Morgan Community Association (MoCA)

Monday, March 15, 7:00 – 8:30 p.m. Youth and Families Initiative Workshop, Denny Middle School, 8402 30th Avenue Southwest

Dear fellow Seattleites,

Mayor Mike McGinn invites you to participate in the Youth and Families Initiative, a major initiative announced during his inaugural address.  The first of five large group meetings is tonight at the Rainier Community Center from 7:00 p.m. to 8:30 p.m.

Versions of this invitation have been translated into Spanish, Tagalog, Tigrigna, Chinese, Oromo, Russian, Thai, Amharic, Cambodian, Somali, Korean and Vietnamese (attached).

The children and families of our city are facing many difficult challenges. As a community, we need to talk about what we want for our kids and how best to create a healthy, positive and equitable environment for all families in our city.

Toward this goal, Seattle’s Department of Information Technology has created an online embeddable form for collecting community input for the Youth and Families Initiative (attached).  The form, designed to be embedded in blogs and web sites, extends the online outreach outside of the Mayor’s Office.

Let’s start a discussion together and come up with a plan that works.

Please join us in attending one of five workshops, where trained facilitators will lead participants through the beginnings of this group discussion.

Monday, March 15, 7:00 – 8:30 p.m. Youth and Families Initiative Workshop, Denny Middle School, 8402 30th Avenue Southwest

Activities for kids older than three years of age and light refreshments will be provided at each meeting. If English is not your primary language and you would like translation or interpretation, please notify the Department of Neighborhoods at 684-0464 so we can work to provide the best resources available.

“Our goal with the Youth and Families Initiative is to get input from everyone in Seattle who cares about these issues,” said Mayor’s Office Community Engagement Coordinator Sol Villarreal. “We realize that not everyone is going to be interested in attending or able to attend one of the large group workshops, so in order to make sure we’re hearing from a representative sample of the population of the city, we’re also going to be holding up to 100 Community Caucuses around the city.  The idea is that instead of asking someone to come to us, we’re going to go to them to make sure that their voice gets heard.”

Each Community Caucus will elect one delegate to send on to the Kids and Families Congress on June 5 at Seattle Center.

It is only together that we can solve the deep, complex problem of how to create an equitable community for our great city’s youth and families. There is no one solution, no one program or person who can point our neighborhoods in the right direction.

We ask that you join us at the beginning of this discussion so that we may all work together toward the common goal of a stronger community.

Please visit http://www.seattle.gov/engage to get involved in the Youth and Families Initiative.

Web site: http://youthandfamilies.seattle.gov/

Facebook: Youth and Families Initiative

Youth and Families Initiative Information part II, announcing 100 Community Caucus special meetings as requested

Have you heard about Mayor McGinn's effort to reach out to every community in Seattle through the Youth and Families Initiative?  He wants to know the critical issues that face your children, your families, and your communities everyday so he can work to make Seattle a better place for every community, not just a few.

Our goal with the Youth and Families Initiative is to get input from everyone in Seattle who cares about these issues. The process is beginning with 5 citywide workshops throughout the month of March where the general public can participate in sharing concerns and issues. We realize that not everyone is going to be able to attend one of the large group workshops, so in order to make sure we’re hearing from a representative sample of the population of the city, and especially from historically underrepresented groups and communities, we’ll also be holding up to 100 Community Caucuses around the city.

Each Community Caucus will be an opportunity for a group that wants to make its voice heard to meet, with a facilitator, in a living room, coffee shop, community center—anywhere where people gather naturally in a community; the idea is that instead of asking you to come to us, we’re going to go to you to make sure that your voice gets heard.

Each Community Caucus, like each small table at the large group workshops, will elect one delegate to send on to the broader Kids and Families Congress on June 5th at Seattle Center, so holding a Community Caucus will be a great way to ensure that your group’s voice is heard as the Initiative moves forward.

So, why am I contacting you? We want your community to be involved and we need your help to do it.  We are looking for individuals, groups, or organizations interested in hosting a caucus for their community.  We've worked to make this process as painless as possible for you. All we ask is that you bring together at least 10 people from your community to talk with a facilitator about the the issues and concerns they feel most impact Seattle.  Facilitators can be provided or we can train you to facilitate your own caucus.  We'll also provide all support materials and any other help you might need!

Sound interesting? Want to get involved or know someone else who may want to? Have questions about how it works?  Please do not hesitate to contact me by email or phone.

Looking forward to working with you,
Beth Richer
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Beth Richer
Seattle Youth and Families Initiative
Organizer
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Cell: 216-212-9295