Last month, the MSPJC Training Department hosted a Facilitation Skills Workshop and a Nonviolence Skills Training.
Facilitation Skills was a two-hour workshop for twelve participants who practiced facilitation skills while facing conflict. We transformed the workshop space into a ‘laboratory’ to test, discover and try new behaviors as facilitators. Facilitation is integral to community organizing, but more than that, good facilitation will help the participants of any group or organization to grow and succeed.
The next Facilitation Skills Workshop will be on November 20, 6:00pm – 8:30pm. Can’t wait till November? Please email gio@midsouthpeace.org if your group or organization would like to have this workshop sooner.
Nonviolence Skills was a full day training provided by Meta Peace Team. Around 30 participants from Memphis, Chattanooga, and Birmingham were able to navigate through stories of empowerment, the theoretical and spiritual basis of nonviolence, and the roots of violence. Participants also practiced communication skills: active Listening, “I” messages, the CLARA technique, and strategies to de-escalate violence.
GOT Power is looking to build and grow this relationship with Meta Peace Team and continue bringing Nonviolence Skills Training to the Mid-South.
Upcoming in July…
The Storyteller as Activist
This workshop will allow participants to improve their listening skills and develop their own storytelling skills.
A Workshop with Elaine Blanchard
Elaine Blanchard is a storyteller who believes that telling our stories to each other can save the world from war and other forms of destruction. When we share our stories we build a bridge of understanding from one person to another; stereotypes are dissolved and both teller and listener are connected by their shared human experiences. As we become a community of storytellers we improve our relationships and construct a safer place for all of us to call home.
Date: Tuesday, July 29
Time: 6:30p.m. – 8:30p.m. Please, be on time.
Location: 450 Mulberry St Memphis TN 38103 – Links Education Center, National Civil Rights Museum. Wheelchair accessible.
*Minimum 12, maximum 25 people who register.
Cost: $20-$45 Sliding scale.
REGISTER NOW
Registration online or by phone is required to attend.
Donations for workshop scholarships gratefully accepted!
Learn more about Elaine Blanchard here or contact her at Elaine@elaineblanchard.com.
For more information on anything happening with the MSPJC Training Department, please contact Training Director Gio López at gio@midsouthpeace.org or 901-725-4990.
G.O.T. Power, a Mid-South Peace and Justice Center’s training program, is committed to building our community’s capacity through building skills in grassroots organizing, providing support to people doing community work and offering oppression awareness and liberation education.
We are pleased to announce our support and fiscal sponsorship of the new Cooperative Memphis! Like many community-based initiatives, the Mid-South Peace and Justice Center will incubate CoOperative Memphis as it grows into a meaningful force for good in Memphis.
The Will Hudson Transit Center, also known as the North End Terminal or “NET”, is MATA’s most used transit hub. 23 of MATA’s 31 routes begin at the NET, which was built in 1998. The terminal serves as more than just a place to transfer or wait for your bus. You can buy your monthly pass, converse with fellow riders, and access critical information about service changes. The NET has working pay phones, plenty of seating and bathroom facilities. It also provides climate-controlled shelter from severe Memphis weather – the sweltering hot summers or freezing rainy winters – a protection that most bus shelters simply don’t provide.
We have begun to increase pressure on MATA to improve conditions at the terminal, a move sparked by the recent assault on a rider by one of the Pro-Tech security guards who are contracted by MATA. At the next MATA Board meeting, board members will vote to expand their contract with CDA/MaxSent, the security company who serves all other MATA facilities, to replace Pro-Tech at the NET. MBRU members have also brought attention to the terminal by sharing pictures of the conditions through social media and giving tours to members of the board.
MBRU members want improvements that go beyond a touch of paint or even a functional soap dispenser, (although that would be nice!). Members have suggested such improvements as multiple working electrical sockets near benches that allow riders to charge cell phones, free wireless Internet, and public art. The NET should be a place where people feel comfortable and welcome. A desirable environment with plants and color, not an institutional concrete shell that feels like a corral for cattle. The second floor of the terminal used to be home to the Tennessee Career Center, a much-needed resource for bus riders, which moved out this year due to leaks in the ceiling. Perhaps structural improvements would bring this kind of supportive service back to the building.
This month we welcome Ace F. Madjlesi as the new Associate Director of the Mid-South Peace and Justice Center. Ace joins us from the 