Experience Matters City Highlights
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St. Paul, MN
The St. Paul team's Experience Matters program will go by the name of Neighbors Helping Neighbors. The program will reduce resident costs associated with water usage, as well as nuisance and code violations. Prior to launching the program the city took a few internal steps to ensure a successful pilot year. First, the city used internal data to prioritize neighborhoods with the highest needs. Next, departments associated with water usage and code violations were invited to participate in a mapping exercise which helped all city staff understand the processes behind the fees and what the experience might be like for the residents. Lastly, the data and the mapping exercises were used by the program team to adjust their program timeline and pinpoint specific partners they will need to make the pilot as effective and efficient as possible.
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EM Stats:
251
Stakeholders engaged in planning to date
23
Planning events held
Virtual Connections
Log on to Slack to share helpful resources, ask questions, brainstorm ideas/solutions, and connect with other cities working on similar things!
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Guiding Opportunities City Highlights
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Washington, DC
Like the rest of the grant cohort, D.C. VISTAs have been attending existing meetings to share information about Opportunity Zones and to establish relationships for future engagement efforts. In close partnership with Sharon Carney, the City’s Chief Opportunity Zones Officer, the VISTAs have developed a comprehensive engagement plan for the Guiding Opportunities program. The purpose of their engagement is to raise awareness of incentives and potential impact, help connect stakeholders to relevant resources to improve social and economic outcomes, and increase participation in shaping development and investments in D.C. The plan was informed by city agencies and community partners.
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GO Stats:
80
Private citizens and business owners engaged
47
Neighborhood groups and nonprofits engaged
14
Opportunity Zone informational events held
10
Deliberation events held
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Love Your Block City Highlights
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Buffalo, NY
Last winter the City of Buffalo was one of three cities to receive a two-year grant to participate in a Wintermission program. The city is housing its Wintermission efforts under the Love Your Block program as a strategy to gather creative, resident-led solutions that focus on addressing social isolation and improve physical activity in public spaces during the winter. The team will supplement a third round of mini-grants by distributing at least 200 energy-efficient weatherization kits to vulnerable individuals in target areas. The city will also work with Block Clubs and Neighborhood Housing Associations to identify the most vulnerable, low-income individuals who can benefit from the city’s Weatherization Assistance Program.
Gary, IN
The City of Gary welcomed new Mayor Jerome Prince with the new year. To guide an easy transition with the new administration, the Love Your Block team planned extensively to prepare a timeline for Year 2 of the program. Love Your Block Gary will officially kick off with its second annual Valentine’s Day press announcement and will invite block clubs, churches, and nonprofits to attend grant writing and project planning workshops intended to build the capacity of local community groups. The VISTAs, Marie and Darnell, will facilitate the workshops and grantees from Year 1 projects will be guest speakers and serve as mentors to the new groups in attendance. At the end of the workshop series, attendees will have the opportunity to work on their mini-grant application alongside the Love Your Block team and past grantees.
As part of the mayoral change, Director of Constituent Services and Love Your Block program lead, LaShawn Brooks, has transitioned out of her role with the City of Gary. We will miss working with LaShawn dearly and wish her the best in all future endeavors. Brenda Scott-Henry, Director of Green Urbanism, will serve as the program lead in the interim.
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LYB Stats:
$274,056
Additional funding and in-kind resources leveraged to-date
2,883
Volunteers engaged to-date
252
Volunteer projects events hosted
68
Mini-grants awarded
Virtual Connections
Log on to Slack to share helpful resources, ask questions, brainstorm ideas/solutions, and connect with other cities working on similar things!
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City of Buffalo's Weatherization Kit
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City Connections
2019 Experience Matters Academy
Our Experience Matters Academy was hosted by our wonderful partners at AARP in Washington, D.C. Over two days, city staff, AmeriCorps VISTA members, and AARP state office representatives from five participating cities developed plans and exchanged best practices for achieving the program’s mission: to draw upon the experience and expertise of adults aged 50+ to build stronger cities.
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Over thirty city staff, AmeriCorps VISTA members, and AARP state representatives attended the academy.
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2019 Guiding Opportunities and Love Your Block Academies
In November, Cities of Service gathered city staff and AmeriCorps VISTA members from our Love Your Block and Guiding Opportunities programs for our academy in Dallas, Texas. They got to know one another and started to plan their projects — identifying stakeholders, creating timelines, working on their elevator pitches, and more. They also tried out some of our new Citizen Engagement Techniques.
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Attendees working on their city's program features and timelines.
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2019 Cities of Service Annual Convening
This past November, we hosted our 2019 convening in Dallas, Texas. During our two days together, we held panel discussions, tested out a few of our Citizen Engagement Techniques, and learned about some of the creative and effective initiatives being implemented in our coalition cities. Most importantly, we strengthened the ties between our cities and continued to build a community of people that can learn from one another as they solve problems, navigate difficult situations, and make their cities stronger.
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Attendees left the academy with practical tools and best practices as well as relationships with colleagues they can rely on for advice and support throughout the year.
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