I have been making some changes to this website in hopes of bringing greater clarity in regards to the work in the neighborhood and the reasons behind it.  Take a look see and let me know what you think!

We are working under the assumption that when families are isolated from the larger community they and their children have an increased risk of substance abuse, greater poverty, domestic violence, poor health, and lesser educational and leadership opportunities.

We seek to reduce the social isolation of poverty families in the Birchwood Neighborhood by working in two main areas.

The Apartment Complexes: We are engaging apartment complexes on a one on one basis, working with owners and managers to reduce the social isolation of tenants.  Some of the methods  designed to reduce social isolation in the apartment complexes are:  Work with tenants to support them in people gathering events for fun (Example-BBQ’s) or around issues that matter to them (school safety issues, crime etc).  These events allow for relationship building with immediate neighbors plus we strategically invite neighbors from the surrounding area to come and participate in these relationship building activities. Thus expanding the circle of influence and reducing social isolation.  In these settings we also encourage and support tenants to engage the neighborhood on a greater level, such as attend neighborhood family functions.  We are also working with tenants who have an interest in participating on a greater level, teaching them how to learn what their neighbors care about and how to get them together around the issues they care about the most.  This basic organizing skill encourages and supports tenants to engage on a deeper level around the things they care about the most, also decreasing social isolation.

The Schools:  We are developing community based relationships with teachers and administrators of neighborhood schools to further reduce social isolation among youth.  We are partnering with a local organization to provide afterschool activities and tutoring, we are helping facilitate neighborhood family events at the schools (working through the Birchwood Neighborhood Association) where the school can invite the families that attend that school (working within an existing comfort level means we have a greater chance that more families will attend), we are encouraging and supporting school gardens where  neighbors, parents, children, and teachers can work side by side doing something tangible that the youth can take pride in.  We are working with neighborhood faith communities and other non-profit organizations to pair assets and needs.  An example of this is a local faith community that has developed a clothing bank specifically for the neighborhood elementary school.  We are working with the schools to provide leadership opportunities for students in community events, such as having students organize a canned food drive for the local homeless shelter.

Through these two approaches we hope to reduce the social isolation among poverty families and their children.  In our work, relationship building is the foundation.  We seek to build quality relationships with families so that it is no longer “us” helping “them” but “us” working together to address the needs of OUR community together.  Studies have shown that if we succeed in reducing social isolation among poverty families we will be giving their children better access to services, a positive experience of community, reduced drug use, and the support that we all need and can only find when we are IN community.

Our friends at Little Caesars have graciously agreed to donate 5 pizzas a month to the BNA.  Look for pizza at our next general meeting and our monthly neighborhood events!

Thanks Little Caesars!

I read this morning that the City of Bellingham has approved a permit to build a hotel at the intersection of Northwest and Bakerview. You can find the article here.