by Ashley Bean Thornton
For the last few years I’ve enjoyed the privilege, aggravation, exhilaration and frustration of being involved in some of the on-going, city-wide conversations about how to reduce the rate of poverty in Waco. I would not trade this work for anything! What I WOULD trade is the amount of time I’ve spent in meetings because of it. The other day, in one of these meetings, one of my fellow meeters summed up the general sentiment, “When are we going to quit just talking and meeting and start DOING something!” It doesn’t even really matter who said it or what meeting it was, because I’ve heard the same plaintive cry in many, many meetings – sometimes from someone else, sometimes just in my head, often enough coming out of my own mouth. Chalk it up to too much caffeine and not enough prayer and meditation – but sometimes all these meetings wear me out.
When I get frustrated by all the talking and meeting, I have to remind myself that we are already DOING something. In fact we are doing a whole lot. By “we” I mean the community of Waco. I mean our abundance of non-profit, government and faith-based organizations who are supported by a small army of professionals and volunteers and a generous plenty of philanthropists – including the kind who can give hundreds of thousands of dollars and the kind who consistently give fives, tens and twenties.
I seriously think I could list a hundred great things we are doing in Waco without even stopping to take much of a breath. Communities In Schools, and VOICE Inc. and Youth Connection are supporting our young people and helping them succeed in school and make good decisions. AVANCE and Parents as Teachers are helping parents of young children be the best parents they can be. Headstart and Talitha Koum and WIC are helping children get off to a good start in their young lives. And, that’s all in addition to the work that WISD and Rapoport Academy and Waco Charter School and our other schools are doing.
Our Chambers of Commerce are working to bring jobs to Waco. Christian Men’s and Women’s Job Corps and Workforce Solutions and Heart of Texas Goodwill are helping people learn skills to get and keep a job. McLennan Community College Adult Education is running GED classes and ESL classes all over town. Caritas and Salvation Army and Shepherd’s Heart are working to get food to people who need it, and there’s a whole page-long list of other food pantries in the area who are doing the same. And Mission Waco…oh my goodness! Mission Waco is running a boatload of different programs from arts programs for children, to jobs programs for youth, to shelters for homeless people. And what about NeighborWorks, Habitat for Humanity, Waco Community Development Corporation and the City of Waco Department of Housing and Community Development? They have been working for years to build up our neighborhoods and to teach us financial literacy and community leadership. I’m going to stop now just because of space, but there are many, many, many more good things we are doing that I could mention.
We are doing a whole lot. Yet, our rate of poverty remains stubbornly high – higher than other communities our size in Texas. High enough that we cannot afford to do some of the things that we would love to do make our community an even better place to live than it already is. So, it seems that there is more to be done.
Maybe the more-to-be-done is in the spaces above and below and in-between all the good things we are already doing. Maybe our next opportunities for moving forward lie in bridging the spaces between organizations and institutions and programs, between for-profit and not-for-profit, between races and socio-economic statuses and political parties and levels of education and all the other ways we separate ourselves from ourselves.
The challenge in reaching across a divide is that it involves forging new relationships among people who might not be pre-disposed to have a relationship. It involves wrangling with conflicting values, varied personalities, and different cultures and communication styles until we manage to shake out a shared vision and shared vocabulary and shared habits for getting work done together. It involves learning to work with people you don’t understand, who get on your nerves and go way too slow or way too fast for your taste. It involves taking the time to find common higher ground instead of settling for the lowest common denominator. It involves finding the delicate balance when someone offends you between speaking up for the sake of better understanding, and just letting it pass for the sake of keeping things moving. This kind of work can only happen by talking to each other and meeting together. (And, even then, it takes a little faith — there are no guarantees! )
Talking and meeting IS doing something. It may not always be the most fun kind of doing something. It is certainly not the only kind of doing something, maybe not even the most important kind of doing something. But, I think it probably is a necessary kind of doing something. If we want to make much more progress in reducing our rate of poverty I think we are going to have to do more of it and work at getting better at it.
There is an art and science to talking and meeting productively – and to making the transition from talking to more concrete action. In my more positive moments (less caffeine – more prayer and meditation) I believe we are, as a community, getting better at it. Lucky for us, we have some terrific leaders who have dedicated themselves to this work. Also, it’s encouraging that more and more people are joining in the conversation. (Which is great, but makes the meetings take longer!) Like most things worth doing, it takes practice, some coaching, a willingness to be uncomfortable, a little risk-taking, and the tenacity to keep showing up. We are already doing so much good work… we owe it to ourselves to get good at this part of the work too.
Ok, Ok, pull out your calendars…when are we going to get together again?
This Act Locally Waco blog post is by Ashley Bean Thornton, the Manager of the www.www.actlocallywaco.org website and the editor of the Friday Update newsletter. The Act Locally Waco blog publishes posts with a connection to these aspirations for Waco. If you are interested in writing for the Act Locally Waco Blog, please email [email protected] for more information.
by James Karney
When I was a little boy in Bristol, Connecticut, one of my favorite toys was a well-worn set of Lincoln Logs that belonged to my older brothers. I would spend hours building cabins and forts out of the pieces; I can still feel the smooth texture of the logs and green roof slats in my hands. I’d play with the plastic frontiersman and animals creating stories and dialog; occasionally a GI Joe would make an appearance too. Those are great childhood memories, but what do building toys like Lincoln Logs and Legos and blocks have to do with the library?
One role of the public library is to be a preschooler’s door to learning. As you already know, the library is a place children visit with parents and caregivers to be introduced to books and to begin to develop a love of reading, and learning. Library programs such as storytime help to develop school readiness skills such as listening, paying attention, following directions, and playing with other children. This, like many of the other programs and services of the library, folds into the one of the eight assumptions, of the Greater Waco Education Alliance. Participating in library storytime specifically addresses the first assumption, “Develop learning readiness and social skills before entering school (ages 0–4).” Storytimes for children are a staple of public libraries. At the Waco-McLennan County Library early childhood programming walks with children and parents from infancy with “Baby Time,” to “Toddle Time,” and then to “Pre-School Storytime.” (By the way, after a busy summer, Miss Vivian and Miss Stacy are taking a breather in August. Storytimes will resume the week of September 9th. )
Storytime is certainly an important stepping stone on the path to a love of learning, but at the library we recognize it is not the only stone in the path. In addition to weekly storytimes, the library offers other programming for children. Two programs we started last year have developed loyal and nearly overwhelming followings: a monthly “Lego Lab” for children 6-12, and a “Block Party” for Toddlers and Pre-K. Playing with blocks helps children develop motor, spatial, social and language skills and creative play. These skills are pretty obvious to anyone who has ever watched a toddler play and stack wooden blocks.
Not so obvious are the long-term science, math and problem solving skills being developed. These skills support the third assumption of the Education Alliance, “Master math concepts (ages 9 to 17).” The research makes this connection plain:
• A longitudinal study by Wolfgang, Stannard and Jones found that beginning in the middle school years and onward through high school that there was a positive correlation between pre-school block play and mathematical achievement. (Journal of Research in Childhood Education, v15 n2 p173-80 Spring-Summer 2001)
• A 2009 article by Sarama and Clements explores the benefits of block and Lego play. (American Journal of Play p313-337 Winter 2009). At younger ages, pattern recognition, colors, shapes and counting are central to block and Lego play and with age come more complex skill development.
• For the differently abled, a 2006 study found that therapeutic play using Legos has a positive impact on social skill development of autistic children. (Autism, v10, n4 p317-29 July 2006).
In addition to the STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Math) benefits of block and Lego play, there are also language, literacy and social skills being developed. In group play with other children, a child learns about sharing and turn taking.
Playing with blocks is a terrific way for parents to bond with their children and to act on their role as a child’s first teacher. Children get the most benefit from block play when parents and caregivers get on the floor and play alongside their children taking the opportunity to teach colors and counting, to compare block sizes and shapes, and perhaps most important of all, to share vocabulary with the child. Vocabulary development is a key to learning to read. The more children are exposed to new and different words, the more success they will have in learning to read and developing their reading skills. One of the best investments you can make in your child’s education is to spend time with them whether it is reading books, playing with Legos, or just talking with them. Hart and Risley found children’s academic successes at ages nine and ten are attributable to the amount of talk they hear from birth to age three. Meaningful Differences in the Everyday Experience of Young American Children. (Brookes Publishing 1995).
The Library’s Lego Lab (Saturday) for children and toddler/Pre-K Block Party (Sunday) using Legos and blocks are held monthly. For days and times and to reserve a space for your child, visit the library’s online events calendar. The name Lego comes from the Danish phrase leg godt, which means “play well”, so come play well at the library and continue to Read, Waco, Read!
This Act Locally Waco blog post is by James Karney. James has worked in a library since his sophomore year in high school and is the Director of the Waco-McLennan County Library. He enjoys reading biographies, history, and spy/espionage novels. He has been married to the super amazing and talented Anita Karney for 20 years, and their son Jamie will start his junior year of high school this year – yikes! Visit the Library’s website, www.wacolibrary.org to explore all of our services, program and resources and “Like Us” on Facebook at, www.facebook.com/WacoLibrary.
If you would like to write a post for the Act Locally Waco blog, please contact Ashley Thornton by email at [email protected] .
by Sgt. W. Patrick Swanton, Waco Police Department
On August 1, we conducted our first “virtual ride-along” at the Waco Police Department, giving citizens a bird’s eye view of our world. The goal was to let you, our community, into our profession from the comfort of your home or wherever else you access your Facebook or Twitter accounts. We wanted citizens to see what the daily activities of a police officers’ shift might include and, man, they got that!!
Those participating in the virtual ride-along started the day with an individual who had one too many margaritas and needed to visit one of our local emergency rooms. Then we introduced our K-9, Hondo, who discovered some crack cocaine in a vehicle. Then “riders” got to see the gentler side of policing when Officer Evans responded to a “Vicious Dog” call: The officer ended up a petting the dog, and the supposedly ferocious beast hopped into our squad for a ride to the Animal Services Center…wagging his tail along the way. And, there you have it! Our recent virtual-ride-along…This is just one of the things we would like to do on a consistent basis to get our citizens involved with us. (To see all the pictures from the virtual ride-along, click here: A night with Waco Police Department through a virtual ride-along.)
If you virtually followed along with Assistant Chief Holt and me that Friday, you hopefully became more aware of what and how we conduct business. I tried to put a bit of personality with the badges to show you that, yes, we are actually human! We can pet a dog, grab a bite to eat, and give a kid a break on his birthday. We can deal with the humdrum of the paperwork, and then switch gears with a moment’s notice to rush to the scene of an injury accident, or to put a drug addict in jail. It’s all part of what we do.
We police are at times a strange and distant lot. We don’t often show much personality when we deal with the public. Much of this is due to the simple reason that our jobs can change so quickly. As a police officer you can go from changing a light bulb because your dispatchers sent you to a recently widowed “she’s our Mom type” who was afraid to go out after dark, to the next minute standing in an alley spitting out your teeth because some thug sucker-punched you in the face because he didn’t want to go back to jail. YES!!! It can all change that quickly.
We don’t often ask for the public’s sympathy and that’s because we know…NO ONE made us sign up for this job. It was a conscious choice to become a Police Officer and one that if given the opportunity — even though we know the good and bad — most of us would make again.
Policing is a life choice. Once you are in, you become part of something much bigger than any “one” of us. You are a part of something that has stood the test of many years, protests and naysayers. We do what we do best, and that is to protect and serve our community.
We Waco Police are fortunate to serve in Waco where we have a good relationship with our community. No, it’s not always perfect, and it is something that will always need constant attention. However, Chief Stroman believes that continuing to be transparent and open about “your” Police Department is one of the best ways to foster a positive and trusting relationship with our citizens. So stay with us, be a part of us and this community, be proud of YOUR Waco Police Department and the City of Waco, and as one of our commentators from the Friday night virtual ride-along said, “Put on the Popcorn!!” In other words, stay tuned as there is more to come!!….”One Adam 12…One Adam 12… see the man at……”
This week’s Blog was written by Sgt. W. Patrick Swanton, Spokesman for Waco Police Department. (Facebook: WacoPoliceDepartment; Twitter: WacoPolice). If you are interested in writing for the Act Locally Waco blog, please email [email protected]
by Anna Dunbar
I often wonder why we don’t have more people participating in curbside recycling in Waco. We have about one-third of our Waco households participating in the blue cart recycling program now, but why don’t more households participate? After all, participation is pretty easy and it is available with no extra fee! We even have a recycling drop-off center that accepts recyclables from those who do not have easy access to curbside recycling service. Let me explain:
Curbside recycling is available at no extra charge!
If you are a Waco resident with Waco trash service with a grey trash cart, you can have curbside recycling at no extra charge. Put all recyclables together in your blue curbside recycling cart:
A. Any paper that is clean and will tear.
B. Metals such as aluminum cans, aluminum baking tins, steel (tin) food cans and lids. No need to rinse soda cans unless you just want to (ants!), please do rinse food cans.
C. Plastics, all colors, numbers 1 thru 7 and plastic bags.
D. Please do not put glass or Styrofoam into your recycling cart. Glass of all colors may be taken to the Cobbs Recycling Center located on 44th Street between Cobbs Drive and Trice Avenue. For more information, call (254) 751-8536 or go to waco-texas.com.
Recycling is not hard!
The City of Waco has made it pretty simple. You put all recyclables in one blue cart, loose. The blue cart system is intended to be hassle free, no sorting! If you are new to recycling, you do not have to recycle everything possible, just start with a couple of categories. For example, if your household has magazines, cardboard and newspaper, start with that! Later you can add water bottles, soft drink bottles and aluminum cans such as soda cans. Those items require minimal preparation for recycling, and everyone knows what they are, cutting down on decisions and confusion. Your recycling day is the same day as your trash day, but every other week. If you do not remember which week to set out your blue recycling cart, go to Waco-texas.com or call (254) 299-2612 for a solid waste and recycling calendar. Or if your neighbors recycle at curbside, copy what they do!
It’s easy to get a blue cart!
If you do not have a blue recycling cart, you can pick one up at the Cobbs Recycling Center, 2021 44th Street, or the Operations Center, 501 Schroeder Drive. Please bring your water bill and proof of Waco residency. If you are unable to pick up your cart, please call (254) 299-2612 to request delivery of the cart.
Still think it’s not worth it?
Think again! Your reduced waste can make a difference for the environment and for our landfill. If every Waco household recycled everything they could, it would make such a great impact on the amount of waste going to our landfill! It is estimated that about 50% of the trash we generate in the US is recyclable. That is important because it is estimated that the Waco landfill has a remaining life of just twelve years. What that means is that Waco will have to expand the landfill within the next twelve years in order to contain our ever increasing “mountain of trash”! I think we all want to save landfill space because doing so delays the expenditure of money to expand our landfill.
Come on, Wacoans, join me in keeping Waco Clean and Green!
This week’s Act Locally Waco blog post is by Anna Dunbar. Anna is the Recycling and Public Outreach Administrator for the City of Waco Solid Waste Services. She is responsible for informing Waco residents and businesses about recycling and waste reduction opportunities as well as solid waste services in Waco. Her husband is a Baylor professor and her daughter is a senior at Trinity University. She serves on board of Keep Waco Beautiful and is a member of The Central Texas Audubon Society and Northwest Waco Rotary. If you would be interested in writing for the Act Locally Waco blog, please email [email protected] .
by Alexis Christensen
I’m starting this post knowing you might disagree with me, which makes it hard for me to express my thoughts on racism. I actually wrote an entirely different blog post to avoid writing this one. But, this cannot be avoided. Not if we are to move forward in our world, our city, and in our relationships. So, let’s take a breath, remember that we are all people with varied and real experiences, and move forward.
I recently learned a word that has helped me (and others around me) process my feelings about racism in America today. It’s called microaggression. Coined in the 1970’s by Chester Pierce, and broadened by Derald Sue Wing, microaggression refers the “quiet, often unintended slights— racist or sexist — that make a person feel underestimated on the basis of their color or gender.” These slights are everyday words, phrases, or adjectives used to describe people of color that perpetuate stereotypes and racial structures in our society. This isn’t hyper-sensitivity, anger, or bitterness. It’s about speaking up when people hurt and devalue others. As a black woman, I can think of countless examples of microagression. People I love and cherish have unknowingly caused pain. Comments as simple as “You probably like fried chicken too” to bigger ones like “You don’t talk/act like a black person.” Other friends have shared similar experiences, enduring comments such as “I’m glad you’re not an angry black woman” and “Your skin isn’t too dark.” These comments do not define black culture. They actually nullify a person’s self, creating ruptures in our view of the world. From experience, the best way to move forward is to break the silence.
That’s just what a group of black Harvard students did. Through a photo campaign called “I, Too Am Harvard” students joined together to share their experiences with microaggression. Their boldness to confront these everyday occurrences sent waves through the campus and the world. It gave confidence not only to the students, but to many in the black community who are told that white is right.
Breathe.
It also started dialogue. Dialogue is important because racism isn’t dead. It may be less blatant but it is alive and well, and if racism discussions become taboo, then we are losing. Personally, I try to avoid most things that produce tension and disharmony. But this conversation, this topic, has been growing inside of me, not only because I am black, but because of the work I do in the community. Conversations often amount to stuffing down emotions, numbing ourselves as a people, or giving up hope because we can’t afford to be misunderstood again. But I have a group of radically deep, intellectual, caring friends and family members who have nurtured and listened, and challenged me to lend my voice to the dialogue.
My hope, (I always hope), is that whoever you are, wherever you are, you will take Socrates’ advice to heart and know that “the unexamined life is not worth living.”
I’m asking you to live a life where ignorance of microaggression doesn’t equal bliss, and that you’ll lend your voice to the dialogue in your own way. I don’t have all the answers; heck, I’m a super complex person and cannot begin to tell you what to do. But I can offer a place to start. Let’s make this an ongoing discussion. Only through intentional conversation and examining our lives can we combat today’s brand racism. As we work and live in community, and as we believe for a better world, the more thought, effort, time and conversations we have, the greater openness we will see in our communities for all people. We will see greater unity and reconciliation in our lifetime, if we try.
Learn more about microaggression (Links I utilized in the writing of this post):
I, Too Am Harvard:
- http://itooamharvard.tumblr.com/
- http://www.nytimes.com/video/us/100000002769668/microaggressions-comments-that-sting.html?playlistId=100000002797598
- http://www.buzzfeed.com/alisonvingiano/21-black-harvard-students-share-their-experiences-through-a
Other Publications:
- http://www.nationalreview.com/article/370078/microaggression-alec-torres
- http://time.com/32618/microaggression-is-the-new-racism-on-campus/
- http://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/microaggressions-in-everyday-life/201010/racial-microaggressions-in-everyday-life
This week’s Act Locally Waco blog post was written by Alexis Christensen, a Community Organizer at Waco Community Development Corporation (Waco CDC). Would you be interested in writing for the Act Locally Waco blog? If so, contact [email protected].
by Abby Loop
Women at the Kate Ross Apartments in Waco now have the opportunity to join in the fight against hunger by learning and sharing cooking ideas through an innovative program called “Cooking Matters.”
Cooking Matters is a part of the nationwide “No Kid Hungry” campaign to end childhood Hunger. In the program participants learn to shop smarter, use nutrition information and prepare delicious meals that are affordable even on a SNAP (food stamp) budget. Founded in 1993, volunteer instructors from Cooking Matters have helped thousands of low-income families across the country learn how to eat better for less. Now, the Cooking Matters program is offered every Friday, from 11:30 a.m. to 1:00 p.m., right here in Waco in the Kate Ross Apartments. Sponsored by the Waco Regional Baptist Association and with instructors provided by Acts Church, the program is in its fifth week. It will continue through August 8, 2014.
I attended one of these sessions at Kate Ross. The group included about 18 women. Many were from Kate Ross; some were from other areas in Waco and had heard of the program from friends or family.
The session started off with a discussion led by Conway Del Conte, the Waco Regional Baptist Association’s (WRBA) Hunger Ministry Coordinator who also attends Acts Church. For the Waco classes, Ms. Del Conte integrates the Cooking Matters educational materials into a curriculum called “Hunger in God’s World” which has been developed in collaboration with Seeds of Hope Publishers. Her goal was to teach the mothers and other participants in the class more about food insecurity. We discussed ways to provide for our families and avoid hunger. We also learned about food insecurity in Waco, and around the world. The standard definition of the physiological phenomenon of hunger is a feeling of discomfort or weakness caused by lack of food, coupled with the desire to eat. The term “Food insecurity” goes beyond these physical symptoms, and includes the lack of sufficient and reliable access to healthy food.
As we went around the room, many different words were mentioned as each woman shared her own definition of hunger:
“Depression.”
“Not having money to buy food.”
“Having food but not wanting to eat it.”
“Sickness.”
“Stress.”
One woman brought up the feeling in your stomach you get when you’re so hungry it hurts. Another brought up the feelings you get of not being able to provide for your family with the little money you have. Hearing these answers really put into perspective for me how hunger is affecting lives in the community, all in different ways, but all problematic.
Patara Williams, a Baylor student, volunteers as a Cooking Matters instructor and cook for this particular course. She explained to me how she’s in charge of planning the meals for the program based on a standard SNAP (Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, formerly known as food stamps) budget. She prepares the meals for women involved in the program, and then teaches them how to plan for and cook their own healthy meals.
I took a tour of the kitchen as Williams explained to me how she decides on the meals. She buys all the food at HEB and focuses on nutritional factors, cost, and convenience. The meal for that day was barbequed chicken (baked, not fried), with cornbread and cabbage. Each meal is supposed to cost $1.50 for each person, an amount one would usually have when budgeting with SNAP. For drinks, she served organic strawberry lemonade. The goal of each meal is to create a “Smart Plate,” a plate that includes vegetables and protein and is based on USDA recommendations that encourage a balanced and healthy diet.
“I relay Cooking Matters material, give information on how to spend wisely, and also how to prepare food wisely,” Williams said, referring to her role as a Cooking Matters instructor. “I have a passion for cooking and service. As an instructor this has been educational for me as well. Even the most educated [person] could learn something from this course.”
As we learned practical tips together, including how chicken should be baked instead of fried, how a meal should always have something green, and how one can make a meal for a large family and still be within budget, I realized there was much more I could do to start engaging in healthier eating and spending.
The women around me realized the same thing. A woman sitting next to me said, “I have three boys at home. They all eat like horses. Wait till I cook them up something like this,” she said, gesturing to her plate of food. Another woman sitting behind me had brought her children along that day. I could overhear the little girl sitting with her saying, “This is good, I thought I wouldn’t like it but this green stuff is good.”
Everyone left the course that day with new insights into eating and cooking. I could hear the women discussing what meal they were going to make for their families next. Some were even planning group trips to HEB to pick out foods to eat and cook for their families. Hearing such positive feedback from my fellow participants showed me the great impact a program such as this one can have not only as a step toward reducing food insecurity, but also as a step toward building support and community.
Many of us don’t know how we can shop for and make healthy and affordable meals. Attending or volunteering with a program like Cooking Matters can help us find new ways to cook meals and better ways to stretch a restricted budget.
For more information about Cooking Matters, visit http://cookingmatters.org/ . To learn more about the Cooking Matters/Hunger in God’s World program in Waco and other WRBA hunger ministries contact Hunger Ministry Coordinator Conway Del Conte at [email protected].
This Act Locally Waco blog post was written by Abby Loop. Abby is from Brownsville, Texas and is a senior journalism student at Baylor University. She loves traveling, good music, and making a difference. She’s currently hoping to bring about positive changes through anti-hunger work. If you would be interested in writing for the Act Locally Waco blog, please contact Ashley Thornton via email at [email protected].
by Cameron Goodman
Introduction to Recidivism
The issue of recidivism is what brought me to Waco just six months ago as a Volunteer in Service to America (VISTA). When I told my family and friends about the impending move, I found that many had no idea what the term recidivism even meant, let alone why it is such an important issue for our society on the National, State, and Local level. Until very recently, I myself did not have a great understanding of recidivism or its importance, but the past six months have opened my eyes to the struggles that many formerly incarcerated individuals face when they leave jail or prison and return back into our community.
Recidivism may sound like technical jargon. Here’s a definition: “Criminal acts that result in the rearrest, reconviction, or return to prison with or without a new sentence.” The “recidivism rate” typically refers to the percentage of formerly incarcerated individuals who return to incarceration within three years.
Why Recidivism Matters
Nearly 95 percent of State Prisoners will return to their communities at some point in time, with 600,000 prisoners released annually nationwide. While some of these men and women will successfully make the transition out of incarceration and back into a community, many are not so fortunate. Nationally, the recidivism rate hovers near 41 percent.
High recidivism rates may mean that ex-offenders are committing new crimes when they are released. This becomes a public safety issue. Working to help ex-offenders build positive behaviors and supporting them in their transition out of incarceration can mean a safer community for us all.
High recidivism rates also impact local families. Children of incarcerated parents are more than 5 1/2 times more likely to be expelled or suspended from school than students who do not have an incarcerated parent. They are also 5 times more likely to end up behind bars themselves. In order to stop this cycle of crime, it is important to help formerly incarcerated parents avoid returning to jail or prison, and to help them become a positive presence within their own families.
The economic implications of the recidivism rate are also very important. In a time of tightening budgets, saving money by reducing the number of inmates in county jails, as well as state and federal facilities, can help to direct tax dollars that would have been used to keep people behind bars to other more productive areas.
To put things in a local perspective, the average daily cost to house the entire jail population in McLennan County adds up to $52,628 dollars per day. Another way to think about these costs is that it costs more to house an inmate in jail for 5 months than the average price of tuition at a public university in Texas. The high cost of keeping offenders behind bars means that even a small percentage decrease in the recidivism rate in our county can help to save a significant amount of money for taxpayers.
Lessons That I Have Learned
While it is easy to get lost in all the reports and data regarding recidivism, some of the most important lessons that I have learned have come from informal conversations with those who have been behind bars and are currently making strides to get their lives back on track.
One of these conversations was particularly eye opening in that it demonstrated just how many obstacles exist for people who have a criminal record. This person had already completed a very arduous two-year drug rehabilitation program and had also managed to find employment, but he opened up to me about the other struggles that made life after prison so difficult. The very modest paycheck that he earned had to cover probation fees, child support payments, and tuition at a local community college. This left him with very little after all of his obligations had been met. Instead of being downtrodden, he beamed with excitement while telling me about how he was finally working towards his dream career and how all of the hard work in his rehabilitation program had finally started to pay off.
While many fall back into old habits when faced with adversity, this individual helped to show me that successful reintegration is possible when programs and support systems exist to help those who want to turn their lives around.
How You Can Help
A report released by the Council of State Governments Justice Center stated that it is of special importance that ex-offenders get support in their own communities rather than looking to centrally based institutions. This finding demonstrates the necessity of a community wide effort to help reduce recidivism and provide these fellow citizens with the support that they need to help put their life on the right track and stay there.
Individual efforts to educate the community are helpful. Mission Waco Legal Services Lawyer Kent McKeever’s “40 Days in Orange” campaign helped shine the light on recidivism in McLennan County, and his story even reached the pages of the New York Times. We may not all be able have our own story in the one of the most circulated newspapers in the country, but we can help to educate our friends and neighbors by simply having a discussion about recidivism and what we can do to help reduce the number of people returning behind bars.
If you are an employer, consider giving one of these returning citizens a chance. Many of these ex-offenders have marketable skills. The employers to whom I have spoken claim that many of the ex-offenders that they have hired have been dependable and have displayed a great willingness to work. Also, employers may be eligible for a Work Opportunity Tax Credit when they hire an ex-offender.
The McLennan County reintegration Roundtable
If you wish to become involved this effort at the community level, then I encourage you to learn more about the McLennan County Reintegration Roundtable. There are four interest groups that work on subjects such as providing counseling to ex-offenders, linking ex-offenders with existing resources in our community, increasing employment for ex-offenders, and measuring the success of reintegration efforts in McLennan County. To find out more information about the Reintegration Roundtable, please visit www.McLennanCountyReintegration.weebly.com.
This Act Locally Waco blog post was written by Cameron Goodman. Cameron is a recent graduate from the Bush School of Government and Public Service and is serving as an AmeriCorps Vista member through Baylor¹s Office of Community Engagement and Service (CES). For more information on programs offered through CES, please visit http://www.baylor.edu/engage/. If you would be interested in writing for the Act Locally Waco blog, please contact Ashley Thornton by emailing [email protected] .
by Phil York, Act Locally Waco Housing and Homelessness Policy blogger
In the Act Locally Waco blog post on May 18, we introduced information about a bill called The U.S. House of Representatives Fiscal Year 2015 Transportation Housing and Urban Development (THUD) bill (HR 4745). In this post, I would like to give you an update on the status of that bill, and also explain how this bill directly affects our goal of reducing homelessness in Waco.
The importance of McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance Grants
A key element of the THUD bill that directly affects Waco is funding for McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance Grants, in particular the Continuum of Care program. (For an excellent description of this program from the National Alliance to End Homelessness, click here.) According to the most recent update on the Mayor’s 10-Year Plan to End Homelessness, agencies and organizations who work with homeless people in Waco have been able to reduce chronic homelessness in Waco by two-thirds since work on the plan was initiated in 2005. The funds Waco has received via the Continuum of Care Grant program have been foundational to the successful implementation of the plan so far, and continued funding will be necessary for on-going success.
In 2013, for example, our Waco community received over a million dollars ($1,040,292 ) through this competitive grant program. Almost all of the money ($977,639) received from this grant went directly to fund needed programs administered by some of the most well-respected non-profits and agencies in Waco, specifically:
- Compassion Ministries (1 program)
- Mission Waco (1 program)
- The Family Abuse Center (3 programs)
- The Heart of Texas Region MHMR (2 programs), and
- The Salvation Army (1 program)
The remainder ($62,653) went to pay for the administration of our Homeless Management Information System (HMIS). This is the software that allows us to measure participation in our programs for homeless people and to identify patterns in usage of various services. It is our best source for the information we need to track our progress and to make sure we are working together as efficiently and effectively as possible.
According to the research done in connection with the Mayor’s 10-year Plan to End Homelessness, each chronically homeless person in Waco was costing the city $39,000 in 2005. Best estimates suggest that with the help of the Continuum of Care grant funds, we have reduced the number of chronically homeless people in Waco from 97 (at a cost of $3,783,000 per year) to 32 ($1,248,000 per year). In other words for a $1,040,292 per year Continuum of Care investment, we are generating $2,535,000 per year worth of benefit. And those figures only consider what we have been able to accomplish regarding chronic homelessness; they do not take into account the progress that has been made regarding other kinds of homelessness thanks to Continuum of Care funding.
What does HR 4745 mean to Waco?
President Obama’s proposed 2015 budget included $2.145 billion for Homeless Assistance Grants, a $300 million dollar increase. The House version of the appropriation (HR 4745), proposes keeping the funding at 2014 levels, $2.105 billion.
According to the National Alliance to End Homelessness (NAEH), remaining at 2014 funding levels would be bad news for communities like Waco who depend on money from the Continuum of Care Grant. As the NAEH explains on their website, “Due to expiring multi-year grants and increased renewal demand, the $2.105 billion funding level for McKinney that passed through the House would result in funding cuts to Continuums of Care. If this funding level is enacted, communities will be required to once again make the difficult tiering and prioritization decisions they made for the FY 2013 NOFA (Notice of Funds Availability).”
Where is the Bill Now?
According to Govtrack.us, this bill passed in the House on June 10, 2014 and goes to the Senate next for consideration.
What Can I do?
Remain informed: The most important call to action is for us to remain informed about the current policy landscape. Regardless of your political background or interest, we share common ground in the preservation and long term health of Waco. You can follow the work of the US Committee on Appropriations by visiting their website: http://appropriations.house.gov/news/. Another useful site for keeping track of legislation is Govtrack.us. This site gives a step by step graphical guide on where policy is within the legislative process.
Speak up: Contact your U.S. House representative and your U.S. Senators. Let your representatives know that the McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance Grants, and in particular the Continuum of Care Grants, are making a tremendous difference in the Waco community. The money being spent has directly resulted in reducing homelessness, and it is an investment that saves money both immediately and in the long run. Feel free to use points raised in this blog post as talking points in your correspondence. If your Representative is Mr. Bill Flores, you have the convenience to contact Rep Bill Flores directly via email (https://billflores.house.gov/contact/ ). The U.S. Senators from Texas are John Cornyn and Ted Cruz, click on their names to find out how to contact each of them.
Connect directly to the mission: There are volunteer and giving opportunities at each of the nonprofits listed in this blog post. Connect directly to the work that is reducing homelessness and making Waco a better place to live for all of us.
Special thanks to Jennifer Caballero, Lead Program Analyst – HMIS, City of Waco, for her technical assistance in this blog post research.
Phil York, Director of Development at Waco Habitat for Humanity, is a self-described “policy nerd;” he is also the Act Locally Waco housing and homelessness policy blogger. You can direct questions to Phil to [email protected]. Would you be interested in blogging for Act Locally Waco? If so please email [email protected].
When my 13-year-old son came home from school one day last year and told me he and some friends had formed a rock band, I was skeptical. We had tried violin lessons in third grade and guitar lessons a few years later — and bought all the equipment that goes with it. But it wasn’t until he found his own path to music with friends that he started having fun and wanting to spend his spare time practicing his instrument.
The band is made up of Jackson Anderson (lead guitar), Spencer Davis (keyboard), Analisa Villarreal (lead vocals), George Eichenberg (bass) and John Paul Bustamante (drums). They have taken the name “26th Street” because they practice in John Paul’s grandparents’ garage on 26th Street in Waco. They play everything from classic rock to modern to country.
With the birth of 26th Street, I started to see less TV time and more creativity flowing — and with that I saw a sense of accomplishment, pride and a love of something all his own. He was excited to show me the more complicated bass line of “Hotel California,” which he had spent hours perfecting. And I was hearing the same from the other parents.
They began playing at some friends’ birthday parties and at a local yogurt shop, where they had a friend willing to let them play on the patio for tips.
As they worked and got better, crowds of cheering friends and family showed up to watch them play. Eventually even folks who weren’t there just to be nice started showing up. Then, they started getting paid gigs at places like El Chico, who promoted them with posters and emails. People started asking them for photos, business cards and Facebook page, which they now have. They are making money, coordinating their own schedules, working with business owners and learning to be responsible and deliver a quality product: their music. Their summer is sprinkled with gigs that include everything from a quinceanera to a museum fundraiser — and they love contributing to the local music scene.
One of the best parts is that the Waco community has been very welcoming. The band has played at El Chico, Slippery Minnow, Valley Mills Vineyard, The Gin in Belton and other parties and events. In May, they were named the Music Association of Central Texas’ “Horizon” award winner for up and coming artists.
The band practices once a week in the garage on 26th street, and I think the kids look forward to this time together, creating, collaborating, and making music. As a parent, I can’t think of anything I’d rather my kid be doing. And the funny thing is, it was all their idea, not ours. The parents provide support – sometimes lots of support – but the kids and their music are in the driver’s seat.
The other 26th Street parents and I are proud of our kids. As Erin Davis, mom of Spencer Davis, the keyboard player, says. “It’s deeply rewarding to see our kids work so hard and be recognized in the local music scene.” They are building up a sense of responsibility and self-worth. They are taking risks. They are making a personal investment in something they care about. They are learning habits and skills that will serve them well throughout the rest of their lives. One of the most important skills they are learning is how to make their own fun!
Waco and other towns our size can sometimes suffer from a general misperception, especially regarding young people, that “there’s nothing to do.” One thing that 26th Street can teach all of us is that there is always something to do if you know how to make your own fun. In fact, the fun you make yourself can be better, and better for you, than the fun that is delivered ready-made. Imagine how much more fun our kids are having being in a band than they would ever have just by paying to go see bands. Imagine how much more benefit they are getting from this experience.
Whether it’s music or something else, there are lots of things kids can do in Waco to have fun, get involved in the community, make friends, learn crucial life skills and even in some cases earn some money: start a band, start a business, find some regular volunteer “employment.” Parents, this will take some subtlety on your part, but try not to buy in if you hear your kids saying, “there’s nothing to do.” Find a subtle way to suggest, inspire and encourage something – and let them run with it. Then – when they are running – cheer like crazy and invite your friends and the whole community to do the same.
Gretchen Eichenberg is a life-long Wacoan and local high school newspaper and yearbook adviser. There’s nothing she’d rather be doing more than cheering on her favorite softball player or jamming to the tunes of her son’s band. Her family includes husband, Alex, and kids George, 14, and Brigitte, 11, and an energetic Lab named Luke, who thinks he rules the HOT Dog Park.
by Ryn Farmer
Each year, nearly 9 million dollars are drained from the Waco economy because of excessive fees charged by predatory lenders.
Recently, a documentary came out called “Spent: Looking for Change.” It follows the lives of four different families who are struggling to get by and end up using payday loans and auto title loans to help supplement their income. One of the individuals in the documentary states, “It’s not an irrational choice. It’s just not a productive choice… and it’s a costly choice.” And sometimes working families do not have any other option. You can watch “Spent” by clicking here.
Payday loans and auto title loans emerged in the 1990s. They were developed as a way to provide small cash advances to individuals who had poor credit and could not get a loan from a financial institution. Gary Rivlin with AlterNet writes, “By 2006, the payday loan was a $40-billion-a-year industry with more storefronts scattered around the country than the combined numbers of McDonalds and Burger King, each offering a kind of fast-food finance to the working poor at annual interest rates as high as 500 and 600 percent, depending on the state.” (“Meet the Man Who Made a Fortune Exploiting the Poor With Payday Loans”)
This issue has garnered much conversation, both in the state of Texas and in Waco, over the past several years. In many other states payday and auto title lenders are highly regulated, but in Texas few regulations exist to keep these entities in check. Because of the lack of regulation, there has been a tremendous growth of payday lenders in Texas. They use coercion to reel in consumers and then extort them by keeping them in a tangled web of debt through excessive fees and multiple refinances of the loan.
Under the current state law:
- No limits on fees
- No limit on interest rates
- No limit on the size of the loan
- No limit on rollovers or refinances
- No limits on ability to repay based on income
The impact on consumers is devastating. In Texas, the loan rate can be upwards of 500% APR. The average amount borrowed in Texas is $500 for a payday loan and $800 for an auto title loan. The average payday borrower in Texas pays $840 for a $300 loan. Many payday borrowers take out additional loans to cover previous loans resulting in a vicious cycle of debt. In the greater Waco area, there are 65 storefronts and 55% of consumers refinance their payday loan (Citizens for Responsible Lending, 2014; Texas Appleseed, 2013).
All of this seems absolutely ridiculous, right? So how is it legal? The diagram gives a short explanation. The consumer pays the money to the Credit Service Organization (CSO) or the Credit Access Business (CAB), which is the storefront, and only interacts with them. The storefront (the CSO/CAB) is unregulated in Texas and can charge any amount they want in fees. The lender (usually a bank) provides the loan capital at a 10% interest rate to the CSO/CAB and the lender does not have a direct relationship with the consumer. The consumer pays the 10% interest plus the additional fees that the CSO/CAB adds to the loan.
A woman from Waco tells her story about using a payday lending service after experiencing some unforeseen difficulties: “My husband was injured at his work place and had to go on disability. That meant we were on a fixed income. I started with a cash store because I saw an ad on TV. I got $300. Every 2 weeks there was a repayment due. I would pay $67 or $70 in fees to refinance the loan. I’m on a part time income. I have paid $150 in interest and I still owe $300. Because I couldn’t pay it back I got another one and another and another one to pay back my other loan. My husband also took out 4 other loans. After a year of this they let me break down the loan into 4 payments, but you have to ask for this plan. They don’t advertise it, and you have to qualify. We barely had enough money for food… I closed my bank account and stopped paying on the loans. I know it’s probably on my credit report. If you’re going to do work with legislation you should tell them to offer payment plans to customers. The payday lenders don’t tell their customers about that option. It would help to have payment plans instead.”
Little is being done at the state-level to address these concerns. There has been a push in the state of Texas to pass ordinances at the local city level and to create ethical alternatives. So far, 18 Texas cities have passed ordinances to limit payday and auto title lenders. Waco has worked to address this in the past and is currently ramping up efforts. However, few viable alternatives exist in Waco so far.
Citizens for Responsible Lending is a group of individuals from a variety of sectors in Waco who have formed several task teams to work on addressing predatory lending. They are looking at what type of ordinance could be passed within our city and in the greater Waco area to limit payday and auto title lenders. They are also seeking to develop an alternative to these negative business practices that exploit our citizens. If you are interested in joining Citizens for Responsible Lending or would like more information about this issue, please contact Ryn Farmer or Alexis Christensen at 254.235.7358 or email them: [email protected] or [email protected].
This Week’s Act Locally Waco Blog post is by Ryn Farmer. Ryn is a Community Organizer at the Waco Community Development Corporation (Waco CDC). Waco CDC helps to inspire and cultivate healthy neighborhoods. They consider a healthy neighborhood to be one that is safe, clean, and diverse; one in which it makes economic sense for people to invest and one where neighbors manage change successfully. If you would be interested in writing for the Act Locally Waco blog, please send an email expressing your interest to [email protected].