Madeline Estes

This week Faith and Paul from MSPJC have been spending the week at Memphis Business Academy in Frayser teaching students about their rights! Joined by Kyresha Goodman, a summer intern who continues to help with the work of the JJP, they are teaching the students what their rights are. Each day they are taking over a different grade’s English class to host Know Your Rights Workshops with the teens. They have had a great time getting to know the students.

Teacher Darren Clark said “It’s great that you’re coming out here. They need to know this. Sometimes they might get angered with police but they need to know how to deal with it until they get home.”

Most of us, even us “woke” folks, have been well schooled on what we think our rights are when it comes to encounters with police officers. Cop dramas and movies have informed many of our beliefs about the way police interact with the public, and often this has shaped the way we engage with law enforcement in real life either consciously or unconsciously. Memphis United and the Juvenile Justice Project (JJP) want to clear up these misconceptions so that we can all be successful when we encounter law enforcement.These unique workshops use interactive theatre to educate young people about their rights and how to better communicate with law enforcement. Participants become the actors playing out real-life scenarios without the real-life consequences of an encounter law enforcement.

We love going all over the city and working with students. Let us come to you! Our workshops are free, interactive, and help tie in the constitution. We can work around your schedule. To bring us to your school, youth group, or other organization reach out to Faith Pollan at faith@midsouthpeace.org or call the center at 901-725-4990.

The work of the Juvenile Justice Project unfortunately does not fund itself and we need your help! You can donate online at https://midsouthpeace.org/get-involved/donate-now/ and help keep the movement going!

GIVE  H.O.P.E 2018

It’s almost time for the 2nd annual GIVE H.O.P.E fundraiser! H.O.P.E. is proud to announce our new annual fundraiser where we celebrate the achievements of H.O.P.E with a night full of laughter, food, and fun. The night will consist of dinner, entertainment , door prizes, buttons, t-shirts, and the Bridge street paper for sale and video of the past with H.O.P.E. The tickets are $20 online at eventbrite or at the door, and $140.00 for a sponsored table of 8. The sponsored table also gets notable mention and an ad in the program. The proceeds of the event will go to H.O.P.E’s outreach efforts, including bus passes and shelter vouchers, given to those experiencing homelessness, as well as to St. Mary’s Pop Top Ministry, which provides snack bags to those men and women experiencing homelessness every Saturday. GIVE H.OP.E. will be held on Saturday, Sept. 29 at St. Mary’s Episcopal Church (700 Poplar) from 3-6 PM. Please come out and celebrate this worthy cause!  ~GET TICKETS NOW~

Project Homeless Connect 2018

It’s getting close! Project Homeless Connect 2018 is right around the corner, and HOPE wants YOU… to volunteer at this day-long service provider fair, where those people experiencing homelessness can access a host of services and resources under one roof. These services often include housing assessments, minor medical clinics, job resources, haircuts, and more.. It is on October 11, starting at 8AM and will be held at the Cook Convention Center. Volunteer registration is now open, and you can choose from a list of duties and time-slots that best meet your availability and specific interest! For more info, and to register, just go to www.cafth.org.

For more information about how you can help donate or support HOPE or those who do the work to combat homelessness,or would like to put on a HOPE shirt and volunteer,  contact Tamara Hendrix, (901)725.4990 or  tamara@midsouthpeace.org.

Feed the Movement!

H.O.P.E. would like to thank Marcos Pizza for providing pizzas for the H.O.P.E meetings on the 1st Wednesday of the month! H.O.P.E  is a supportive advocacy group for people with the experiences of homelessness. For many groups and organizations offering free food at meetings is a plus for their attendees, but for H.O.P.E. it is a necessity, due to the fact that most often the meal offered at H.O.P.E. meetings may be the only meal they will have that day. Also we would like to thank another one of our new sponsors , Hattie B’s! Please give these businesses your service and tell them H.O.P.E. sent you!

How can you help? You can help by donating prepared foods on Wednesdays to our meeting that afternoon. Don’t have time to cook or buy prepared foods and bring them to our meeting space? We also accept monetary donations towards this cause. Neither of those options seem feasible for you presently? We are also looking for restaurants willing to donate food to our meetings. As always, all forms of donations are completely tax deductible.

If you would like to discuss how you can offer support to HOPE please call Tamara @ 901-254-5964 or email tamara@midsouthpeace.org.

Check the newsletter every week for curios details of this 10 years of G.O.T. Power

10 for 10:We are raising 10K for G.O.T. Power, Grassroots Organizers Training for Power’s 10 anniversary!

10 Years: G.O.T. Power started in 2008 with a commitment to growing our community’s capacity through building skills in grassroots organizing, providing support to people doing community work and offering anti-oppression and liberation education. Using Popular and Direct Education methodology that directly confronts and challenges the current system of injustice and oppression. Direct Education is about liberation and empowerment and going to the direct source of wisdom: the community itself!

$10: We need your support to continue offering affordable training opportunities for people who are doing great work in our communities. Your donation will help us provide scholarships for people of color, training materials, increase our reach, advertise, and more. We are asking you to give $10 in honor of our 10 years of training in the Mid-South.

10K: It’s our goal to get $10K, in the next six months, to make sure that this unique and affordable anti-oppression education continues.

Donate $10 or more! https://midsouthpeace.org/10for10

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Community Organizing Skills Training: November 2-4, 2018!

Join Mid-South Peace and Justice Center’s Community Organizing Skills Training on November 2, 3 & 4!

Our three-day Community Organizing Skills Training explores the foundational skills to be organizers and create systematic change in a group or community, keeping nonviolence as a foundation.

This training is fully interactive and has direct application in each session. We use a combination of popular and experiential education, allowing participasnts to explore in a hands-on, direct manner, while also drawing out the expertise that the individual already has within.

Who should attend this Community Organizer Training?
Experienced and less-experienced organizers,  activists, community leaders and any one who wants to learn what ‘community organizing’ is all about.

Topics covered include:
Roles of Social Change, Campaign Planning, Facilitating Meetings, Working with Media and an intro to Nonviolent Direct Action.

Where: 1870 Madison Ave, Memphis, TN 38104, IBEW Local 474
When: Friday, November 2:  6-9pm
Saturday, November 3:  9am-5pm
Sunday, November 4:   2-6:30pm

****** No partial attendance allowed ******

Cost: If your annual income is:
Less than $15,000             You pay: $30
$15,000-$25,000                             $50
$25,000-$35,000                             $100
$35,000-$45,000                             $150
$45,000-$55,000                             $225
$55,000 -$65,000                             $300
Over $65,000                                  $375
Organizational budget over $65K      $375

REGISTER HERE!

Sliding scale based on the individual’s income. If your organization is sending you to the training, use the organizational budget to determine the fee. Please consider that it costs MSPJC $200+ per person to do the training.
Fee includes 14+ hours of training, simple snacks, light breakfast and lunch on Saturday, materials and follow up support from a network of the mid-south’s best organizers and activists.
Some scholarships may be available, please request scholarship application by email.
Donations for workshop scholarships gratefully accepted!

Registration online or by phone is required for all trainings.
For more information call 901-725-4990, email to gio@midsouthpeace.org

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G.O.T. Power at Campaign Non-Violence Memphis: Week of Action!

This September 15-23, 2018, Campaign Nonviolence is organizing its week of action where peace and justice groups across the world are planning marches, events, civil disobedience, etc. to stand in solidarity. G.O.T. Power will be there, providing a Nonviolent Communication Training with our Training Director, Gio Lopez; Monday, September 17th, 6 – 8:30 pm (Location to be announced.)

For more info, visit: cnvmemphis.org

Please contact us to get more information and schedule a training in your group or community. Fees are negotiable, scholarships are available and donations for scholarships are greatly appreciated. Trainings can be designed specifically for established groups, organizations, campaigns, coalitions, etc. Comprehensive weekend workshops on specific organizing skill sets, issue or community-specific formats are available.

Trainings in Spanish are also available. All trainings are offered in English or Spanish as requested. We work and collaborate with bilingual trainers and facilitators.
G.O.T Poder – Entrenamientos en Español

For more information visit G.O.T.Power or write to GotPower@midsouthpeace.org

                                                ≈• Please Let Us Know What You Think ≈•
The Training Department of the Mid-South Peace & Justice Center (G.O.T. Power) would like to hear from the movement community. We want to know what you think about us and how we could better support your work or group! Please take a couple minutes to complete this short survey. This survey is for everyone, whether you have attended a workshop or not! Feel free to list your name or remain anonymous.
G.O.T Power Survey

It’s almost time for the 2nd annual GIVE H.O.P.E. fundraiser! H.O.P.E. is proud to announce our new annual fundraiser where we celebrate the achievements of H.O.P.E with a night full of laughter, food, and fun. The night will consist of dinner, entertainment , door prizes, buttons, t-shirts, and the Bridge Street Paper for sale and video of the past with H.O.P.E. The tickets are $20 online at eventbrite or at the door, and $140.00 for a sponsored table of 8. The sponsored table also gets notable mention and an ad in the program. The proceeds of the event will go to H.O.P.E.’s outreach efforts, including bus passes and shelter vouchers, given to those experiencing homelessness, as well as to St. Mary’s Pop Top Ministry, which provides snack bags to those men and women experiencing homelessness every Saturday. GIVE H.OP.E. will be held on Saturday, Sept. 29 at St. Mary’s Episcopal Church (700 Poplar) from 3-6 PM. Please come out and celebrate this worthy cause! GET TICKETS NOW!

The JJP is working with Juvenile Court to build networks of churches and organizations to address our high number of youth offenders and the lack of opportunities for court ordered community service, specifically in the areas of Hickory Hill & Bartlett. We believe that youth are the solution, not the problem so we work with these teens to help them find their place in their  communities through transformative service opportunities. Studies continue to show that punitive measures often lead to a continued life of crime as opposed to seeking more rehabilitative opportunities, MSPJC firmly adheres to the idea of working with those most affected by the issues. Help us build a better Memphis and partner with our youth.

The work of the Juvenile Justice Project unfortunately does not fund itself and we need your help! You can donate online at https://midsouthpeace.org/get-involved/donate-now/ and help keep the movement going!

Updates on the Co-op Memphis/HOPE House

H.O.P.E. has been partnering with Co-Op Memphis, a collective under the fiscal sponsorship umbrella of Mid-South Peace & Justice Center, to form an intentional community house, where clients who are experiencing homelessness can get hospitality like coffee, clean clothes, and assistance with job readiness. We will be hosting fundraisers in order to get the house renovated and ready to open, and we will be announcing a clean-up day, where supporters from the larger community can come and help us clean the house and do minor maintenance and repairs. Watch this space for updates on fundraisers and Open house days!

Project Homeless Connect 2018

It’s getting close! Project Homeless Connect 2018 is right around the corner, and HOPE wants YOU… to volunteer at this day-long service provider fair, where those people experiencing homelessness can access a host of services and resources under one roof. These services often include housing assessments, minor medical clinics, job resources, haircuts, and more.. It is on October 11 starting at 8AM, and will be held at the Cook Convention Center. Volunteer registration is now open, and you can choose from a list of duties and time-slots that best meet your availability and specific interest! For more info, and to register, just go to http://www.cafth.org/project-homeless-connect-2018.

JOIN HOPE At City Hall: Aug 28!

There have been a considerable number of deaths over the past years of people living on, or formerly living on the streets, many of whom H.O.P.E. members knew as friends until their passing. Our charge today, is that one death is far too many! We must let the powers that be know that we need more affordable housing for people experiencing homelessness. People are not expendable, and they certainly have rights. Housing is a human right! So, H.O.P.E. will stir the pot until this topic boils to the top and is an everyday topic.

H.O.P.E. is planning a Day at City Hall, 125 N. Main on August 28 at 4:30 p.m. Parking will be FREE in the Mud Island lot at Poplar & Front Street. Although we are not on the agenda, we are going to pull  comment cards for the ‘Public Comment’ section of the meeting. This may take some time, because we have to wait until the regular agenda is over. We want to pack the place with supporters and signs to demonstrate how unfair it is to allow people to die without a home and be forced to live in uninhabitable conditions. We want the council to feel our pain, and pledge to do something about these travisties. Please meet us on this day to stand up for those who can’t and be an advocate for people experiencing homelessness!

When young men in Shelby County are set to be tried as adults, they are kept in a special pod at Jail East, the women’s jail. These teens are often battling feelings of fear, anxiety, and uncertainty. The Juvenile Justice Project and members of the G.O.T. Power training department are partnering for a series of workshops with the youth at Jail East to assist these young people in developing skills for exploring their trauma, practicing self care through movement, and building leadership skills.

This past week, we had our first session at Jail East. We spent our time getting to know each other, getting comfortable moving in our bodies, and exploring our hopes for the future. We had a wonderful time getting to know these young men, who were suprisingly open and full of laughter. We are so excited to continue getting to know these resilient teens.

The JJP has also been continuing its core mission: working to assist Juvenile Court by building networks of churches and organizations to address our high number of youth offenders and the lack of opportunities for court ordered community service, specifically in the areas of Hickory Hill & Bartlett. We believe that youth are the solution, not the problem. We work with young people to help them find their place in the  community through transformative service opportunities. Studies continue to show that punitive measures lead to a continued contact with the criminal justice system, as opposed to seeking more rehabilitative and restorative alternatives. MSPJC believes that no ammount of empathy or academic knowledge can match the expertise that comes with lived experience. That’s why we’re working with young people who are the most directly affected by youth crime and violence to find solutions to these issues. Help us build a better Memphis, partner with our youth!

The important work of the Juvenile Justice Project  does not fund itself and we need your help! You can donate online HERE and help keep the movement going!