Mike has been an assistant city manager and a community developer for over 35 years but was unaware of the principles of ABCD and of CFA in particular. I shared the DVD “ABCD in Action” with Mike which he thought was well done and helped him to understand my efforts to encourage using ABCD principles in our community. He has since referred me to others in the area who are active community developers.

This has led to a growing knowledge of ABCD principles in our area, especially among city and community developing personnel and organizations. One relationship that is developing is with the city of Newport News Police and Sheriff’s Departments and their community engagement officers. I have been riding along with officers in the Southeast Newport News community, a low income – high crime area. They are eager to engage these neighborhoods in using improvement strategies instead of direct interdiction.

In the process of these community connecting efforts we are forming relationships with community residents such as Steve Jackson. Steve is a citizen with many positive ideas for improving his neighborhood and is a community leader who is able to organize community actions. I have connected Steve with another resident, Saundra Cherry, who was trained last year in ABCD, is a Hampton University Professor, and is Chair of the Downtown Newport News Merchants and Neighbors Association.

I conducted an ABCD Workshop in partnership with the Peninsula Baptist Association of Newport News in January as well. This has resulted in several churches and their community leaders wanting to know more about applying ABCD in their context.

The work of OneChurch as a community connecting and community developing presence is taking root and producing results as the relationships we’ve been developing have grown.

 Exploring a different vision for creating community

Originally posted on March 28, 2013 on Center for Transforming Communities’ blog (www.ctcmidsouth.blogspot.com)

“Whatever the problem, community is the answer.”

This quote from Margaret Wheatley could have been the mantra for “Engaging Community.  Narrating Change.” last fall with John McKnight, Peter Block and Walter Brueggemann and continues to be the mantra for the people who seek to create community everywhere in their daily lives.

Building upon what 350+ Memphians learned about creating community last November, Center for Transforming Communities (CTC) invited participants to continue the conversation and explore a different vision for creating community – one that changes perspective and emphasis from problems to possibilities.  The vision supports an abundant, satisfying, and strong community that emerges from naming and building upon the existing gifts and assets of individuals living in a neighborhood.

Drawing upon the methodologies of discussion and community building (i.e. knee-to-knee three person groups of “strangers”) introduced by Block, McKnight and Brueggemann, CTC continued to introduce participants to various conversation methods to engage in a lively dialogue about community at a recent gathering at The Commons.  Participants shared moving and interesting stories about how an assets/gifts approach has been applied to build and strengthen community in their neighborhoods along with concrete ideas for learning and sharing “practices of community.”

Here are a few insights from the evening.  (To read the full notes from the meeting, click here.)

• Our culture often mistakes the event (the gala, the luncheon with a keynote speaker, the conference, etc.) as community.  In our modern era, the event has taken the place of community.  We need a re-imagining of events as an experience of and catalyst for ‘true’ community.
• Storytelling moves individuals from being reduced to sound bites (or a recital of a resume) to seeing other, deeper dimensions of our humanity.  Crafting agendas and space for small group conversations and for people to share their story at a more personal level brings healing and connection – necessities of life.  In sharing and hearing our individual stories, we begin to get a glimpse of the universal story in which we are all interrelated.
• Living an attitude of abundance is indeed a paradigm shift.  And, it is living out of this paradigm shift that deep community is experienced.  It requires a shift of values and languagefrom doing for or giving to another person to values and language that recognizes everybody as having gifts to contribute.

There is more to come!  We are just at the beginning of what is possible when we support each other in being intentional about community.  There will be more invitations and opportunities to explore a different vision for creating community.  Visit the CTC website for more information or to sign up for our enewsletter at www.ctcmidsouth.org.

Until the next gathering, you can join the discussion by sharing your story in several ways:

• Below in the comments section, or
• Contacting us at info@ctcmidsouth.org or
• Linking your story to our Facebook page and/or Twitter feed.