You’ve got to have a network that you trust above yourself. We always see ourselves less than what we are, and sometimes you have to trust the voices of those around you.
"I like Muskegon so much I moved here twice!" - A farewell reflection from Board Member Holly Alway
Holly Alway, Injury Prevention Coordinator at Mercy Health, has served on the Community enCompass board the last 3 years. We are so grateful for Holly’s service and will miss her professional presence, questions that make us pause, and her bend towards action.
Before she made her exit, Holly gave us one last gift: a reflection on her time on Community enCompass’ Board…
Loss and Gain: Cancelling Taste and See 2020
Keeping Up with "Fresh Conversations"
Cindy, AmeriCorps Team Member with Community enCompass, is now facilitating a limited, socially distant version of a “food for health” class called “Fresh Conversations” for residents of Jefferson Towers.
The residents’ reasons for attending the class are many: some come to learn about food as medicine, some to get new recipes and exchange tips, some for the safe socializing with a “support group” feel.
Youth Mural Collaboration: Call for Artists
Community enCompass is seeking a Muskegon-based teaching artist to join high school youth (YEPs) in conversations about public art and activism. Through these conversations, YEPs will assist the teaching artist in conceptualizing a large-scale mural for the front (52ft x 9ft) and left side (13ft x 9ft) of the Sacred Suds Community Center, located at 289 E. Larch.
Spring 2020: Neighbors Helping Neighbors
2019: Community enCompass by the numbers
YEP's to tour HBCU's
To raise funds, YEPs have hosted a Soul Food Fundraiser, will be collecting cans and bottles (every 10 cents counts!) throughout Feb and March, and are brainstorming other fundraising opportunities. But we also need support from neighbors like you! Would you sponsor a YEP to go on this life-changing spring break tour of Historically Black Colleges and Universities?
Homeless in Muskegon
Hear the word “homeless” and what images come to mind? An older man, dressed in rags, possibly smelling of alcohol, holding a cardboard sign that asks for money, old blankets beneath him? While this image portrays a visible element of homeless in our country, many of us know that homelessness looks quite different.
FIGHTING EVICTION
In Muskegon County, the rate of eviction is 4 times higher than the national average! In response, community leaders have come together to address this community issue, creating the Eviction Prevention Program (EPP). Started as a pilot project a year ago and supported by funding from the Community Foundation for Muskegon County, EPP gives families facing eviction the possibility of an “out”, the hope for stable housing
THE REAL-LIFE MEANING OF "FARM TO TABLE"
WHAT DID WE TASTE, WHAT DID WE SEE?
“I just wanted to say that this was one of THE BEST fund-raiser and educational events that we have EVER attended! I didn’t even know that it existed!” Our annual “Taste & See” Event marks the transition between these two seasons, and as such, we want to take one last look back, to savor what was tasted and seen at this year's event.
We moved a house!
Kimi went in expecting to find some good wood, maybe some useful cabinets, possibly a piece or two of original trim, but what Kimi found blew her mind. “We have to save it!" Kimi said in awe as she wondered around this pristine example of a 1920’s craftsman's house. “It was stunning, to say the least.”
There is No “Them”: There’s Only “Us”
A few decades earlier the southeast corner of Terrace and Isabella had 7 homes on it, rentals and family houses, but years of neglect, white flight, and disinvestment left the homes empty abandoned and decaying. Then one day the city decided to take them all down, and there was nothing. Grass and weeds started to grow up, the trees began to fall down, and Tom was left wondering “What if?! What if we took over the lot?” Tom would often mow the lawn and pick up trash and do whatever he could to keep it as tidy as possible, but on his own couldn't get much done.
Sewing with Perry
MPFH, A CONTINUED SUCCESS
Not just a rehab, a REDEMPTION!
“When we look at a house like this we see history, we see story, we see family, we see value and hope. We see good bones.” A house like this makes no sense to any real estate investor. It’s not a house you can flip for profit. The current real estate values in Muskegon's core city neighborhoods don’t make a house like this profitable in any way. It took close to $60,000 in materials and necessary contracted work to bring this house back to life, and that's not accounting for the countless hours of volunteer work that have been put in.
HEALTH and POVERTY in Muskegon
15% of Muskegon County residents have a certified disability, 25% higher than the national average. 41% of Muskegon county residents live at or below 200% of the Federal Poverty level, 22%* higher than national average. These numbers alone are sobering, so this month we are taking the opportunity to educate ourselves about the links between poverty and health, health and poverty.
