The presentation at the city council last night went fine. The mayor has pledged has total support in our efforts to organize the city into identifiable neighborhoods. The council members also seem very supportive. This was a good first step. Next, we are about to go on a fact finding trip to Decatur, Illinois, to look at and hear about their neighborhood development process and tour some of the neighborhoods. We are leaving on Thursday, at 7:30 a.m. We are gathering at The Center. There is no cost, except for lunch and maybe dinner. The city is making some vans available for our use, and Dane, the city manager, has set up our agenda. WE STILL HAVE ROOM, IF YOU ARE INTERESTED! It should be a great day of fun and learning.
Bruce

Agenda


Welcome Richelle Irons, Director, 10:00
Neighborhood Services Department

Introductions

What We Do Sue Niesslie, Past President, CONO 10:15 -10:30
Coalition of Neighborhood Organizations
GM Square Neighborhood Organization

How to Organize Francie Johnson, Community Services/ 10:30-11:00
Decatur Area Project Program Director
Dove, Inc.

Using GIS for Vasudha Pinnamaraju, AICP, 11:00 – 11:20
Neighborhoods Neighborhood Planner -and/or-
Jason B.
Decatur Digital Atlas

Lunch Beach House 11:30 – 1:15
Nelson Park Marina

Neighborhood Tours
NWRAPS Donna Williams 1:30 – 3:00
Nelson Park Stacy Burrous
Holiday Hills Drive through only, no stops

Return to Depart for Galesburg 3:00
Civic Center

We had about 17 people at the meeting. We discussed our next community meal, which we co-sponsor with the Hunger Action Group. It will be April 29, 5-8 p.m., at the First Christian Church. We are going to try to do a little better advertising the meal. We will make commitments at the next hunger group meeting regarding what to bring and who will do what. We decided not to pursue doing a health screening at this dinner.

Our trip to Decatur is tomorrow. We have about 13 or so people going from Galesburg. Dane did a good job with arranging the trip and schedule. His cooperation has been appreciated.

We are going to plan a silent auction fund raiser for May. The exact date has not been set. It will be held at Budde's. Be thinking about something you can donate to be auctioned. My son will provide some music, so it should be a really good time.

The next Nurturing Neighborhoods meeting will be April 20, 6-7:30 pm., at the library. We will begin planning for our goal of dividing the city into neighborhoods. This will be a long and hard process. We will need plenty of help, so bring a neighbor or two.

Bruce

Back from our trip to Decatur. What a day it was! The people in Decatur went way out of their way to make us feel welcome and provide us with invaluable information. Dane, from the city, arranged for a great agenda and a very fruitful day.

The trip was once again an excellent example of how things come together when everyone is on the same page and working towards the same goal. The two community dinners we have co-hosted with the Hunger Action group is another example of how things manage to come together even though we may not exactly know how. Our planning might not be enough, our publicist might not be enough, our money might not be enough, the crowd might not seem big enough, our goals might not seem clear enough, but it happens. We feed people and look for nothing in return. The feeling is overwhelmingly good and extremely satisfying.

I believe our task of organizing the city into neighborhoods will follow this same course. Because it is a good course and the right path. It will help us to be a better city. It will help all of us be better people. It will make our town more inviting to outsiders. We may not know exactly where we are headed. We most certainly will not have enough money. We may not always agree. We will not always get the cooperation we need. And it is likely to take much longer than we would like. But it's the right thing to do. And this group will get it done. Our commitment is unwavering.

So we are ready to start the journey. The next Nurturing Neighborhood meeting will be an important one. Mark down April 20, 6 p.m., at the library. We will start to take our first steps. Try to bring a neighbor. Tell them they don't want to miss out on this. This will be better than American Idol and Dancing With The Stars together.

Bruce

"It's hard to instill any sense of community if you are not even sure what's in the neighborhood and what's not. Often it's obvious that a valley, waterway, railroad tracks, park or highway marks the border. But sometimes you must draw your own lines. If city government does not designate formal neighborhoods in your town, then citizens should get together to do it themselves by creating their own neighborhood organizations."

"When it comes to neighborhoods, like so many human institutions, small is definitely beautiful."

It's best that every neighborhood have an identifiable center, such as a shopping district, park, school, social club, or library, to distinguish it."

"The next step is to put up signs that let folks (including those who live there) know they're entering our neighborhood."

from, "The Great Neighborhood Book," Jay Walljasper

Bruce Weik & Peter Schwartzman

Seems Mr. Rogers had it right all along. It’s the neighborhood, stupid. Well, he wouldn’t have quite put it that way. He was too polite. Every Mr. Rogers Neighborhood show, which aired from 1968-2001, opened with the same invitation: “Won’t you be my neighbor?” It doesn’t seem to get much simpler than that, does it? Since we are all neighbors, why not celebrate this fact and use it to our advantage.
A neighborhood is a geographical location within a city or town. It has boundaries and covers a well-defined area. They often are marked off by roads, business districts, parks, or waterways. Early on, neighborhoods were identified by ethnic, religious or social class. It provided a way for immigrants to maintain their identity and continue to use their language. While these distinctions can still be seen in large cities, they are for the most part becoming increasingly jumbled elsewhere. The prominent theme today is one of diversity. The better a town or city can connect its diverse elements, the more successful it becomes.
We have sort of fallen asleep when it comes to neighborhoods. What was once a vibrant, dynamic, empowering place is now a conglomeration of people, who despite living in close proximity to others, barely know any one nearby. A convergence of many different social influences has worked to keep us apart. Work, technology, urban sprawl, and fear have made us less likely to interact with our neighbors. We prefer to stay to ourselves, and cast suspicion and doubt on those who are unfamiliar. In a misguided effort to make our lives safer, simpler, and less involved, we have shut ourselves off from the many possibilities that active neighborhoods have to offer.
One might ask, what are these possibilities? We plan to elaborate on these over the next couple of issues. Here, let’s look at some things that can and have been useful in the past. The neighborhood is the best and most effective way to tackle such problems as hunger, loneliness, drug sales and use, dilapidated properties, slum lords, health care, and the simple act of just plain helping one another (whether that means mowing the lawn of someone who can’t, taking them shopping, shoveling their drive, or doing house repairs on a pro bono basis). Neighborhoods are the best way for us to build a sense of community, whether this means enjoying fun activities in a neighborhood park, pitching in collectively on a neighborhood garden, working on a specific neighborhood hazard or nuisance (like speeding cars, barking dogs, or drug dealers), or promoting friendliness and reestablishing the function of front porches. We tend to want to sit out back and not be bothered. While that might help our serenity and allow us to avoid human contact, it does little to promote the neighborhood or bring us real peace and comfort.
Strong neighborhoods will help our safety and security. We are living in a time of fear. Some people are afraid to leave their homes. We teach our children to shun strangers. Think about your own situation. Do you know the neighbors living next to you? Three or four houses in each direction? Across the street? Now stretch that out for a block or two each way. Have you ever walked around the neighborhood and introduced yourself? Fairly quickly we begin to see that our efforts and assertiveness to meet our neighbors are pretty low, if non-existent. Often, this lack of connection is the true cause of our fear. And this fear only intensifies when our sensationalized media feeds our insecurities and anxieties further. Fortunately, there are rewarding and successful methods for combatting this fear. It can be as simple as lifting up your head and saying, "Hello," to someone new.
Establishing and strengthening our neighborhoods can result in increasing our community pride and motivating us to begin influencing city policy and decisions from the bottom up. More correctly, it places us at the top, with all the city administrators, politicians, and power brokers subservient to our needs and demands. It gives us a way to take ownership of what is happening around us. Too often we feel like things happen to us and that we have no control. An organized, active, energetic neighborhood organization takes back what we have given up. Rather than casting blame or constantly bitching about this or that, organized neighborhoods help us take positive steps/actions to improve things, to help shape our lives and the lives of our neighbors. An organized neighborhood is a triple win situation. The neighborhood wins, the city wins and we win.
Mr. Rogers really had it right when he invited us to be his neighbor. In a way, I suppose the Nurturing Neighborhood Action group is doing the same, with a slightly different twist. “Won’t you help us organize your neighbors?” Together we can make a difference. (For more information on our project, read future contributions here, or come to the next Nurturing Neighborhoods Meeting at the Galesburg Public Library (2nd Floor) on Tuesday, April 20th).

by Bruce Weik and Peter Schwartzman

A neighborhood doesn’t just happen. Oh sure, you have neighbors. We all, for the most part, have neighbors. But the fact of the matter is: do we know who they are? Have you bothered getting to know them? If a neighborhood is to be a vital, active, humanizing part of our lives, we will have to work hard at reviving our neighborhoods. There are no textbook solutions. To bring back a vibrant, dynamic, empowering neighborhood, it starts with you.
The first thing that building a neighborhood needs is for someone (or perhaps a pair of someones) to step forward and be willing to organize an initial meeting of the neighbors. This obviously takes some time and energy. With the aid of only a few other volunteers, leafleting the neighborhood is a good first step. Leaflets should describe their intentions and set a meeting (including, time, date, and place—a driveway or garage works). A meeting will allow interested parties to share their concerns and air their aspirations and fears. It serves as a launching point for the development of a viable neighborhood.
Undoubtedly, it takes courage to step up and organize such a gathering. Some will doubt themselves and in moments of reflection will ask, "Why bother? What is the payoff?" As we pointed out in our last essay (dated 4/1/10), neighborhoods will enable us to live together in peace and without fear. Our efforts will give us pride and motivate us to become active members in the future of our community.
But what does a neighborhood look like? There is no clear formula. Some will be larger than others but, generally speaking, each should be fairly small. This is mainly for practical purposes. It is easier to get things done and have everyone agree on a particular direction in a small group versus a large one. Geographically, the boundaries of a neighborhood should be established by roads, parks, historical buildings, railroad tracks, waterways, or shopping centers. Setting the boundaries is a very important first step. It sets the stage for other necessary steps.
Once we know where the neighborhood is, then it is time to spread the word and encourage people to join in the fun. It isn't fun only because of block parties and neighborhood events that may ensue, it is fun because it is about improving security and safety. These are fundamental necessities for a livable neighborhood. No one wants to worry about vandals, drug dealers, violent dogs, speeding cars, or extremely loud noises. Life is hard enough to begin with. Having to deal with unruly neighbors adds to pressures and stresses that we can easily live without. Fear is one of our biggest challenges in today’s world. Most often, this fear comes from not knowing or attempting to understand who our neighbors are and what they are up to. We have about 130 Neighborhood Watch groups in Galesburg. Some are active, many are not. A neighborhood watch group is a good addition to a neighborhood, but not its sole purpose. In fact, there may be several neighborhood watch groups within the boundaries of any given neighborhood. Perhaps this is where a neighborhood organization will draw its initial energy from. Alternatively, it will be from some other existing group that has strong neighborhood connections. Or, maybe it will start with you.
Galesburg is struggling. That is not a secret. Economically, we are hurting. Our dropout rate in high school is unacceptable. Drug use and sales are high. People are hungry. Others cannot pay high utility bills. Others go without health care. Maintaining properties becomes more and more difficult. Will establishing and strengthening neighborhoods end these problems? No. That would not be a realistic expectation. But can a neighborhood help? The answer is unequivocally yes.
Reviving old-fashioned neighborliness can move us forward. Neighbors watching out for each other can make a huge difference. Can the neighborhood pitch in to help someone who cannot get their lawn mowed, for whatever reason? Can the neighbors get food to a household that is down on its luck? Can a group of neighbors approach someone with a threatening dog and voice their concerns? Can neighbors organize a driving service for people who have no other options? Can neighborhoods put heat on the city administration for a slumlord who is not taking care of a property and taking advantage of the occupants? Or a house that is obviously selling drugs? Can a neighborhood organization petition the council for a park or ask that a vacant city-owned lot be used as a neighborhood garden? The answer is "yes" to all these questions. Working together, all of these things become easier than trying to do it individually.
Currently, our administrators search for that business that will come to town and supply us with jobs. We in fact pay them to do so. By organizing our neighborhoods and energizing each other, we are of the belief that this would no longer be necessary. Great neighborhoods make great cities. The more we invest in one another, the more outsiders will invest in us. Active, revitalized neighborhoods will attract investors to Galesburg. It’s a sure thing. The bottom line is we have got to up the ante. The city administration cannot do this for us. The city council cannot do this for us. GREDA cannot do this for us. WE HAVE TO DO THIS FOR OURSELVES AND OUR CHILDREN. We have to pump life into the neighborhoods. We have to revitalize our city. And it is imperative that we get started NOW. The Nurturing Neighborhood action group is looking for interested people to organize your neighborhood. We will supply what knowledge we have and lend a hand with the grunt work. Together we can make a difference, one neighborhood at a time.
No one is going to tell you, “Here is your neighborhood.” No one is going to define it for you, or tell you what to do once you have a neighborhood organization up and running. The neighborhood calls the shots. The options are endless but they have to start somewhere. In fact, there are tools that have been developed in other cities that we will share in our next essay. At this point, we just ask that a few people step up and be counted. The time is now and we've got lots of people to support you in this neighborhood endeavor. So let's get started. Call 342-1593 if you are interested, or e-mail us at <weik@grics.net> or <thepeopleingalesburg@gmail.com>. Or better yet, attend the next Nurturing Neighborhood meeting at the public library, on April 20th, at 6 pm.

Trying to keep everyone updated:

1. Remember the 3rd dinner, which will be on April 29, First Christian Church, at the corner of North St. and Broad. We will finalize assignments at the Nurturing Neighborhood Action meeting on April 20, 6pm, at the library.

2. I have scheduled a fund raiser at Budde's for May 26. This will be a silent auction. No start time yet. Start thinking about something you can donate for the auction. At the Nurturing Neighborhood meeting we will ask for volunteers to seek some donations from businesses. We will probably also do a 50/50 drawing. It should be a great evening. The money will be used to fund projects going on with the Hunger Action Group and the Nurturing Neighborhood Action Group.

3. I am hoping that we will be able to identify at least one neighborhood that can start organizing itself at the April 20 meeting. Be thinking about your neighborhood and whether you or someone else would be willing to start the process. The Nurturing Neighborhood group will help in any way that we can to give that person or persons support.

4. One final point: Live your life like it matters

Bruce

NURTURING NEIGHBORHOODS ACTION GROUP
AGENDA
APRIL 20, 2010

1. Final preparations for dinner on April 29 at First Christian Church, corner of Broad and North, 5-8pm.
A. Any food needs?
B. Van
C. Next dinner

2. The trip to Decatur was very informative. The City of Galesburg was helpful and provided us with transportation. Dane arranged the agenda with the people in Decatur,which included a tour of several neighborhoods. I think everyone enjoyed the trip.

3. The silent auction has been scheduled for May 26 at Budde’s Pizza and Bar. We will need to do a 50/50 raffle and set up and have items to auction. Anyone wanting to make a donation can do so. We need at least 25 items. Charlie Hayes will be doing an open mic that evening. We need to start advertising this. In what name will we be doing it under? No specific time set yet.

4. We are hoping to apply for a grant through the Pepsi Company. This will be sort of a fun thing. In preparation, the dinner on the 29th will be video-taped by a Knox student to be used with the grant. The city has agreed to put up a couple of people to help us with this.

5. Organizing neighborhoods. Do we have anyone ready to step forward? If we can recognize one or two or three people who are ready to proceed, we can discuss how to help them get started. If no one steps forward, we will need to plan on how to find someone.

The next meeting will be on May 18, 6-7:30, at the library.

We had about 17 people present, which included about 5 new people. To summarize:
1. We are ready for the 3rd free community, neighborhood meal on Thursday, April 29, at the First Congregational Church, on the corner of Broad and North.
The city is going to make the Handivan available for a reduced price. We are grateful for this cooperation.

2. We will be preparing for a Silent Auction at Budde's Pizza and Bar, on East Main St. The date is May 25, from 5-8 pm or so. If you have anything to donate for the auction, please let us know. We are also looking into having T-shirts made for the event. PLEASE PLAN ON ATTENDING. It will be a fun night.

3. We are continuing to prepare to apply for a grant from the Pepsi Co. To prepare for this, a student from Knox will be filming our dinner on the 29th.

4. We did have two people step forward to begin the process of organizing their neighborhoods. This is exciting. We are moving further towards accomplishing this goal, which is to get as many neighborhoods as possible organized in Galesburg. If we can get two or three neighborhoods moving down this road, I think it will help our future success in getting others to join in.

We decided to have our next meeting at the Pizza House. We will supply pizza and soda. The meeting will begin at 6pm, and will go until 7:30 or 8. PLEASE PLAN ON ATTENDING. Your input is needed.

Bruce

Dinner number three was a huge success. We fed about 250 people. Many needed the meal. All needed the interaction and conversation. IT WAS INCREDIBLE!
Thanks to everyone who pitched in. Once again, what happened is amazing to watch. Without a lot of detailed preparation, everything comes together. My feeling is it is the weaving of good intent with wonderful people creates this moment of synchronicity. Everything just feels right.

A special thanks to the First Christian Church for hosting the event and providing much of the dinnerware. It proved to be a great place to hold a dinner. The Carl Sandburg Jazz Ensemble provided music that was much appreciated. And a special thanks to DeWayne Sperlin from Pizza House for providing the spaghetti. He has been very generous. Bread was donated by Jimmy Johns and Billy's Bakery. Thanks to all.

We collected a tremendous amount of food, which the church is going to take to FISH. There were easily over 500 items. Again, it was fun to watch. Some people brought a case of canned goods, others one or two cans. The giving is generous, even for those who do not have much. It is inspirational, to say the least.

So it's on to the fourth meal, which will take place at the Second Baptist Church, sometime in June.

We now need to prepare for our fundraiser at Budde's on May 25. We need to start spreading the word and looking for donations for the Silent Auction. See you at the Nurturing Neighborhood action meeting, which will take place at the Pizza House, May 18, starting at 6 pm.

In the spirit of feeding people one meal at a time, and building neighborhoods we can be proud of,

Bruce

We need to begin preparing for our Silent Auction on May 25, 5-9pm, at Budde's. We will need about 20-25 items to auction. Look for something you can donate, or start soliciting. Try to find things that people will bid on. We will also hold a 50/50 raffle. Spread the word. It should be a nice evening.
Bruce

The silent auction has been postponed. Maybe later in the summer.

"The trick is in what one emphasizes. We either make ourselves miserable, or we make ourselves happy. The amount of work is the same." Carlos Castaneda

I think it would be best to take a month off to relax and regroup. Summer is a busy time of year, and June seems like a good month to rest. We have been in existence for ten months, and have accomplished a lot. It is now time to work on organizing the neighborhoods. THIS IS CLEARLY OUR BIGGEST CHALLENGE. It will be met with resistance in various quarters. "The time is not right." "The city is not with us." I am going to do a little recruiting and attempt to engage some of the city administration. Some members are concerned that the city is not with us on organizing the neighborhoods. While I disagree with this opinion, I do think it would help if some members of the administration were present at our meetings.

So in July we will move forward. Peter is thinking about a public forum specifically for discussing policing issues in Galesburg. Many people have concerns regarding police behavior, response time, and lack of follow-up, etc. In order to get a better handle on this, a public meeting might be in order.

Clear your schedule for July 20, 6pm, at the library, for the Nurturing Neighborhoods Action group meeting. With the release of the "Knox County Community Analysis," done by Health Systems Research, part of the University of Illinois College of Medicine at Rockford, it is clear that the time to work on our neighborhoods is NOW. The call to us should be to get this moving, with or without the naysayers. Lively, livable, nurturing neighborhoods will be the best way for us to work ourselves out of the gloom portrayed in this report.

Enjoy the summer. It's back to work in July.

Bruce