Archives for July 2013

Community-Police Relations Forums Breathe Life into the Voice of the Community!

The Community-Police Relations project is a groundbreaking partnership between citizens and law enforcement officers that is challenging both groups to overcome their differences and distrust to work together on the deepest problems of our community.

The forums give you the opportunity to share your story and vision for Community-Police Relations, and will be used to develop and implement recommendations toward positive outcomes through dialogue.

Be a part of the conversation as the community sets the vision of how we will deal with crime and violence in our city.

Read about the July 27th CPR forum in Frayser here.

What Happens at the CPR Forum?

Under the guiding principle to “Keep it Here, Keep it Real, and Keep it Safe,” forum participants are asked four central questions:

1. What is your vision of community and police relations?
2. What are the barriers preventing you from reaching your vision?
3. What are the solutions to reach your vision of community-police relations?
4. How do you reach your solutions to accomplish your vision? .

CPR forums use small group dialogues and other methods, such as Playback theatre, in which real stories are shared and played out by actors on the spot..

---

UPCOMING CPR COMMUNITY FORUMS

Orange Mound Community Forum
Sat., Aug. 10th, 12 – 2:30pm (11:30a sign-in)
2453 Park Ave. Memphis
Host: Pastor Steve Hardrick- Life Change N. Ministries
Outreach Contact: Kelvin Cowan- kelvincowans@hotmail.com

South Memphis/Soulsville Neighborhood Association Forum
Sat., Aug. 28th, 12 – 2:30pm (11:30a sign-in)
Union Valley Baptist Church, 1051 E. McLemore
Soulsville contact: Mrs. Betty Taylor –btaylor7221@att.net
SMA- Ian L. Randolph –  IanRNDLPH@yahoo.com

Getting Involved With CPR

After each forum participants are invited to be a part of the Community Engagement group representing their community. The Community Engagement group will later join the CPR Core Group to discuss recommendations toward reconciliation.  The first Community Engagement meeting will be held Saturday, August 31^st  at 1000 S. Cooper from 12-2pm

---

For more information contact:

Melissa Miller-Monie
Organizing Coordinator
Phone: 901-725-4990
Email: melissa@midsouthpeace.org

The CPR Team: Bridging the Gap between Community and Police Relations
Mid-South Peace and Justice Center, Community Leaders, Memphis Police Department, Sheriff Office, Playback Memphis and a Third Party Facilitator. 

PROJECT HOMELESS CONNECT 4

Sign up to volunteer HERE!

Thursday, September 19, 2013
8:00 am – 4:00 pm
Cook Convention Center
255 North Main Street

You can make a difference. 1,000 people experiencing homelessness and in need of services are expected to attend this fourth installment of a massive outreach and service event to break down barriers that make it difficult to leave homelessness. We need just as many volunteers!

Services Anticipated:
Medical and vision (limited), housing counseling and placement, employment services, Food Stamps, Medicaid, and Social Security, as well as Veteran’s Benefits and related services, substance abuse and mental health, HIV/AIDS testing, legal assistance, counseling and support, IDs, barber shop, donated goods, and food.

To volunteer, please sign up on the Community Alliance for the Homeless website:communityallianceforthehomeless.com or call (901) 527-1302, Monday – Friday, 8:00 am – 5:00 pm. Volunteers must be 18 years of age or older.

---

Growing Strong

The H.O.P.E. Garden Crew has taken off!  Members have been educating themselves about the sustainable food movement, working in community gardens throughout the city, and laying the groundwork for their own garden in Midtown, where many of our members reside. Right now, the Garden Crew is planning a community outreach effort and ‘garden party’ to get input and involvement from the surrounding neighborhood.

“We want to show the community that even if some of us do not have homes, we are still  important,” said one member. “We have the desire and drive to make the neighborhoods in which we live more beautiful, sustainable, and vibrant places for the entire community.”   

You can provide support for this project by donating hand rakes, shovels, hoes, garden gloves, wheelbarrows, tarps, untreated lumber, screws, nails, wooden palettes, sling blades, hand pruners, water hose, volunteers, organic seeds, and other assorted garden supplies. (No chemical fertilizer, please.) If you would like to donate supplies, or join us in the garden one day, please contact Dallas Holland at dallasholland@gmail.com

---

Know Your Rights

On July 20th, H.O.P.E. members organizing with our ‘Street-Watch’ project hosted their third  ‘Know Your Rights’ workshop at Cathedral of Grace Church on East Person, near Hamilton High School in South Memphis. Special thanks to Courtney Golden, Subliminal Thought Organizer, Brandon Shaw, Isaac Kimes, and Josh Spickler with the Shelby County Office of the Public Defender.  We are looking forward to next month’s workshop, which will be held at the same location in late August.

Street-Watch is dedicated to educating our brothers and sisters on the street about their rights when encountering law enforcement as well as focusing on how as a community, we can document instances of police harassment and abuse. We believe we can use data compiled from complaints to pinpoint areas where police harassment is most likely to occur, and help identify ‘problem officers’ who believe that a badge and a gun give them the right to treat people on the streets of Memphis like second-class citizens.

---

Feeding the Movement

H.O.P.E would like to once again thank Just for Lunch who have just hired one of our members! We would also like to thank Memphis Center for Independent Living for providing us with space for our meetings while we seek a permanent location. There are lots of ways to feed the movement, and we would like to thank all of our allies for their continued support.

---

H.O.P.E. is the name of a Mid-South Peace and Justice Center-sponsored organization whose members are exclusively people currently homeless or have formerly experienced homelessness. For over a year now, H.O.P.E. has been organizing and agitating around the issues that are a priority to the homeless community. For meeting times and dates, call 901-300-0006.

“This room is packed like the 50 Poplar” Cynthia Bailey, organizer with the Memphis Bus Riders Union quipped on the microphone Tuesday to a packed room of over 150  bus riders and drivers who attended MATA’s first public hearing on route cuts and changes to come this August.

The evening was marked with many heartfelt comments from riders whose livelihood will be diminished by job loss, increased travel time, loss of access to grocery stores, health services and other necessities. Some crammed together in the doorways of the room to listen to the truth being told. “I have been on a bus when people have called in and said, this bus is running late. And you know what their manager says? Don’t even worry about coming in. That’s sad. There is no way we can get ahead if we do not have a quality public transportation system,” said Sheila Williams. Shouts of “tell it” and “amen” could be heard through the applause. City budget cuts to public transportation have increased at a time when MATA is already dealing with a shortfall in federal funding and a 3.6% increase in ridership.

Memphis Bus Riders Union brought a message that directed the frustration straight to the source. “I’ve been up there on the 5th floor” said MBRU organizer Georgia “Mother” King, speaking of the City Council’s recent budget hearings that left MATA with a 17% cut in city funding. “I’ve seen what goes on up there in committee. I know y’all (MATA) are broke. If the city can give these multibillion dollar corporations all these tax incentives then we know where the money is. We’ve got to fight for it”. MBRU continues to argue that MATA needs a dedicated revenue stream for adequate funding in every budget cycle. Mayor Wharton has broken his campaign promise to make public transportation a priority by willfully balancing the city budget on the backs of low income residents.

Join MBRU Thursday July 25th at MATA’s second public hearing is 5:30 pm to 7;30 pm at the Airways Transit Center 3033 Airways blvd. Then join us Saturday July 27 from 12 pm to 2 pm at the Memphis Center for Independent Living 1633 Madison Ave. for a work and strategy meeting. We are organizing a public forum of our own to be held on August 3rd. Please call 901.205.9737 or email MemphisBRU@gmail.com to find out how you can get involved!

Press coverage from the hearing:

MATA Proposes Layoffs, Route Cuts And Changes WREG

MATA Riders Protest Proposed Route Changes WMC TV

MATA Looking at Cutting Several Routes FOX 13

MATA Facing Layoffs, Route Changes from Budget Cuts ABC 24

ACTION ALERT!!
Please attend the Memphis Bus Rider’s Union meeting this Saturday, July 20th, 12 – 2 pm at  Memphis Center For Independent Living, 1633 Madison Ave (#2 bus route). Help restore an additional $270,000 MATA’s drastically cut budget.

---

(Mayor A C Wharton defending corporate welfare)

This June, the Memphis Bus Rider’s Union (MBRU) joined hundreds of firefighters, sanitation workers, police and other public employees in what was described by budget committee chairman Jim Strickland as the “worst budget season” he’s ever experienced: weeks of heated committee meetings and two all-day budget hearings where dozens of bus riders stayed late into the night (many missing the last line out at 11:15 pm) in order to speak on the budget before it was finalized.

A decision by the council chairman Edmund Ford, Jr. to hear all budget amendments prior to public comment forced the packed chambers to wait hours into the night, only to speak after all the important amendments had been made and voted on. Nevertheless MBRU’s determination to see it through was unwavering. Thanks to the work of our members and supporters doing outreach, contacting city council members, and recruiting and mobilizing riders, community organizers and local leaders, we were able to restore $606,000 of the $2.4 million slash to MATA’s budget. This money allows MATA to continue providing some services that where proposed to be cut, including :

• Weekday night service after 9:15 pm (annual cost $179,000)
• Service on Christmas, Thanksgiving, Independence Day & Labor Day ($37,000)
• Route #5-Central ($82,00)
• Saturday night service after 7:15 pm ($44,000)
• Sunday night service after 5:15 pm ($27,000)

Many bus riders will be able to keep their night jobs because of these efforts. But many will still lose access due to reduction in service areas and times.

There is still an opportunity to restore an additional $270,000 to MATA from the operations budget. This money was lined up in Mayor Wharton’s budget proposal for the Economic Development Growth Engine (E.D.G.E), however E.D.G.E. will not need the money this year and thus, it could go into reserves. On the other hand, if the Council diverts the funds to MATA, bus riders would immediately experience less reduction in desperately needed service. MATA officials have prepared a strategy for this additional funding if it passes, applying the $270,000 directly to high-traffic, fixed-route trips:

• 6 additional trips for the 20 Bellevue
• 5 additional trips for the 39 South Third
• 4 additional trips for the 42 Crosstown (NEW ROUTE)
• 4 additional trips for the 53 Summer

Memphis Bus Riders Union will continue to push for this operations budget money to be allocated to the underfunded operations budget of MATA. We meet will meet this Saturday, July 20th, 12-2 pm at the Memphis Center For Independent Living, 1633 Madison Ave. (across from the Cash Saver), which can be reached by the #2 bus. We have plenty of work to do; putting stamps on letters, phone banking, making t-shirts and fans; forging our collective dream in revolutionary fire and hammering out tangible victories. Join the Memphis Bus Riders Union and STOP the destruction of public transportation!

---

For more information on MBRU and how you can get involved, call (901) 210-3768 and join our email list by sending a request to memphisBRU@gmail.com

 

Recently Restored Homeless Services Funding at Risk Again

Your help is needed now.  Please call County Commissioners James Harvey and Justin Ford at (901) 222-1000 today and urge them NOT to balance the budget on the backs of the poor.  Support the Community Alliance for the Homeless

---

Once again, funding for desperately needed homeless services is on the chopping block, and H.O.P.E. is calling on you for assistance!

Last year H.O.P.E. won historic funding in the county budget for homeless services.  Those dollars were critical in the implementation of the “100 Homes” program, which has been successful in housing the most vulnerable in our community- those who are projected to die in the next two years without intervening housing and supportive services. This was a real victory that would not have been possible without your support, and we were happy to put that battle behind us. However, because the Shelby County Commission has not passed a new tax rate, this newly restored funding for wraparound services for the “100 homes” campaign is once again at risk.

“Ending homelessness can only happen when federal, state and local government align with non-profits, philanthropies under the umbrella of a comprehensive strategic plan such as this,” said Katie Kitchin, executive director of the Community Alliance for the Homelessness. “Homelessness is already down 13 percent in our community, and with these two projects, we can expect even further reductions to come.”

Please call County Commissioners. James Harvey and Justin Ford at (901) 222-1000 and urge them NOT to balance the budget on the backs of the poor and to support the Community Alliance for the Homeless.

Also, please join H.O.P.E. this Wednesday, July 17, 8:30 AM at County Commission to support our members who will be speaking out to ensure this funding that has already helped so many in our community doesn’t get cut!

---

Read more about what this funding means in the Tri-State Defender.

For more informations, please call Paul Garner, Organizing Coordinator for H.O.P.E. at 901.725.4990

We are proud to announce that the 2013 Gandhi-King Conference will take place October 18-19 at BRIDGES in Memphis, TN. The conference will feature a Youth Conference on Friday specially tailored for middle and high school aged youth.

The Community Conference will take place Saturday and is open to all community members of all ages who are interested in building, collaborating and learning together to make a positive change in our community. Both conferences will feature speakers, workshops, presentations, and opportunities for action.

Keep up to date as we release more information at www.GandhiKingConference.org

Interested in presenting at the conference?

We are actively seeking individuals and organizations interested in presenting a workshop or other opportunity at the conference. Come and share your skills, perspective and knowledge. Please review the Call for Proposals page here. Submissions are due by September 1, 2013.

H.O.P.E. Prevents Harmful Budget Cuts

For the second year in a row, H.O.P.E. (Homeless Organizing for Power & Equality) has successfully secured critical funding in the Shelby County budget for homeless services. Last year H.O.P.E. won historic levels of county funding, paving the way for major initiatives such as the 100 Homes Campaign, the creation of 69 new units of supportive housing for families experiencing homelessness, and the creation of a special Veterans Court.

This year, Shelby County Mayor Mark Luttrell initially proposed budget cuts that would reduce services for the most vulnerable by almost 70%. Thanks to the hard work of H.O.P.E. members and allies, those cuts failed. Instead, $200,000 will be allotted for the Mayors’ Plan to End Homelessness. These funds will be used to provide early outreach and in-home case management, substance abuse treatment, medical and psychiatric care for 100 of the most vulnerable individuals experiencing homelessness in our city. These are individuals who, under current conditions without housing and services, are projected to die within the next two years. The funding secured by H.O.P.E. will help support individuals moving into permanent supportive housing until their Medicare benefits are processed.

Your support has made this program possible. H.O.P.E. will continue to fight for a county where every human being has the right to a life with dignity. Our deepest thanks go to Shelby County Commissioner Steve Mulroy for his help and constant support.

---

H.O.P.E. is the name of a Mid-South Peace and Justice Center-sponsored organization whose members are exclusively people who are currently homeless or have formerly experienced homelessness. For over a year now, H.O.P.E. has been organizing and agitating around the issues that are a priority to the homeless community. For meeting times and dates, call 901-300-0006.

---

Know Your Rights

On June 22nd, H.O.P.E. members organizing with our ‘Street-Watch’ project hosted a ‘Know Your Rights’ workshop at Holy Community Church at 602 Looney in North Memphis. We had a great turn out and got to meet a lot of new people. Special thanks to Jacob’s Well, H.O.P.E. organizer, Marian Bacon, Jamey Lee of Holy Community Church, and Josh Spickler with theShelby County Office of the Public Defender.  We are looking forward to next month’s workshop, which will be held at the Cathedral of Grace Church in South Memphis.

Street-Watch educates our brothers and sisters on the street about their rights when encountering law enforcement; and, it focuses on how as a community, we can document instances of police harassment and abuse. We believe we can use data compiled from complaints to pinpoint areas where police harassment is most likely to occur, and help identify ‘problem officers’ who believe that a badge and a gun give them the right to treat people on the streets of Memphis like second-class citizens.

---

Room to Grow

For about a month, H.O.P.E. members have been rolling up theirs sleeves and getting down in the dirt with our Garden Crew.  With the help of Garden Coordinator, Dallas Holland and Julia X, members have been educating themselves about the sustainable food movement, working in community gardens throughout the city, and laying the groundwork for their own garden in Midtown, where many of our members reside.

But, the Garden Crew is about more than just learning how to grow fruits and veggies.  We want to show the community that even if some of us do not have homes, we are still  important; and we have the desire and drive to make the neighborhoods in which we live more beautiful, sustainable, and vibrant places for the entire community.

You can provide support for this project by donating hand rakes, shovels, hoes, garden gloves, wheelbarrows, tarps, untreated lumber, screws, nails, wooden palettes, sling blades, hand pruners, water hose, volunteers, organic seeds, and other assorted garden supplies. (No chemical fertilizer, please.) If you would like to donate supplies, or join us in the garden one day, please contact Dallas Holland at dallasholland@gmail.com

---

Women United!

The experience of homelessness is uniquely different for women. This is especially true in Memphis where there are few, if any, services for homeless single women who do not have a substance abuse issue. 92% of women experiencing homelessness have suffered severe physical and/or sexual abuse, and  dealt with issues of sexual harassment within in the homeless services system.

This month marked the kick-off for the H.O.P.E. Women’s Caucus; a sub-group of H.O.P.E. that will provide a space where members who identify as women can get mutual emotional support, organize around issues that specifically effect women on the street, and participate self-defense trainings.  For more information on how you can support this project, please contact Ace Madjlesi at acemadjlesi@gmail.com.

---

Feeding the Movement

H.O.P.E would like to once again thank Just for Lunch and Trolley Stop Market for showing some love by donating meals each month for our weekly H.O.P.E. meetings! We would also like to thank Memphis Center for Independent Living for providing us with space for our meetings while we seek a permanent location. There are lots of ways to feed the movement, and we would like to thank all of our allies for their continued support.

Once a month the membership of the MSPJC comes together to get updated on the work already happening and to set the direction for future work. This month’s meeting is on Wednesday, July 10th, from 6 to 7:30 pm at our offices at 3573 Southern Ave. All members and folks interested in joining should attend. It is a “Potluck If You Can” event, so please bring a dish if you are able. If not, please just bring yourself- we always have plenty of food & drink!

If you would like to have an item added to the agenda or have any comments, questions, or concerns, please send an email to jacob@midsouthpeace.org.

Hope to see you there!

Take some time this summer to support yourself and your learning! Mid-South Peace and Justice Center is offering two unique workshops in July: Emotional Support for Men on Sunday, July 14th from 2 to 6pm, and Parenting from the Heart on Saturday, July 20th from 2 to 5pm. Keep reading for more details on these workshops and for an early look at the workshops coming up in August.  Contact gio@midsouthpeace.org to register.

Emotional Support for Men
Led by Laura Sullivan

In our society, males are conditioned in many dehumanizing ways. For example, males are viewed as not having the same emotional capacity as females, and the expression of feelings is frowned upon. Men are expected to be self-sufficient and to have all the answers to every problem, which leaves them feeling isolated and alone with their struggles.

The ways that men internalize the negative conditioning have daily effects, from holding in emotions and developing physical illnesses as a result, to finding it difficult to have close, healthy relationships with women (not only romantic relationships, but friendships and relationships with female family members). Additionally, men are pitted against each other in competition for material success and as ‘breadwinners’ of their families. Men are also viewed as expendable human beings, trained to be prepared to sacrifice their lives, whether in military situations or in other times of danger.

This workshop will help men to:
• Understand how negative conditioning affects your life and relationships
• Have a safe place to explore past hurts and current patterns based in old hurts
• Become better allies to women and to learn how to interrupt sexism
• Develop close, healthy relationships with women and men
• Release pent-up feelings of grief, shame, fear, anger, and confusion
• Reclaim a sense of your own goodness and worth

This workshop will also address how intersectionality of oppression affects men, for example, how race and class identities intersect with men’s conditioning and experiences. The intersections of young people’s and young adults’ oppressions, as well as LGBTQ oppression, with the socialization and struggles of men will also be discussed.

When: Sunday, July 14, 2-6pm
Where: MSPJC, 3573 Southern Ave. Memphis TN 38111 – wheelchair accessible.
Cost: Sliding scale $20-$45
*Limited to the first 10 people who register.

Donations for workshop scholarships gratefully accepted!

For more information or to register contact Gio López gio@midsouthpeace.org or call the Mid-South Peace and Justice Center at 725-4990.

---

Parenting from the Heart
Led by Elaine Krueger

Are you looking to have a relationship with your child that is based on mutual understanding and respect?

Do you want to be able to set boundaries and teach the lessons you want to teach through cooperation rather than coercion?

Do you want your children to related to siblings and peers with consideration and support of one another?

Do you want your children to be intrinsically motivated and find strategies to meet their needs that work for themselves AND others?

Do you want to be able to express your frustrations and respond to their frustrations in a way your child will feel safe and loved and you will feel heard?

These issues and more will be addressed in the workshop – Parenting From The Heart: Nonviolent Communication for Parents.

Date: Saturday, July 20
Time: 2p.m. – 5p.m. Please, be on time.
Location: MSPJC, 3573 Southern Ave. Memphis TN 38111- wheelchair accessible
*Limited to the first15 people who register
Cost: $20-$45 Sliding scale.

Some scholarships may be available.
Donations for workshop scholarships gratefully accepted!

---

This August: G.O.T. PODER – Grassroots Organizers Training for Power in Spanish

MSPJC’s fourth annual grassroots organizer training for the Spanish-speaking community will take place August 9th – 11th. This 16 hour training has been vital for the growth of Latino grassroots organizers in Memphis.

Please help us spread the word about this opportunity to your Latino and bilingual friends.

For more information or to register, please check G.O.T. PODER or contact Gio López atgio@midsouthpeace.org or call the Mid-South Peace and Justice Center at 725-4990.

The Community Police Relations (CPR) project has been in high gear in recent weeks, taking the project into the public realm and inviting others to join us.  On Saturday, June 22nd, CPR put on a forum at the Union Grove Baptist Church in Frayser, hosted by Rangeline CDC.

The two-hour forum kicked off with an introduction by community leader, Cherisse Scott, and Lieutenant Mike Embrey, of the Memphis Police Department. Next,Playback Memphis asked CPR participants to describe their experience as part of this groundbreaking project. Other audience members were invited to share their own personal experiences with community and police relations. The improvisational theater group then acted out the stories that were shared,  bringing to life the emotions, complexity, and issues embedded therein. At the conclusion of the forum, attendees divided into three groups and outlined their view of the problems, proposed solutions, and potential challenges to improved community-police relations.

The long-term nature of the CPR project, the staunch support it receives from the administrations of Memphis Police Department and the Shelby County Sheriff’s Office, and the commitment to developing an Action Plan that addresses lasting systemic change differentiate CPR from many previous efforts to solve difficulties between community members and law enforcement. In the coming months, CPR will hold similar forums all over the city, gathering insights shared by community members and law enforcement participants which will be developed into recommendations toward achieving Community and Police Reconciliation.

The Community-Police core group looks forward to working with your communities as we ask the question “What is your vision for Community Police Relations where you live?”

Members from each community visited will be invited to participate in the process leading up to the development of an action plan, based on the community’s need.