It is that time of year where the seasons change and temperatures dip. For some, this means curling up by the fire with a good book and a pumpkin spice latte, but for those without a home, it means surviving temperatures that put them at serious risk every night. However, then there is Room in the Inn, a growing coalition of churches that host those experiencing homelessness, providing them with a safe place to sleep and get meals from November-March.

However, stay is based a lottery system, as there are a limited amount of slots at each church. We need more churches to get involved so we don’t have to turn anyone away. There are also lots of ways to support RITI as a volunteer placed in one of the churches. They even have weekend shifts if you work during the week. Just log on to roomintheinn-memphis.org or contact Whitney at whitney@roomintheinn-memphis.org. Room In the Inn has become more than just a place to sleep– for many, it’s a home. So spread a little cheer this holiday season and volunteer at the Room In the Inn!

H.O.P.E News

We are enjoying our new space at St. Mary’s Episcopal Church and grateful to Rev. Andrews, Emily, Jasper and his crew for bearing with us as we transition. H.O.P.E. is looking forward to working with our new friends as well as connect with others through this ministry. St. Mary’s offers a nice somber church service on Wednesday and then a sit down breakfast, as well as on Saturday, the Pop Top Ministry. The Pop Top Ministry provides snack crackers, Vienna sausages, granola bars, etc to those experiencing homelessness. Our very own treasurer, Mother Georgia King, is having a drive for these items as well as monetary donations now-November 10th. Please contact Mother King at 901-650-7321 for more details or on how to donate to the Pop Top Ministry.

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.

In 2012 the Department of Justice (DOJ) identified around 120 issues with Shelby County Juvenile Justice system, many of which concerned disproportionate treatment of youth of color. According to recent findings “nearly half of the items under the equal protection category are in ‘partial compliance.’ Only 25 percent, or eight items in that category, were in ‘full compliance.'” (Commercial Appeal)

While several local officials, including newly elected Shelby County Mayor Lee Harris, assure constituents that local oversight will continue, others are not as convinced. “When we say equal protection, we’re talking about African-American and Latino children who are in the system, and they’re being unfairly treated and not receiving equal access to justice, equal access to their rights,” said Commission Chairman Van Turner. “For them to pull oversight at this juncture — it should trouble everyone in this county.”

Furthermore, multiple Shelby county commissioners have expressed concern that they only found out about this change from the media. “This underhanded decision, this underhanded move just really makes me wonder whose children matter,” said Commissioner Tami Sawyer. “And until we can see that all kids do matter, that black and brown kids matter in Shelby County, we’ll have to continue to fight.”

The Juvenile Justice Project is committed to working with those directly affected by the justice system here in Memphis. Too often we see that the difference between intervention and jail sentences depend on skin color and socioeconomic levels. We will continue following this story and working towards a true system of Justice for our youth. Youth are the solution, not the problem!

Greetings, transit warriors! MATA has announced their new list of service changes for this month! This revised list has much fewer cuts, and this is a big win for bus riders. Thanks to everyone who called, canvassed, and showed up to support neighborhood bus service! MATA will be voting on these changes at their Board meeting THIS Thursday, October 25th at 3:30 PM. This meeting will be at the Hollywood Community Center (1560 N. Hollywood), and riders can get there on the #32 or #8 bus! See MATA’s new service changes here.

New Initiative Reduces Court Dates for Misdemeanor Citations

Under the strategy, people issued misdemeanor citations go to records to be identified and processed and then they go to court all in one day. In the past, they had to be booked one day and then return a second day for their initial court date.

“Not everyone can make it to court for two days,” said Brad Watkins, executive director of the Mid-South Peace and Justice Center. “Not all of us are fortunate to have jobs where we have paid time off or are allowed to take time off, so you have a lot of people who are choosing between making a living and taking care of what is a minor and nonviolent offense.”

(Read More)

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To support the Mid-South Peace and Justice Center in doing more work like the Misdemeanor Citation Consolidation please donate here: www.midsouthpeace.org/donate-now

This month HOPE lost a very dear friend, Lee Brown. He was one of the first HOPE members and was well known on the street as a tough guy with a heart of gold, and someone you could count on to have your back. Lee served his country as a U.S. Marine, and in his later life, became a staple of the Binghampton community, where he could often be found conversing and making wisecracks at Caritas Village. Many of the health conditions that contributed too Lee’s deteriorated health were directly linked to the lack of care he was able to access due to his circumstances of poverty and lack of housing. “He was a kind hearted man,“ said Michael Krause, member of HOPE. The HOPE family would like to express our sincere condolences to Lee’s all of friends, family, and loved ones. Rest In Power, Lee. You will not be forgotten.

Greetings, transit warriors! MBRU is happy to announce our new TRANSIT SURVEY! We want to hear from riders all over Memphis about how you use MATA service in your neighborhoods. We’re working on making versions in Spanish and for people with visual impairments. Take the online version here, and we’ll have paper survey at all our town halls this year!

This summer the Juvenile Justice Center has been privileged to work with kids all over the city through our Know Your Rights Theatre Workshops. When you consider our country’s current political climate, compounded with stories of civilians being murdered by police every few weeks it becomes clear why it is important to arm young people with skills for surviving interactions with law enforcement.

We teach them to never run from police, how to use skills of de-escalation, and what their actual rights are when dealing with officers, so that they can navigate these interactions as safely as possible. We often invite participants to share personal stories where they dealt with police officers. Some offer antidotes about loved ones on the force,  police who have helped them when they were in trouble, or gave them a second chance when they made poor decisions. On the other hand, we often hear heartbreaking stories of children being harassed by police, parents being targeted for minor infractions, or friends being assaulted by those charged with keeping us safe. These stories represent the trauma afflicting communities of color and we’ve seen the effects this has on our young people. It is our goal that throughout this summer, we have been able to bring better understanding t the young people we have had the chance to encounter, and that they can have positive outcomes in their future interactions with law enforcement.

We have been busy this summer running Know Your Rights Theatre workshops with over 600 participants across the city. We have visited the Boys & Girls Club of Hickory Hill, Girls Inc, and almost every community center in the city! Each of these sites serves youth from elementary through middle school who have learned how to more safely navigate experiences with law enforcement. We use improv theatre to help them act out realistic scenarios with police, tell them how to safely exercise their rights (which we tie back to the constitution and case law), as well as teaching them deescalation techniques. We believe that when we approach law enforcement from a place of knowledge, instead of what we learned on Law & Order, that everyone is safer.

We have a busy summer ahead of us. We need food and beverage donations for our JJP Days of service (mostly snacks) and your financial support. Donate today at https://midsouthpeace.org/get-involved/donate-now/

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

Check the newsletter every week for curios details of this 10 years of G.O.T. Power
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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 train 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: TBD
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 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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Upcoming *.*.* FREE Self-Care Workshop *.*.*
Self-Care with Movement and Sound  ::  August 23 @ 6:00 pm – 8:30 pm
This workshop is full, if you want to be added to the waiting list email gotpower@midsouthpeace.org or call 901-725-4990

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Read more information about Grassroots Organizer Training for Power (GOT Power).

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