by Richard Flyer
DESCRIPTION OF PROJECT
A. INTRODUCTION
A new system of cooperation, support, and goodwill is needed among local residents and among community-based organizations in inner-city neighborhoods---new cooperative attitudes and innovative efforts can alleviate many problems that we face. This proposal will do this in the Stockton/Mt. Hope/Mountain View area of Logan Heights/Southeastern San Diego. The MOVEMENT FOR BELOVED COMMUNITY project will develop a network of constant communication and promote "awakening" of creative potential among community residents.
To do this, a shift in attitude is necessary on the part of citizens, community-based organizations, churches, and government. We will enhance cooperative efforts among all of these participants. We can be more effective by focusing on one small geographic area and create forums where people can come together to solve their own problems. We will encourage "outside" assistance, but, where local citizen participation and responsibility is the underlying theme.
B. PHILOSOPHY
A dramatic shift is needed in the approach we take towards inner-city problems.
A community is like a web of relations, all connected. Trying to solve individual community problems like crime or drug abuse in isolation from others has not reduced overall deterioration of inner-city neighborhoods. A comprehensive problem solving approach and a coordinated, cooperative planning process therefore is essential.
The old adage, give someone a fish and feed them for a day, but teach them to fish and they are sustained for life has to become our basic principle. All to often people are treated simply as passive consumers of social services, such as in the welfare system and other programs that simply provide social services. The end result often is dependence. So, giving people more services will not alleviate inner-city problems if people are still dependent and not changed inside.
In order to sustain cooperative efforts for the long-term, community residents must improve their capacity for self-reliance and cooperation at the same time. In this program community development starts within individuals who have decided to make a constructive change in their lives and their families. A shift in values is therefore necessary to encourage personal responsibility, community service, sharing, love and compassion. We will work to increase the quantity and quality of face-to-face dialogue and interaction within families, between neighbors, in the neighborhood, and with the greater society.
C. BASIS FOR PROPOSAL/ EXPERIENCE FROM THE TRENCHES
1. What are the Root Causes Of Problems
During the last three and one-half years I have worked as Director and community organizer for Neighbors United (see below). I have seen every conceivable inner-city community problem including poor health, economic stagnation, crime, lack of community unity among residents and among community groups, etc. We often point to our pet problem, crime, for example, as the "cause" of social problems. It is a cause, but is primarily an effect of other underlying causes.
Underneath these causes are still more profound causes. On a larger scale, we found that the residents of Logan Heights do not have actual ownership of the material community (80% are renters and most businesses are owned by non-residents). Our neighborhood is controlled from "outside" and capital leaves the every day. It is as if the community is being drained of wealth or energy every day.
Within families there was a breakdown from individual despair, isolation, and hopelessness. Residents live in a depressed environment and internalize that they have no control, that they are in fact controlled by others, usually from outside the neighborhood and learn that they have no value or wealth---in fact we become depressed---these are deep causes of poverty.
Simply, you just get tired of surviving day after day. It takes its toll on the creative spirit. Finally, family breakdown comes from the loss of basic spiritual and moral values (capacity for love, sharing, cooperation, compassion, and wisdom.). The loss of values is also found in middle-class and wealthy communities, but material poverty there is not a major problem.
2. Community Rebuilding Necessary Based on Love with Comprehensive approach/Coordinated Efforts
One way to deal with the fundamental problems discussed above is to enhance the capacity of residents to take back control of their neighborhoods staring with their own home environment. We need to reverse all the negative trends---by encouraging cooperation and unity and by demonstrating that people can understand the root causes of our community deterioration and decide to create a better life.
In my nearly four year experience in the target area I saw that focusing diverse and multiple resources on families at a street level resulted in considerable progress that may not otherwise have occurred. Further, the costs for this effort over this period of time were low because of the high level of voluntary cooperation between all the actors. Finally, as smaller gains were made (closing drug houses) people felt they could do greater things like building a community-owned grocery store (see below).
With the community linking system as a solid foundation, we can start reversing the process of the community loosing its energy, or wealth. We can help people to release their creative energy and to realize that they have value and great wealth inside them. Then, from the inside going out, people can start generating material wealth and turn a decaying Logan Heights into a vibrant healthy one.
D. COMMUNITY REBUILDING PROCESS
The long-term goal of this program is community rebuilding from the person/family/street level outwards. We would begin to lay the psychological and social infrastructure (community linking system) and dialogue with residents about the basic "building blocks" of a healthy community. These building blocks were defined previously in various community meetings. They include: 1) Personal awakening. 2) Family development; 3) Community linking system 4) Clean and healthy environment. 5) Safe neighborhoods. 6) Grass-roots and community- based economic development (Promoting entrepreneurship and small business creation). 7) Home ownership. 8) Health care and mental health. 9) Shared Culture.
Soon after the psychological and social infrastructure is developed we will move to the next level and work on more concrete projects.
E. ORGANIZING STRATEGY
Step 1: Psychological and Social Infrastructure
Community "Convivencias" will be facilitated once a month by community organizers at Martin Luther King Elementary School and other locations in the area. These will be very special events. They are a combination of spiritual revival meeting, pot-luck dinner, cultural event, group decision making process, a place to find out who your neighbors are, and a place to learn about and decide what concrete actions to take to make the neighborhood a better place. These events are the basis for sustained and continual effort.
We will use the convivencias as a base to create a community linking system whose purpose is to enable all residents to be in continuous contact with each other in the target area. Two organizers will train an initial ten community residents to become paraprofessional community organizers. These ten, in turn, will begin to recruit others on their blocks and train them as well. Going in pairs, each team will visit selected households in the same area. The organizers will tell residents about the programs available throughout the community, through other organizations, churches, and government--- this will take the form of a community resource directory that we will produce. The goal is to increase the level of consciousness regarding the ability to effect change individually and as a family, and as a group in our own neighborhoods; and enable residents to work together cooperatively toward community growth.
The teams will distribute the community resource directory to every household and will be trained to find out the needs of a given household. Trust will develop through time and people will share more with each other. When there are problems in a specific household (e.g., leaky roofs, violence, drug problems, health, etc.) organizers will know to respond with concrete suggestions. Residents can be supported to solve their own problems through self-help and/or referral to appropriate organizations. We will work with partner organizations to bring a comprehensive array of services to help a given individual or family, or city block; and encourage involvement and participation. We will also know on a regular basis the true conditions of our community.
For example, a person with a leaky roof would be encouraged first to contact the owner of the building. (In this area 87% of the homes and apartments are rented.) If no action was taken, on the following visit the organizer may recommend filing a complaint with the city of San Diego Neighborhood Code Compliance. The city hopefully will send an inspector and then contact the owner to repair the roof. In this manner, residents will be actively pursuing solutions themselves.
Step 2: Developing More Concrete Programs
While it is important for residents themselves to chose specific projects, it is also important to begin with concrete ideas. The following projects will be accomplished over a two year period. They are very consistent with the City of San Diego's Survey and the Ten Point Plan. Also, these ideas came up a numerous meetings over the last several years.
With a foundation of the community linking system taking shape, there are several projects that could be accomplished that would dramatically affect the total quality of life in the area. These projects would be tied directly to our ability for the door-to-door contact.
i. Upgrade Housing Stock and Litter Clean Up Campaign
Working with the City of San Diego Neighborhood Code Compliance Department (see attached letter) the organizers will be able to identify every house out a total of 1,500 that need repairs because they are a nuisance or violating codes. We will work with litter control to remove every problem trash site in the entire target area. Small community clean-ups will be done over the two year period. We will also educate residents about not continuing to throw trash out so that we don't have to keep coming back every six months to clean up the mess.
ii. Logan Heights Homegrown Economy Program
A Homegrown Economy means exactly that: promoting local ownership of businesses. We will promote community-owned sole proprietorships, employee-owned (with Foundation for Enterprise Development) businesses, and as well consumer and worker-owned cooperatives. Small microbusiness development has been found to generate a large number of jobs. We will work with Accion San Diego and other agencies to assist in the formation or strengthening of 10 businesses owned by residents in the immediate area of the target.
iii. Preventative Health Care Campaign
We will work with local medical groups such as Comprehensive Medical Center to develop an education campaign suitable linking up with our community linking system.
iv. Safe Neighborhoods Campaign. A coalition between San Diego Concerned Citizens for Safe Neighborhoods, the San Diego Police Department Neighborhood Policing Team, and the Mamie Moore Citizen Patrol can focus on closing all drug houses in the target area. Also, a zero tolerance program for street drug sales will be planned and implemented.
H. CONCLUSION
At the completion of MOVEMENT FOR BELOVED COMMUNITY PROJECT, there should be many visible changes. We would expect to see an increase in the feeling of community spirit; creation of locally produced jobs; an increase in the number of community-owned small businesses; a reduction in street drug dealing and the elimination of remaining drug houses; an overall decrease in the crime rate; closer interest between parents and children regarding their education; a cleaner neighborhood; and improved health and mental health through preventative health programs.
A successful Logan Heights program could be used as a model for other areas of San Diego. The same ingredients of community ownership and economic self-reliance, a community-based linking system of community residents and as well the positive affirmation of universal spiritual and moral values in action can be applied anywhere.
Please send comments to rflyer@earthlink.net