Had an awesome time in Raleigh, NC presenting two workshops for the NC DOE state conference on homelessness. Met some incredible people with so much heart. They spend their time at work making the world a better place. Skyped in Steve Hargadon to talk about easy and cheap ways to create Internet ready computer labs for our most marginalized populations. I need to get some grant money for a few ideas I have related to enabling the impoverished with 21st Century skils. Anyone have a resource?
Speaking of Funding
Please take a moment to go VOTE on Net Squared for this project. I met one of the Board members at conference and she was so passionate for this work.
The People, Yes is about hitting the streets (shelters, jails and other avenues found on the other side of the digital divide) to find new voices to add flavor to a local community blogosphere.
Project Vision Statement & Potential Social Impact:
More than ten years into this Age of Information, large populations of people exist around the world without either the means or know-how to operate online, thereby greatly reducing their individual opportunities to participate in a wired, networked, global economy.
Just as important (if not more so) as community conversations move from town halls into the online space, these same men and women become sequestered from political, topical and personal conversations that shape their neighborhoods, towns, cities and districts.
With a lower socio-economic status and a intense daily grind to simply keep afloat, people can become lost in the shuffle, marginalized, and in many cases, forced to participate in a service-based economy in order to survive, let alone advance.
Who has time to dream or simply hear their own voice within the context and constraints of these conditions?
The People, Yes has similar aspirations to Global Voices, but with two significant differences:
- We're going to seek out, find, develop relationships with and empower unheard voices in our own backyard of Greensboro, North Carolina
- We're going to open up the platform for current digital publishers from Greensboro proper to join, creating a mixed presentation of community
We're creating both an organization and a platform to develop and extend community relationships from online to the real and back again. By enabling people who are interested in sharing their personal experiences and POV's with the world via a collaborative blog -- and one day a social network -- we hope to bring attention to an under-represented slice of local community.
Our hope is that the entire community will benefit from the contribution of unheard voices, perspectives and dreams. As new voices join the mix, stereotypes will begin to shift, issues can be examined in a new light and cross-community consensus can be forged out of a newfound mesh of diverse online personalities.
The People, Yes is attempting to empower people (within Greensboro, NC) with the skills to digitize their voice. We're working actively in the homeless community to get people to publish from any of the library branches. Down the road, we'll expand into other digital divide communities (e.g. the jail system), as well as open up the platform for any Greensboro resident to publish their voice. The goal is to expand the participants in our local online conversation and create a more cohesive sense of community and shared humanity.
Other Poverty Resources
I was updating some resources related to the workshops over on my wiki and found these reports as I was adding the Project Hope link. Though I would share here.
Poverty Reports
THE STATE OF AMERICAN POVERTY
Numerous reports have been released over the last several months that
discuss increasing rates of poverty across all age and demographic
characteristics. The studies consistently demonstrate that the rate of
child poverty has increased, leaving millions hungry, unsheltered, and
lacking adequate health care and child care. Below are links* to the
reports. Most surveys indicate that families seeking assistance are
unable to make ends meet, whether they are working or receiving welfare
or other government benefits. In addition, communities where people in
poverty live are strained to meet demands for food, shelter, health
care, mental health services, and other assistance that this population
requires. Many requests for assistance go unmet.
Awareness and Outreach Projects for Schools and Organizations:
Cover the Uninsured Week April 23-29, 2007
Hunger Awareness
Oxfam Fast and Hunger Banquet Resources
Economic Policy Institute Resources pertaining to the current status of workers and wages
Pulling apart, a state-by-state analysis of income trendsIssue Guide on the Minimum Wage
Forum on Child and Family Statistics released America’s Children: Key National Indicators of Well-Being
Hunger in America 2006, released by America's Second Harvest, representing 80% of food banks in the US
Hunger and Homelessness Survey, December 2005, compiled each year by the US Conference of MayorsKids Count Data Book, 2005, compiled through the Annie E. Casey Foundation
National Center for Children in Poverty released a long range study January 2006: Low Income Children in the United States: National and State Trend Data, 1994-2004
Hi Sheryl, we were just saying at TUANZ today how inspirational you were in NZ and I see you are continuing your great work. It's interesting to read about how technology can enable everyone to achieve - especially those who live on the margins. Sarah.
Posted by: sarah putt | April 12, 2007 at 03:20 AM
Hi ,
glad you enjoyed NZ. If not on your reading list add Dr Ruby Payne's work on inter-generational poverty and education. good stuff. Aslo are you aware of the work being done by an insirational friend of mine Marco Torres in San Ferando?
Posted by: Mike Anderson | April 13, 2007 at 08:11 AM