Addressing community issues

I mentioned in a previous post (Dark Streets and No Transportation) that I was interested in getting a bunch of you together to find out what issues are important to you so all of us can talk and figure out the best solutions to those issues...and figure out how to get the city involved, if needed.

Well, the time has come! :)

We will be meeting:
Tuesday, December 4
10:00 a.m.
Educational Outreach Center
(6601 Bexar St)

This meeting will be in preparation for our meeting with our city council person, Dwaine Carroway, on December 18.

Please join us Tuesday! We need to hear from you!

Graduates!!!!!!!!!!

I want to congratulate all of you for a successful training. I know that you really enjoyed yourselves!! I am praying for each of you. Some of you may have already found employment and some may not have, but stay encouraged. I am going to start up another program soon hoping that you would love to be a part of it. All of you are very special women!! The next class starts up in December if anyone would be interested. To amny it may seem that they don't need traing on job readiness but truth of the matter is we all do!!! I too need to enhance my skill for the work place and I have also been working since I was 14 years old. You are never too!! old to learn some new skills. The more you know the more you Grow!!!! Happy Thanksgiving and I will see yall ladies yes Ladies!! real soon.

The Women of Today!!!!

Yesterday started the first day of the adult Job Readiness Class, what a joy. Their was 13 women to attend. Sherika Ricks, Lori Cullom, Michelle Shepard, Alexia Cullom, Kaiesha Hallman, Kechia Strain, Jocquelyn Smith, Dana Arnick, Ashley Jones, June Mason, Gayle Barnes, Michelle Hallman and Lekeythe Hunter. Very strong women that know what they want. I am so glad that they made up in their mind that they did not want to stay in the same situation forever. They talked very deep about what they wanted in life. I see that they are not destined to stay stagnated. I feel passionate about this class. I think that something good is going to come from this class. I pray that these women continue to keep up the good work and that they never lose sight of what God as placed in their paths. True, we live in this community and it seems as if we are living at the dead end of the street but we have climbed over the top. I am determined to bring about a change in the minds of those that I come in contact with, I know that somebody is listening, If it is only one or two I have touched I have fufilled my goal." I am not here to be served I am here to serve" This is what God requires of all of us. So I encourage everyone to pray constantly for each other.

Dark streets and no transportation

Have you noticed how dark it is as you drive down Bexar Street by Turner Courts? I didn't really notice it before, but now that we've had Daylight Savings time, it seems much more apparent. Probably because it's dark when the kids leave the After-School Academy...and it's darkest right there.

As I drove down Bexar, I noticed the street lights right along Bexar and the one on the corner of Bexar and Parsons are both really dim. I wonder how many more are like that. If anyone else is interested in doing anything about that, let me know. Maybe if we get several people together, we can get Dwaine Carroway, our city council member, down here and we can talk to him about it.

The other thing that bothered me is when I found out the DART buses don't run down there after dark anymore. That is something like 6:00! What about people going to or getting off of work?? That's not right. I heard it's because people have been throwing bricks or eggs and such at the buses (maybe some of that would decrease if our street lights worked). If that's true and people are doing that, I wouldn't want to drive in that either. BUT...we don't need to just accept it! We need to do something! What can we do? Could we form some sort of watch group and communication with the police for kids/people who do that? Can we talk to DART? Maybe this is another issue for Dwaine Carroway. After all...he is OUR city representative!

We can't expect him to do it all by himself. We have to work together. But at least we could start the conversation. Who is interested?? Let me know or let Sylvia know and she can get in contact with me.

Moving Forward!!!

The progress of the Educational Outreach Center has been going very well. I have asked two of the partiscipants to enter an entry on the monthly newsletter and they have agreeded. Also starting on November the 12th we will be having a program called Adult Job Readiness class to be held right here at the After School Academy. How great is that. All the people of Turner Courts want is for someone to believe in them. I do!! I have been down the road they are now traveling on and it was not easy, so I know how it feels to be struggling. Yes! you do first have to take the first step, and turst me, God will take the next step. I have hope, and I will continue too!!