VISTA Challenges and Successes of 2009; Exciting Goals for 2010
On January 20th we invited community advisory members and agency leadership to hear what Joel, Cacy and Jessica had to report after a strong six months of service to Safe & Sound and the City of Milwaukee.
Each person provided a brief presentation of their accomplishments from 2009 and outlined their goals for 2010. Their VISTA Volunteer Assignment Descriptions provide the road map of their programmatic objectives and weekly and quarterly narratives keep track of the day-to-day challenges and successes that are sometimes forgotten.
Some of the highlights for 2010 include Joel’s announcement of several upcoming community restorative justice trainings for youth and adults. Cacy has planned a series of landlord meetings in an effort to generate a startup model for landlord compacts. Jessica has really made progress with Safe Place youth programming, including the Reality Check coalition community mobilization efforts to reduce teenage access to alcohol and harmful substances.
However, the presenters also emphasized the difficulties they experienced learning the intricacies of non-profit work and developing the relationships with key stakeholders they need to be successful in their positions. One thing is clear; that there is no one path to success in building the capacity of Safe & Sound and Milwaukee neighborhoods. The unique talents and experiences each brings will be as diverse and the solutions they develop. Keep up the great work!
