The Trumpet - NOLA Pays It Forward

May/June 2015 • Community Voices Orchestrating Change • Issue 9 Volume 3

NOLA Pays It Forward Supporting a Culture of Giving in New Orleans

INSIDE • Between Law and Hope

(The Words of a Rising Senior of St. Augustine High School)

• The Soul of Philanthropy in the Black Community • Head Start Celebrates 50 years Neighborhoods Partnership Network’s (NPN) mission is to improve our quality of life by engaging New Orleanians in neighborhood revitalization and civic process.

Letter From The Executive Director Photo: Kevin Griffin/2Kphoto

NEIGHBORHOODS

Building From the Ground Up

PARTNERSHIP NETWORK

NPN provides an inclusive and collaborative city-wide framework to empower neighborhood groups in New Orleans.

Find Out More at NPNnola.com Timolynn Sams Sumter

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he American ideology and pillars of democracy --- justice, equality, freedom and representation must ensure a societal floor is created and that the needs of the most vulnerable are met even as we facilitate the growth and creativity of our most industrious citizen’s to enable new opportunities. The pillars of democracy are only stabilized when a society has the infrastructure for it to exist. The same way roads and bridges, water mains and power lines are essential to a functioning municipality, so too is the need for authentic resident engagement and civic leadership across all sectors. There is a need for our investing in the civic infrastructure of our residents and address the underlying systems and structures that enable people to come together to address their challenges effectively.

We need only to look to our distant past of New Orleans and Hurricane Katrina ten years ago, BP oil spill five years ago or Baltimore three weeks ago that there is a shift in how members of American society experience democracy in their day-today lives. In all cases there was an absence of vehicles for residents to engage in public process, to be informed by accurate information, and to contribute to decisionmaking in a meaningful way to effect change, which had given rise to high levels of disengagement.

Building a civic infrastructure requires believing a difference can be made and having the know-how and resources to do it. It’s composed of community knowledge, connection, trust and action and consists of the opportunities, activities and arenas—both online and face-to-face allowing residents to connect with each other, solve problems, make decisions and celebrate community. Without a strong civic infrastructure, great ideas get lost, innovative breakthroughs get bungled, and positive momentum comes to a jerking halt. Research shows that communities with higher levels of engagement are safer, have better schools, are more successful economically, and have a higher quality of life. NPN aims to equip residents with the skills and tools to strengthen their neighborhoods and inspire change. Our efforts over the years have helped to not only galvanize and coalesce a once disinterested and disconnected city of neighborhoods, but to ensure that resident civic leadership continues, thrives, and has the support needed to ensure its successful future. Today, more than ever, we need to assist a new group of resident leaders who are beginning to participate. As those who gave so much time and energy from 2006 to today now begin to pass the baton, NPN will need to be here to ensure that these new leaders have the information and the resources to address the concerns and issues in their neighborhoods.

Neighborhoods Partnership Network has played a vital role in ensuring vibrant neighborhoods exist in New Orleans. We believe that by strengthening New Orleans civic infrastructure we are guaranteed to have vibrant civic institutions, active voters, innovative social entrepreneurs and a strong culture of volunteerism and philanthropy.

I invite you to continue to connect with one another, address our shared concerns, build community, and solve problems whether it’s through water management, public safety, transportation or a housing plan. NPN is committed to strengthening the civic infrastructure of New Orleans neighborhoods and I know you are too!

NPN Board Members Victor Gordon, Board Chair, Pontilly Neighborhood Association Ryan Albright Karen Chabert, Irish Channel Neighborhood Association Wendy Laker, Mid-City Neighborhood Organization Sylvia Scineaux-Richard, ENONAC Katherine Prevost, Upper Ninth Ward Bunny Friend

Neighborhood Association

Third Party Submission Issues Physical submissions on paper, CD, etc. cannot be returned unless an arrangement is made. Submissions may be edited and may be published or otherwise reused in any medium. By submitting any notes, information or material, or otherwise providing any material for publication in the newspaper, you are representing that you are the owner of the material, or are making your submission with the consent of the owner of the material, all information you provide is true, accurate, current and complete.

Non-Liability Disclaimers The Trumpet may contain facts, views, opinions, statements and recommendations of third party individuals and organizations.

The Trumpet does not represent or endorse the accuracy or reliability of any advice, opinion, statement or other information in the publication and use of or reliance on such advice, opinion, statement or other information is at your own risk.

Copyright © 2015 Neighborhoods Partnership Network. All Rights Reserved.

Any copying, redistribution or retransmission of any of the contents of this service without the express written consent of Neighborhoods Partnership Network is expressly prohibited.

Timolynn Sams Sumter

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The Trumpet | May/June | 2015

N E I G H B O R H O O D S

P A R T N E R S H I P

N E T W O R K

Contents

The Trumpet

A Favorite Father Jonathan Sumter

4 The 50th Anniversary of Head Start 6 Between Law and Hope

(The Words of a Rising Senior of St. Augustine High School)

10 The Soul of Philanthropy in the Black Community 12 Waterwise NOLA

(7th Ward Resident Plants a Rain Garden)

25 CeCe Gives 20 Thoughts to Get You Through a Break Up Eileen Carter

inateite m o N avor F Your ather!

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Mack McClendon

Nominate Your New Orleans Favorite Fathers 2015 The John and Catherin Lee family

Good Life Pays it Forward Giving and Going Above and Beyond: 9 The = Compassion, Love, Tolerance 20 A Tribute to Mack McClendon and Understanding

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Pull Your Roots, Strengthen 24 Don’t Them (Creating Affordable Housing for Those at a Lower-Income Level)

The Trumpet Editorial Board Gabrielle Alicino, NEWCITY Neighborhood Partnership David Baker, Louisiana Weekly Christy Chapman, Author Kelsey Foster, Committee for A Better New Orleans Kevin Griffin, 2K Photo NOLA & Graphics Rachel Heiligman, Ride New Orleans Linedda McIver, AARP Louisiana Valerie Robinson, Old Algiers Main Street Corporation Julia Ramsey, Orleans Public Education Network Reagan Sidney, ForeScene Events Anna Stenger, ForeScene Events Gretchen Zalkind, NOLA TimeBank

The Trumpet | May/June | 2015

NEIGHBORHOODS PARTNERSHIP NETWORK

3321 Tulane Avenue New Orleans, LA 70119 504.940.2207 • FX 504.940.2208 thetrumpet@npnnola.com www.npnnola.com 3

Head Start — then and now

Five Decades of Reducing Poverty in Our Community

The 50th Anniversary of Head Start

Total Community Action, Inc, (TCA) was incorporated in December, 1964 as the local community action agency. TCA is a private nonprofit human services organization dedicated to “helping people, changing lives, and improving communities”. Our mission is to reduce poverty in our community by providing human services, experiences, and opportunities that move persons from poverty to self-sufficiency.

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oday, we celebrate the 50th Anniversary of Head Start, a building block to success for children and families to self-sufficiency. Head Start was launched by President Lyndon Johnson’s administration on May 18, 1965 in the famous White House Rose Garden.

From a national summer project that enrolled 561,000 children nationally in 1965, Head Start has grown into a comprehensive child development program providing educational, social, nutritional, and health services for America’s low-income children and their families. Over its 50year history, Head Start’s success stories with children and families are legendary. An untold story, however, is the vital part community partnerships and collaborations have played in Head Start’s success over the years that includes health and mental health providers, and other agencies that provide services to children with disabilities, child protective services, childcare organizations, and local schools, colleges and universities.

In New Orleans, Project Pre-kindergarten was developed by TCA and subcontracted to the Orleans Parish School Board for administration in late 1965. The objective was to deliver an education experience and to prepare

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each child for his or her entrance into the established education system.

Since that time TCA, its delegate agencies, and its child care partners, have enrolled more than 6800 four year old children in three Summer Head Start programs and 114,500 infants, toddlers, three year and four year old children in its Head Start and Early Head Start programs. This means that when extrapolated, TCA and Head Start has impacted the lives of more that forty percent of New Orleanians over the 50 years of its existence.

TCA has a distinguished history in the early child development community. Before the devastation caused by Hurricane Katrina in 2005, the agency administered the largest Head Start and Early Head Start programs in the state of Louisiana, enrolling 2618 Head Start children and 204 Early Head Start pregnant women, infant, and toddlers in 29 Head Start centers, two (2) Head Start/Early Head Start centers, four (4) Early Head Start centers, eight (8) Family Child Care homes, and three (3) child care partner sites. While some contraction has occurred, the program still serves over 2,400 children annually, and is still the largest grantee in the state.

The Trumpet | May/June | 2015

TCA operates fifteen Head Start Centers throughout the New Orleans and five Early Head Start Centers. TCA also contracts with other partners in the community to provide additional Head Start and Early Head services at Kingsley House, Catholic Charities, Urban League, Covenant House, Central City EOC, and Orleans Parish School Board. Additionally, TCA pays for Head Start/Early Head Start slots at Dryades YMCA, Royal Castle, Giggles Child Development Center, and Happy Kids Pre-School.

From its beginnings, Head Start has involved parents in every aspect of the program as volunteers. Thousands of parents volunteer for our programs each year. In 2014, parents donated over 550,000 volunteer hours to support the Head Start program. They may help teachers supervise children’s play, tell them stories or go on field trips. Parents receive training on how to encourage and support their children’s development. They also receive services through Head Start such as job, ESL, or literacy training. Many gain the confidence to return to school or seek better jobs. This program provides preschool aged children of low-income families a comprehensive education program and helps families break the cycle of poverty.

Producing Positive Outcomes Research has shown that the educational head start provided to students in Head Start has had a positive impact on their subsequent school performances. It is a fact that TCA’s Head Start approach to education was neither known, nor in general use in the New Orleans area in the late sixties.

Today, it is part of elementary schools’, high schools’ and colleges’ standard operating procedures. Families in the Total Community Action, Inc. Head Start and Early Head Start program are proving that having their children enrolled in the program affords them the opportunity to focus on making strides toward self-sufficiency. Throughout the history of this program parents have achieved goals which they have set to improve the quality of life for themselves and their families.

Seniors: Stay at Home

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e help elderly and disabled individuals stay out of nursing homes in New Orleans with the Shared Housing of New Orleans program. Ours is a preventative program that allows elderly and/or disabled individuals to remain in their homes who would like to, and who do not need to be in nursing homes. We do this by matching a Homeowner with a Homeseeker. The Homeseeker provides light housekeeping and companionship. The Homeowner, in return, provides room and board. We take self-referrals or referrals from others.

Over the last three years child outcomes data shows that our children enter Head Start with a significant deficit in the areas of language and literacy, approaches to learning and cognition and general knowledge, due mostly to the lack of consistent exposure and enrichment in those areas. Yet by mid-year our children show marked performance in those areas, as well as in the other three essential domains, as our teachers provide individualization and scaffolding techniques, exceptional teacher-child interactions, researchbased curricula, developmentally appropriate practices and strong parental involvement.

In program year 2013-2014 parents experienced the kind of success which has long lasting impact on family development. Forty-eight parents, who were previously unemployed, obtained employment; while thirty-one parents acquired better paying jobs. Many of the latter were a direct result of enrolling in or completing educational programs. One parent secured a job in photography which allows her the opportunity to travel to other parts of the country for short periods of time. Program data shows that seventy-two parents participated in career development programs including radiology, social work, dialysis certification, respiratory therapy, early childhood education, accounting, biology, sociology, business, cosmetology, medical coding, food service, bartending, nursing, emergency medical services, and health care administration, including one parent who completed the Culinary Arts School in New York and now works as a Chef in New Orleans.

Additionally, thirty-four parents earned degrees or licensing in criminal justice, graphic design, psychology, dental assistant, clinical nursing assistant, licensed practical nurse, mortician, commercial driver, and medical assistant.

Four parents have started businesses of their own—in transportation, hair care, on-line clothing and accessories, and insurance sales. Three other parents earned their driver’s licenses. For some these represent small items but for others they represent small successes that can began the path to a successful future.

In 2013, TCA enthusiastically entered the new Head Start redesignation with a strong presence and a steady history of positive results. We proposed a realigned program that assist children in a comprehensive birth to five program designed to prepare students for entering kindergarten and to assist families to achieve their self sufficiency goals using a Two Generation approach to provide comprehensive services focused on positive family outcomes and long term sustainability of gains.

Nationally, Head Start has given more than 31 million children an opportunity for success in school and life during the past 50 years. After more than four plus decades of exemplary program administration and operation have been based on our accomplishments are many, our impact is wide, and our history as a change-maker is without question. What we do is provide the building blocks towards self-sufficiency. By doing it right, we literally change lives.

Finally, in celebration of the fifty years of the window of opportunity for our nation’s most at risk children and families, TCA will join others on Monday, May 18th, to plant a rose bush in front of each of our Head Start centers.

SHARED HOUSING OF NEW ORLEANS

Matching Homeowners with Homeseekers

(504) 896-2575 All Services are FREE The Trumpet | May/June | 2015

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Between Law And Hope

By Evan D. Sams, rising Senior of St. Augustine High School

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he recent news, conversation and focus have been on the more than frequent killings of (often young) black males in the hands of police. I’ve never questioned or even thought about what this means to my life. Maybe because my mom and my community have always protected me from the outside forces that many consider unfortunately as being normal or maybe it’s happening to me and my friends so often that it’s a part of the normality of my world, or maybe I’m just not paying attention to how I am being impacted and will later be forced to acknowledge it when faced with a similar dilemma. Needless to say here is my truth of how between hope and law we as young black men walk a fine line in New Orleans.

My mother and I moved back to New Orleans after Katrina my 4th grade year. I attended various schools; Charter, co-ed, all boys, Catholic/ parochial, all different from each other and each schools path on learning varied too. I’ve been to a school with a majority White population, to a majority African American populated “ok” school, to a not so “ok” school, to a deeply- rooted all African American male school. Being educated in post Katrina New Orleans as a black male can take time and can be a little complicated. The classroom environment was not only based on the teacher and the student relationship but also how the student’s families and neighborhoods were perceived. At the majority white populated school the teachers at my grade level were all White women, no Black female or male teachers and there was either a you get it like the others or you don’t style in teaching. In many of my classes I was the only male of color.

At the majority African American populated charter school learning was more of an interactive learning with participation in class and using

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methods of relation to learn the material but the discipline varied for boys and girls which left many boys out of school on suspensions or not included in extra-curricular activities. At the not so “ok” charter school; it’s sad to say but it was more like a prison the students walked through tall gated fences, there was always some sort of security guard around and the teaching was not exciting or fun it was all about THE TEST, ie. LEAP. Needless to say I needed and wanted something different as I was entering my 9th grade year. Although I was accepted to exceptional public charter schools my mom and I want to find a place that reflected who we envisioned me being as a young man. We found that difference between law and hope, or what most of us call “St. Aug.” The physical building of St. Augustine is located in the historic 7th ward neighborhood located on A.P. Tureaud St, named for the civil rights attorney who fought the Jim Crow system in I’ve gained a sense of New Orleans. identity, accountability I’ve been at St. Aug for 3 years now and my and expectation that maturity level and wisdom is shared amongst have elevated over those a network of African years. I’ve gained a sense of American men who have identity, accountability and expectation that is shared a deep desire to be not amongst a network of African only the best, but to American men who have a excel where others only deep desire to be not only dream of going. the best, but to excel where others only dream of going.

Whether it’s the football team, the band, or the FBLA club, St. Augustine excels. Our accomplishments are collective and individual and our alumni cover the spectrum of who a Black man can be such as Dean Baquet executive editor for the New York Times, Jay Electronica Roc Nation rapper, Leonard Fournette #1 high school prospect, Avery Johnson former NBA player and coach, and Sidney Barthelemy former mayor of New Orleans. All of these men graduated at different times and many are decades apart but the extraordinary thing they all have in common is St. Augustine High School. There is a sense of hope that St. Aug gives me and the other students who enter 2600 A.P. Tureaud Ave that we’ll graduate from this historic institution and move on to graduating from college exceptionally despite the uncertain statistics that exist in the laws of our city and country for Black men.

There is shadow of despair for many who look just like me. This despair outlines any possibility of hope that could be achieved. I wonder if Trayvon Martin, Michael Brown, and Freddie Grey had this type of hope. I also question what took that hope away from them? Law is what governs and can dictate our hope. It’s unfortunate and it irks me that African American males are the majority of the races and population in jail and are the minority in college graduations, job opportunities, and family dynamics.

I hope that one day soon this reality will change to African American males are being not only college students but the majority of college graduates. The hope that the law will one day give us the promised hope to believe and trust in law.

Evan Sams is a rising senior at St. Augustine High School. He is a member of the basketball team and Moot trial team. Upon graduation from St. Augustine he would like to attend the historic Howard University and major in Political Science/Criminal Justice where plans to have a career in law.

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Caregiving

The Ultimate Gift

By Haley Parker, AARP

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magine a day in the life of the typical working american: you wake up, take the children to school, work an 8 hour day, pick the children up, help with homework/extracurricular activities all while getting dinner on the table at a respectable hour. Sound like a lot?

Now imagine doing all of that, plus taking care of an elderly parent or disabled child who needs support in order to live independently at home.

Caregivers across the nation manage to balance their personal lives; all while being the sole caretaker of a family member who relies on them for everything.

AARP strives to help caregivers locally and nationwide, providing them with the tools, information and suport that they need to properly care for their loved ones and themselves.

AARP Louisiana partner volunteer Pastor Eileen Johnson experiences caregiving first hand while raising her 17-year old autistic son.

In 2007, Eileen Johnson along with her husband Deacon Mark Johnson started “Confront and Conquer” a New Orleansbased organization that provides resources that help in the successful parenting of any special needs child.

“We believe that no person or child with special needs should be institutionalized,” Eileen says. “Families should have the resources it needs to care for that person so that no one has to be separated from their family.”

Eileen and her husband are comitted to sharing their lessons of faith and abundant resources with families who are caring for children with unique learning and social challenges.

Caregivers don’t think of themselves as caregivers, but as the sons, daughters, parents and spouses doing what families do for their loved ones.

AARP Louisiana member Cheryl Hills recently took on the caregiver role when her husband suffered life altering 2nd and 3rd degree burns.

Burns that left him unable to physically care for himself.

“Being a housewife is one thing, but caregiving is totally different,” Hills says. “It takes a financial, mental and physical toll on you because your only focus is helping your loved one get better.”

This year, AARP Louisiana is pursuing a legislative caregiving resolution that will launch a study on family caregiving and long-term support and services.

This study will provide useful reccommendations for legislative and administrative action that will support family caregivers.

“As a caregiver, I realized it’s always good to have a support systetem,“ Hills says. “The services, information and tools that AARP provides for people 50+ is outstanding, and it never goes unnoticed, especially among us caregivers.”

AARP Louisiana in New Orleans will conduct the Living Longer, Living Stronger workshops which complement the Prepare to Care Program and assists caregivers on their journey.

Follow AARP Louisiana on twitter and Facebook to find out more about caregiving and all of the workshops coming up.

“We believe that no person or child with special needs should be institutionalized,” Eileen says.

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The Trumpet | May/June | 2015

The Good Life Pays it Forward

By Eileen Carter

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ay it Forward is a phrase coined by Lily Hardy Hammond in her 1916 book, “In The Garden of Delight.” This expression is old yet circles back to the basic depths of humanity: compassion, love, tolerance and understanding. These are the simplicities of life that, for me, lead to The Good Life.

The Good Life is a movement. A new chapter in my life played out on the radio airwaves of WBOK 1230 AM for all. It is part of my journey to Pay It Forward.

It’s about building an extraordinary life, deeper relationships and meaningful bodies of work, businesses and movements. It’s about becoming a creator, a leader, a mentor, a giver, a doer. It’s about telling a story with my life that I’d want to read and share. It’s about being a great mother to my son, instilling values in him, being able to watch him grow into his own person and eventually spread his wings, fly and become a productive citizen.

I want to create legendary stories, have more fun, cultivate higherlevels of freedom, touch more lives, leave bigger legacies and simply live a better life. And that’s what The Good Life is about.... opening a vein to the possibility of living differently in the world. Being grateful for the exposure and opportunities I have been afforded and hopefully affording a listener those same experiences.

The Good Life and Paying it Forward obviously means different things to different people.

To some people living in Western countries, it may mean being rich: the richer, the better. But what do you do with that wealth? How are you helping your fellow man?

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To Mother Theresa, it meant taking care of people. She managed to be quite happy with simplicity and love. She is quoted as saying, “Spread love everywhere you go. Let no one ever come to you without leaving happier.”

And that is what I hope to accomplish on my show, The Good Life.

Well we are at a cross roads and we can mold our community but it starts with the person in the mirror.

Self-reflection and gratitude can change your life. It has changed mine.

Let’s Pay it Forward and Live The Good Life, not just for ourselves, but for the generations that will follow. With compassion, tolerance, understanding and love we can change the world, but we must first change our thoughts.

Photo: Eileen Carter

The Good Life, tune in weekdays at 9am on WBOK 1230 AM. Let’s Pay It Forward and continue to open minds to living differently in the world.

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HOMEGROWN A

The Soul of Philanthropy in the Black Community

By Marcel McGee

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he practice of philanthropy is not a new concept in the black community and while we likely never thought of it as philanthropy, the very customs and traditions in our communities are all based on it. Philanthropy basically means “love of humanity” in the sense of caring, nourishing, developing and enhancing “what it is to be human” on both the benefactors’ and beneficiaries’ parts. Please note the absence of any reference to money or six figure donations.

In our communities nearly every interaction dealt with this concept of “love of humanity”. Like our Social Aid and Pleasure clubs which were partly created to help the less fortunate in our communities. These Social Aid and Pleasure Clubs paid dues, hosted parties, gave fish fry’s (or supper’s as my grandmother called them)all to help Ms. Johnson pay rent, put food on the table or even helped with burial expenses. Even without the help of Social Aid & Pleasure clubs, if Ms. Johnson needed to borrow sugar or run an electrical cord from one house to another to keep her family out of the dark, every neighbor was willing to help. So this philanthropy has been a part of our communities for years.

The good news is that as our communities have reached higher economic heights, so has our giving. A report released in 2012 by the W.K. Kellogg Foundation and Rockefeller Philanthropy Advisors, stated each year black donors give away 25 percent more of their incomes than white donors and that nearly two-thirds of black households make charitable donations, worth a total of about $11 billion a year. However, most of our giving is still to the church.

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Now having worked in the nonprofit sector for over 20 years, I can tell you now that giving to our churches alone will not fix our neighborhood ills. Of course there is always a need to support the church and the great work they do. However, we need to begin to look at diversifying where we give as a community so that our larger neighborhoods can benefit. Here in New Orleans I can count on two hands the number of high schools that have closed since Katrina. Now I’m not saying that donations alone would have saved some of these schools but donating is a form of being engaged.

Through giving you become an advocate, a participant, a voice. Strong alumni associations, rather school or college, can impact school reform, policy and possibly save some schools from closing.

The same holds true for donating to political parties or organizations in our communities. In years past, organizations were formed that supported candidates whose political agendas were good for local neighborhoods and communities. Again, you not only become a donor but an advocate and even a partner. It forces you, albeit gently, to pay attention to the politics in your neighborhoods and whose staying honest to their campaign promises.

All of this is real philanthropy and it is not different then what we did years ago for Ms. Johnson. We were not only interested in giving her a small donation to get her out of our face. We were truly interested in her as a whole person. We cared about her and her family. We stayed involved and today, that’s the kind of philanthropist we need in our communities and they look just like you.

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We See Ourselves as Saviors

By Min. Willie Muhammad

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have been a member of Muhammad Mosque No. 46 of the Nation of Islam for twenty-one years as of this April. Throughout those years, one of the questions I am often ask, “What causes you all (the Nation of Islam) to work so hard to better our community and change lives?” I decided to use how I have responded to that question as my contribution to the upcoming Neighborhoods Partnership Network edition which is focusing on Paying Forward.

First, giving back and working to better our community is a responsibility that is heavily stressed and ingrained in members of the Nation of Islam. To not do so is equivalent to any of the sins that God detests in the Bible (Old & New Testament), Quran, and Torah.

Secondly, we do not believe that the work of bettering our community should be the sole responsibility of civic/religious leaders who are present

nor of those we may be expecting to return. I would like to share this fable to illustrate this point. A man distraught by all the pain and suffering he saw all around him broke down and banged his fists into the dirt. His turned his head upward and yelled at God. “Look at this mess. Look at all this pain and suffering. Look at all this killing and hate. Oh God! WHY DON’T YOU DO SOMETHING!” God spoke to him and said “I did. I sent you.” God’s response is how BELIEVE, not how we feel or think. We see our community and the world in which we live in being in need to be saved, we see ourselves as SAVIOURS who have accepted the call to do so.

It is out of these beliefs that our spirit to walk through violent neighborhoods, to resolve street beefs, to provide services that services that strengthen families, to be advocates for the voiceless and much more-is fueled.

The City That Love Built

By G. Albert Ruesga, President and CEO of the Greater New Orleans Foundation

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n her extraordinary book, Enrique’s Journey, Sonia Nazario recounts the odyssey of a young boy who faces unimaginable danger to reconnect with his mother in the United States. Unable to feed her children, she had left Honduras eleven years earlier to find work in El Norte. Enrique makes his way north, as many migrants do, by clinging to the tops and sides of freight trains: The trains travel through some of the poorest stretches of Mexico and Central America, and yet it’s common for the people who live along the tracks to throw small bundles to the migrants as they pass: Families throw sweaters, tortillas, bread, and plastic bottles filled with lemonade. A baker, his hands coated with flour, throws his extra loaves. A seamstress throws bags filled with sandwiches. A teenager throws bananas. A carpenter throws bean burritos. … People who have watched migrants fall off the train from exhaustion bring plastic jugs filled with Coca-Cola or coffee. … A stooped woman, María Luisa Mora Martín, more than a hundred years old, who was reduced to eating the bark of her plantain tree during the Mexican Revolution, forces her knotted hands to fill bags with tortillas, beans, and salsa so her daughter, Soledad

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Vásquez, seventy, can run down a rocky slope and heave them onto a train.

“If I have one tortilla, I give half away,” one of the food throwers says. “I know God will bring me more.”

People with very little paying forward what little they have, a contemporary take on the New Testament parable of the widow’s mites.

It happens here too. Over time, selfless acts like those described by Nazario, added to others further up and down the income scale, have transformed our own city and region.

Take a minute to imagine what New Orleans would be like without its many acts of generosity. Imagine the city without its charities, without the time and money donated by volunteers to rebuild its devastated homes.

Imagine a New Orleans without its zoo or its green spaces supported by generous donors. What would the city be without its mentorship programs for young people, without its Mardi Gras Indians or its krewes?

New Orleans might be The City That Care Forgot, but it’s also in many ways The City That Love Built, defined as much by its generosity as by its other treasures.

The Trumpet is New Orleans’ only community newspaper written by neighborhood residents for neighborhoods about New Orleans neighborhoods.

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The Trumpet | May/June | 2015

Tikkun Olam

(repairing the world)

at Touro Synagogue

Repairing The Broken Places And Celebrating Life

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ouro Synagogue, founded in 1828, is a Reform Jewish congregation, and the oldest congregation outside of the original thirteen colonies. We have occupied our current location on St. Charles Avenue since 1908. Dedicated to supporting multi-faceted Jewish living, the foundations of our mission include building a sacred community amongst our congregants, worship, Jewish education, and a deep commitment to promoting social justice. But what does, ‘a commitment to promoting social justice’, really mean? And what responsibilities come with our prominent place in the history and geography of this city? A number of years ago, we intentionally asked ourselves those questions.

Historically, our members have been heavily involved in social action, but the efforts were often splintered and individual. We wanted to know how we could use our combined energies and the weight of our dynamic congregation to address the most pressing needs in our New Orleans community. What were the most pressing needs as we saw them? Would we focus on acts of mercy, acts of justice, or both? What did we need to understand more about? How do we unite our synagogue community in purpose around critical issues? What does it mean to create a community culture of awareness and action? What does it mean to share a corner of the world as a supportive neighbor in community relationship? We had many questions.

For us, the first steps were and continue to be creating opportunities for internal community education and reflection about issues at the forefront of

The Trumpet | May/June | 2015

contemporary, social concern. Our communal learning about and exploration of crucial, timely social concerns encourages collaborative reflection, advocacy, action, and a deeper awareness of human circumstances on countless fronts.

We have focused on education, crime, hunger, homelessness, sex trafficking and recovery, LGBTQ civil rights and equality, and most recently, including mass incarceration. Mental health awareness and advocacy also is a newer strand of our commitment to social justice. With these foci in mind, Touro forged and now embraces on-going partnerships and alliances with Sophie Wright School, Broadmoor Food Pantry, Second Harvest Food Bank, Eden House, The Harry Thompson Rebuild Center, The New Orleans Crime Commission, PFLAG, The Alzheimer Association, and The Loyola Honors Program. We have built and maintain an urban garden to help impact food insecurity in New Orleans.

We hope our actions and reflections are weaving webs of understanding and connectedness within and between our synagogue community and the greater New Orleans community. We offer in our actions with community partners a caring hand up and a longing that our companionship helps the most vulnerable in our community to feel value in their own humanity and hope in their futures. We are taught that it is through our relationships with each other, in how we treat, support, and interact with each other that we find and experience the sacred and the holy. We are taught that the only way through the wilderness is by joining hands and walking together.

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The Trumpet | May/June | 2015

Sippin’ in NOLA Neighborhoods

N

ew Orleans officially went smoke-free in bars, casinos and other public areas April 22 becoming the latest city in the United States to take that action. The bill, championed by founding NPN board member and current Councilmember Latoya Cantrell passed unanimously.

As the city of New Orleans went smoke-free NPN in collaboration with Tobacco Free Living went into NOLA Neighborhoods and bar hopped for 7 Days educating engaging and celebrating the change of the newly adopted legislation.

As a part of the celebration patrons were provided passports identifying participating bars and encouraged to support and thank our neighborhood bars for taking the step in going smoke-free. Eight neighborhood bars participated in the crawl offering happy hour drink and food specials. The winners of the crawl received a two night stay Hilton Riverside, tickets to the Audubon Institute parks and museum, and a 1 year gym membership.

NPN’s passports identifying participating bars used duing the Sippin’ in NOLA crawl.

Winners of the NOLA Smoke-Free Bar Crawl Chikira Barker and Timolynn Sams Sumter

The Trumpet | May/June | 2015

Timolynn Sams Sumter and Mary Boutte

15

Hope House Working to Create a More Just Society

By Don Everard

Hope House first opened its doors at 916 Saint Andrew St., next to the St. Thomas Public Housing Development in 1971. The Redemptorist priests at St. Alphonsus Parish provided the building.

The Catholic nuns who started Hope House envisioned it as “a visible sign of Christian community.” Through it, they hoped to “manifest the human concern of Jesus for all people, foster dignity and respect in the neighborhood, and help create a society where truth and justice abides.” The founders have passed on, but their vision remains.

As a neighborhood center, Hope House focuses its efforts on the hopes and needs of its neighbors in the St. ThomasIrish Channel-Lower Garden District community.

A

s a neighborhood center, Hope House focuses its efforts on the hopes and needs of its neighbors in the St. ThomasIrish Channel-Lower Garden District community. Our adult learning center offers adult basic education classes, computer skills workshops, and preparation for Louisiana’s Alternative highs school diploma test. Our career development program helps our adult learners and others in the community to enroll in college or other job training

programs, as well as job search.

Hope House provides food boxes through its food pantry and emergency financial assistance and referrals through its emergency assistance program.

Our community resource center offers free computer use, newspapers, magazines, television and DVD’s, a small library of fiction and non-fiction

books, and meeting space. On Monday, Wednesday, and Friday mornings the resource center is transformed into the Common Grounds Coffee House, a free coffee house for people who are homeless. On Tuesday and Thursday evenings the nearby St. Thomas Catholic Worker Community takes over the center and serves dinner for homeless and hungry people.

Our after-school and evening supervised recreation program takes place at the Redemptorist Gym. The gym is also used for larger meetings and celebrations.

Prison visitation and workshops on poverty and justice round out our present work.

Hope House also takes seriously the words of Pope Paul VI, “If you want peace, work for justice.” We work with the New Orleans Worker Center for Racial Justice, Orleans Parish Prison Reform Coalition, New Orleans Interfaith Peace Alliance, the Literacy Alliance of Greater New Orleans, Pax Christi New Orleans, and others to create a more just society.

Hope House is faith-based. Our faith calls us to care for others and to promote the common good. God blesses us with all we need to do our work; we pass those blessings on to our neighbors. That’s “paying it forward!”

Maximize your membership benefits with your personal profile on NPNnola.com 16

The Trumpet | May/June | 2015

NEIGHBORHOODS PARTNERSHIP NETWORK

Neighborhoods Partnership Network (NPN) wants to THANK YOU

5080 Pontchatrain Blvd. | mizadococina.com | 885-5555

for supporting New Orleans neighborhoods during Give NOLA 2015.

The Trumpet | May/June | 2015

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Orleans Public Education Network Launches Inaugural Education Policy Fellowship Program

OPEN

is proud to announce the Louisiana Education Policy Fellowship Program, an intensive professional development course created to help leaders in public and private organizations to create and implement sound public policy that improves outcomes for children and youth.

The Louisiana EPFP will be our state’s first branch of the national initiative, which currently exists in 15 other states. The program serves as an opportunity for participants to advance their careers and add value to their organizations through developing their leadership potential, learning about the policy process, networking with other changemakers, and making change in even difficult environments. Fellows remain in their full-time positions and use their work environment as the context for examining important leadership and policy issues in their state and in the nation.

“I am so thrilled that Louisiana is joining the ranks of states involved in EPFP,” said Deirdre Johnson Burel, OPEN’s Executive Director. “Louisiana is currently at the center of a national conversation around education reform, and developing a strong network of committed cross-sector community of

policy leaders is crucial to sustaining the course.”

Since its inception in 1964, EPFP has produced nearly 8,000 alumni who now lead at high levels in all sectors of American life, within and outside education. The Louisiana branch’s advisory council includes Doug Harris of the Education Research Alliance; Tommy Screens of the Loyola Institute of Politics; Dr. William Cody, former Louisiana Superintendent and Orleans Parish School Board member; and John Warner Smith, CEO of Education’s Next Horizon.

OPEN is hosting a webinar series open to the public that consists of more background information about the program, details of the curriculum, as well as a Q&A session with the coordinators. Webinar participants will have the opportunity to work closely with the designers of the curriculum. To RSVP and get your personalized webinar link, visit bit.ly/epfplouisiana today!

Orleans Public Education Network recently graduated its third class of the Parent Leadership Training Institute at an April 8 ceremony headed up by speakers like Jarvis DeBerry, Rev. Dr. Torin Sanders and more.

Want to learn more about the program or become a parent leader in 2015? Visit opennola.org!

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The Trumpet | May/June | 2015

The inaugural EPFP Louisiana cohort is coming this fall, and we can’t wait for you to be a part of it!

OPEN invites you to an exclusive informational series for the 2015 Louisiana Education Policy Fellowship Program, taking place Wednesday, June 10 The webinars will take place from 10:30 to 11:30am. You’ll also have the opportunity for a face-to-face meeting with the program coordinators on Wednesday, May 27, at a to-be-announced location. RSVP at bit.ly/epfplouisiana and we’ll send you your private access link!

EPFP develops leaders in public and private organizations who create and implement powerful public policy to improve outcomes for students. This year, Louisiana joins 14 other states in a network of over 8,000 policy professionals engaged in education action.

During this presentation by the EPFP program coordinators, you’ll: • Learn the details of Louisiana’s branch of the national program • Get specific details on the program’s timeline and curriculum • Be able to ask questions and receive immediate answers from OPEN’s staff • Hear from OPEN’s Executive Director on the benefits of EPFP to Fellows and their employers • Get perspective and support from public officials • Discover the stories, experiences and successes of past fellows

Orleans Public Education Network http://opennola.nationbuilder.com/

The Trumpet | May/June | 2015

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Giving and Going Above and Beyond

Tribute to Mack McClendon

NPN

member and friend Mack” McClendon the bold community leader of the Lower 9th Ward and founder of the Lower 9th Ward Village who against all odds by purchasing a building to develop the first community resource center in the aftermath of Hurricanes Katrina passed away on February 14, 2015.

Mack, known for his vintage car collection and famous seafood boils believed and invested in the neighborhood and the people of the Lower 9th ward. ‘The Lower Ninth Ward Village,’ a former auto-body shop turned community center soon became a hub for affected survivors to reconnect with family and friends, serving as a resource of information to start the process of rebuilding their lives, homes and community.

Despite persistent efforts in 2012, the center was forced to close due to financial challenges. That did not stop Mack from doing what he believed his calling and mission was and that was to continue serving as a beacon for residents as they journey back to their own normality for home.

Mack will be missed. His ability to give of himself in the midst of his own challenges is inspiring and noble. He like many others believed that Katrina transformed him. “You can go through your life and not find your purpose,” he says. “I’ve been able to find mine by embracing this project.”

You can help give back to a man and his family who has given everything to his community by visiting his GoFundMe page: http://www.gofundme.com/jokzso

te a n i Nom avorite F Your ather!

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line DeadMay 22 y Frida

line DeadMay 22 e y Frida Deadlinay 22 yM Frida

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The Trumpet | May/June | 2015

“Father Factors” Father Factor in Poverty

• Children in father absent homes are more likely to be poor. In LA, 22.1 percent of children in married-couple families were living in poverty, compared to 49.4 percent of children in female-householder families.1

Father Factor in Drug and Alcohol Abuse

• A child with a nonresident father is 54 percent more likely to be poorer than his or her father.2

• Researchers at Columbia University found that children living in two-parent household with a poor relationship with their father are 68% more likely to smoke, drink, or use drugs compared to all teens in two-parent households.

Teens in single mother households are at a 30% higher risk than those in two-parent households.13

Father Factor in Maternal and Infant Health

• Even after controlling for community context, there is significantly more drug use among children who do not live with their mother and father.14

• Infant mortality rates are 1.8 times higher for infants of unmarried mothers than for married mothers.3

Father Factor in Childhood Obesity

• Unmarried mothers are less likely to obtain prenatal care and more likely to have a low birth-weight baby. Researchers find that these negative effects persist even when they take into account factors, such as parental education, that often distinguish single-parent from two-parent families.4

• National Longitudinal Survey of Youth found that obese children are more likely to live in father-absent homes than are non-obese children.15

• Children who live apart from their fathers are more likely to be diagnosed with asthma and experience an asthma-related emergency even after taking into account demographic and socioeconomic conditions.

Unmarried, cohabiting parents and unmarried parents living apart are 1.75 and 2.61 times, respectively, more likely to have their child diagnosed with asthma. Marital disruption after birth is associated with a 6-fold increase in the likelihood children will require an emergency room visit and 5-fold increase of an asthma-related emergency.5

• Fatherless children are twice as likely to drop out of school.16

• Father involvement is associated with positive cognitive, developmental and socio-behavioral child outcomes such as improved weight gain in preterm infants, improved breastfeeding rates, higher receptive language skills and higher academic achievement.6

Father Factor in Incarceration • Youth in father-absent households had a significantly higher odd of incarceration than those in mother-father families. Youth who never had a father in the household experience the highest odds.7

Father Factor in Crime • A study of 109 juvenile offenders indicated that family structure significantly predicts delinquency.8 • A study of 13,986 women in prison showed that more than half grew up without their father. Forty-two percent grew up in a single-mother household and sixteen percent lived with neither parent.9 • Even after controlling for community context, there is significantly more drug use among children who do not live with their mother and father.10

Father Factor in Teen Pregnancy • Being raised by a single mother raises the risk of teen pregnancy, marrying with less than a high school degree, and forming a marriage where both partners have less than a high school degree.11

Father Factor in Child Abuse • Compared to living with both parents, living in a single-parent home doubles the risk that a child will suffer physical, emotional, or educational neglect.12

The Trumpet | May/June | 2015

Father Factor in Education • Father involvement in schools is associated with the higher likelihood of a student getting mostly A’s. This was true for fathers in biological parent families, for stepfathers, and for fathers heading single-parent families.17 Source: National Fatherhood Initiative, https://www.fatherhood.org/father_factor.asp

Notes 1. U.S. Census Bureau, Economic Characteristics: Census 2000 Summary File 3 (SF3) Sample Data: Louisiana.

2. Sorenson, Elaine and Chava Zibman. “Getting to Know Poor Fathers Who Do Not Pay Child Support.” Social Service Review 75 (September 2001): 420-434.

3. Matthews, T.J., Sally C. Curtin, and Marian F. MacDorman. Infant Mortality Statistics from the 1998 Period Linked Birth/Infant Death Data Set. National Vital Statistics Reports, Vol. 48, No. 13. Hyattsville, MD: National Center for Health Statistics, 2000.

4. Gaudino, Jr., James A., Bill Jenkins, and Foger W. Rochat. “No Fathers’ Names: A Risk Factor for Infant Mortality in the State of Georgia, USA.” Social Science and Medicine 48 (1999): 253-265.

5. Harknett, Kristin. Children’s Elevated Risk of Asthma in Unmarried Families: Underlying Structural and Behavioral Mechanisms. Working Paper #2005-01-FF. Princeton, NJ: Center for Research on Child Well-being, 2005: 19-27.

6. American Academy of Pediatrics.

7. Harper, Cynthia C. and Sara S. McLanahan. “Father Absence and Youth Incarceration.” Journal of Research on Adolescence 14 (September 2004): 369-397.

8. Bush, Connee, Ronald L. Mullis, and Ann K. Mullis. “Differences in Empathy Between Offender and Nonoffender Youth.” Journal of Youth and Adolescence 29 (August 2000): 467-478.

9. Source: Snell, Tracy L and Danielle C. Morton. Women in Prison: Survey of Prison Inmates, 1991. Bureau of Justice Statistics Special Report. Washington, DC: US Department of Justice, 1994: 4.

10. Hoffmann, John P. “The Community Context of Family Structure and Adolescent Drug Use.” Journal of Marriage and Family 64 (May 2002): 314-330.

11. Teachman, Jay D. “The Childhood Living Arrangements of Children and the Characteristics of Their Marriages.” Journal of Family Issues 25 (January 2004): 86-111.

12. America’s Children: Key National Indicators of Well-Being. Table SPECIAL1. Washington, D.C.: Federal Interagency Forum on Child and Family Statistics, 1997.

13. “Survey Links Teen Drug Use, Relationship With Father.” Alcoholism & Drug Abuse Weekly 6 September 1999: 5.

14. Hoffmann, John P. “The Community Context of Family Structure and Adolescent Drug Use.” Journal of Marriage and Family 64 (May 2002): 314-330.

15. National Longitudinal Survey of Youth 16. U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. National Center for Health Statistics. Survey on Child Health. Washington, D.C.: GPO, 1993.

17. Nord, Christine Winquist, and Jerry West. Fathers’ and Mothers’ Involvement in Their Children’s Schools by Family Type and Resident Status. (NCES 2001-032). Washington, D.C.: U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics, 2001.

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New Orleans Favorite Fathers 2015 Dear Friends: We want to invite your participation in the Favorite Fathers of New Orleans 2015 Ceremony. The New Orleans Fatherhood Consortium and Ashe’ Cultural Arts Center are proud co-sponsors of this year’s Favorite Fathers event. We are looking to honor men who are making a difference in the lives of women, children, families, and communities across our great city of New Orleans. We want members of your agency, school, and/or church to nominate fathers to receive recognition that is most likely long overdue. This powerful event spotlights men across the city of New Orleans that model positive fatherhood behaviors that help families and communities to enjoy the safety and security of their existence. The Reception and Recognition Ceremony will take place Friday, June 19, 2015, from 6pm to 8:30pm at Ashe Cultural Arts Center.

Why a “Favorite Fathers” program?

We need YOU to nominate fathers to receive Favorite Father Awards of 2015.

On the next page is a nomination form to complete and submit your candidate(s). Please submit the nomination by the deadline of Friday, May 22, 2015. Forms can be submitted at Ashé Cultural Arts Center (1712 Oretha Castle Haley Blvd) or Lindy Boggs Center (Loyola University New Orleans 6363 St. Charles Ave. Campus Box 63). For more information on the nomination process and/or the event, or to submit forms electronically, please email Petrice Sams-Abiodun at psabiodu@loyno.edu or call at (504)864-7086.

We look forward to meeting the honorable men of your community.

Fathers are the foundation of strong families. While father absence in families continues to be a problem, there are countless numbers of men who have dignified themselves by being great fathers to their children. Often, these fathers go unrecognized for the good things they do. The Favorite Fathers of the New Orleans area will showcase role model fathers who are making vital contributions as parents and men in the community.

Sincerely, Petrice Sams-Abiodun, Ph.D. Lindy Boggs Literacy Center Loyola University Co-Chair Favorite Fathers 2015

Carol Bebelle Ashe’ Cultural Arts Center Co-Chair Favorite Fathers 2015

Form Guidelines & Criteria • • • •

May or may not be residing with their children.

May or may not be married.

Must be a positive role model.

Exhibits the qualities of Responsible Fatherhood.

Including but not limited to the following:

inate Nom avorite F Your ather!

F

• • • • •

Be a good role model Works in partnership with the mother of his child (ren) Consistently demonstrates love and support of his children A motivator/encourager Spends time with his children and participates in school, sports, and church related activities • Protects child (rens) welfare • Be trustworthy • Values the importance of education

line DeadMay 22 y Frida

• The individual does not have to be the biological father.

• There are no income criteria for favorite father candidates.

Favorite Father Nominees will be notified of their nomination as nominations are received. Upon acceptance, each Favorite Father nominee will be scheduled to have a photo taken by our photographer Peter Nakhid for the program.

Photos will be taken at Ashe Cultural Arts Center located at 1712 Oretha Castle Haley Blvd.

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The Trumpet | May/June | 2015

Favorite Fathers 2015 Form Please type or write legibly. Your statement will form the nominee’s Fatherhood Bio

line DeadMay 22 y Frida

My Name is: My Relationship to the Favorite Father Candidate is: My Phone Number/Email Address is (EMAIL REQUIRED): My Favorite Father Candidate’s Name Is: My Favorite Father Candidate is: My Favorite Father Candidate has:

years of age child(ren)

Essay Details Please describe your nominee with as much detail as you can. Use additional space if you require.

Please keep in mind that your responses will form your nominee’s Fatherhood Bio in the event program.

My Favorite Father Candidate takes great pride in being a father/father-figure because…

He shows how much he loves, supports, and sacrifices for me/his family through…

I want my nominee to know that his presence in my life means…

Contact information for Favorite Father Nominee (Provide as much information as possible for us to reach your nominee) Mailing Address: Phone number: Cell number: E-mail address: The Trumpet | May/June | 2015

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Don’t Pull Your Roots, Strengthen Them By: Ysela Galindo, Jericho Road

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ericho Road, along with many non-profit and for-profit developers in New Orleans, works hard to ensure we are creating affordable housing for those at a lower-income level. It is not about selling a home to anyone, to make a quick buck, but about helping families stay in neighborhoods they have always lived in, and loved. John and Catherin Lee both grew up in Uptown. Both John and Catherin knew they wanted to have a stable home for their daughter to grow, have memories, and maybe even have as her own one day. Upon hearing about Jericho Road’s homeownership opportunities in the area (visit www.jerichohousing.org for more details), they began working diligently with us to prepare themselves to buy the home of their dreams.

It was not a light-hearted decision, nor an easy one, as both worked extremely hard to ensure they were building themselves up for financial success both before and after purchasing. It is nearly two years since the Lee’s started working towards homeownership. Now, along with their daughter, they are happily in the neighborhood they have always had roots, and will continue to have roots for generations to come.

The John and Catherin Lee family

Un Poco de Historia

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n 1991 el Area Metropolitana de Nueva Orleans presenció eventos muy importantes en la historia de compradores de casa por primera vez. El sector inmobiliario estaba funcionando como de costumbre y también contemplaba nuevas idea que querían implementar. Ellos analizaron los “pros” y los “contras” de la idea de unirse y crear una sola institución. Las juntas más grandes del Estado de Louisiana, la Ciudad de Nueva Orleans y la Parroquia de Jefferson estaban uniéndose tras un gran número de horas de estudio y discusiones para determinar beneficios mutuos. Para mí fue un privilegio servir como Presidente de la Junta de Agentes de Bienes Raíces de la Parroquia de Jefferson. La Sra. Sylvia Roy también obtuvo el puesto Presidente de la Junta de Agentes de Bienes Raíces de la Ciudad de Nueva Orleans. Actualmente estas dos juntas son mejor conocidas como NOMAR, La Asociación de Agentes de Bienes Raíces del Area Metropolitana de Nueva Orleans. A raíz de la unión de estas dos juntas se descubrieron muchas deficiencias en las actividades conducidas por el sector inmobiliario.

Se determinó que existían muchos “Huecos” por llenar para satisfacer las necesidades de muchas familias que buscaban financiamiento para su primera casa. Entre esos huecos más notables que se descubrieron estaba la ausencia de un personal bilingüe que proveyese solicitudes de préstamos hipotecarios a la comunidad de habla hispana. Imagínense, residimos en la ciudad que muchos conocen como “la Puerta de las Américas”, y muchas familias hispanas que no podían conseguir un préstamo para comprar su casa por falta de personal bilingüe en los bancos y compañías hipotecarias.

Eso era algo insólito para mí! Muchos bancos contaban con personal bilingüe, pero no en el área de préstamos hipotecarios. Teníamos personas que hablaban Español en las ventanillas recibiendo nuestros depósitos, pero ninguna estaba capacitada profesionalmente para tomar una solicitud de préstamos hipotecarios!

Con suerte me encontré con personas con visiones que estaban dispuestos a escuchar todo lo que tenía que exponerle con respecto a la

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Por Conchita Sulli (Agente de Bienes Raíces)

comunidad Latina en Nueva Orleans, El Sr. Ashton Ryan, de First NBC y la Sra. Alegría Smith, quien era funcionaria bancaria. Ellos lograrón realizar una reunión y de allí surgió lo que yo escribo como el primer “click”.

Alegría contrató a la primera oficial de préstamos hipotecarios que hablaba español, la Sra. Bertha Montenegro y esto nos motivó a trabajar juntos en equipo para asegurarnos que este no fuese sólo una iniciativa, sino que se convirtiése en una práctica fija en todo el área de Nueva Orleans. Pusimos mucha presión sobre los bancos y casas inmobiliarias al usar los créditos de CRA (Community Reinvestment Act) al máximo y fue tanto el éxito que Bertha necesitaba ayuda y contrató a la Sra. Karla Herrera para que le ayudara con las necesidades de la comunidad Latina en Nueva Orleans. Al pasar menos de tres años otros bancos de la ciudad se unieron rápidamente con agentes de hipotecas de habla hispana y entre ellos encontramos al Sr. Martín Gutiérrez quien en la actualidad es el Director de Caridades Católicas, la Sra. Karin Coleman, el Sr. Frank Moresco del Banco de Whitney, al igual que el Sr. Mario Hernández quien trabajo por muchos años con el Banco Hibernia, ayudando a nuestra comunidad hispana.

Hoy en día los bancos y compañías hipotecarias que no poseen un oficial bilingüe disponible no atienden favorablemente a nuestra comunidad latina, ya que un 15% a 20% de la población es Latina en el Area Metropolitana de Nueva Orleans y sigue en crecimiento.

Me siento orgullosa de aportar a la comunidad Latina en Nueva Orleans por medio de los Servicios Educativos Sulli, Inc., la cual es una organización sin fines de lucro 501 © 3 que ofrece capacitación para compradores de vivienda y clases de entrenamiento financiero en español y en Inglés.

The Trumpet | May/June | 2015

CeCe Gives Thoughts to Help You p U k a e r B A h g u o r h T t e G

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rom time to time, I like to stay connected with my readers. I feel that over years writing readers become some what familiar and aware to a writer’s personality. Over time you build a relationship with your reader. They become your friends. You share things about your life to better them. I recently went through a break up from a 3 year relationship. I was the one that made the decision to end it. A relationship where I felt I gave everything I was supposing to. So I decided to share “20 Thoughts to Get through a Break Up”.

1.

2.

3.

Be concrete in your decision to end the relationship.

The worst thing you can do is to break up with someone off of an impulse. If you love that person, think it through. If you feel it is worth saying and isn’t harmful to you physically/emotionally, think on it. The worst thing you can do is react and regret.

Do not GO BACK & FORTH with that person.

If the relationship is over, do not participate in activities that you would do as a couple that may perplex the situation. Meaning if you have broken up, sometimes being friends makes it harder to detach from someone.

Find a mediator or advisor.

Sometimes when you are learning to move on, it may be hard to interact with the person without fussing or making sound decisions because you are thinking off emotions or reject. There may be concerns or issues that require the attention of you both. Find someone that can be neutral towards the both of you and allow that trusting person to keep the peace.

4.

You may need to disconnect from in-laws.

As much as you might like his/her dad “Big Poppa”, the sister or even the “sweet, understanding mother“ take some time away. Over time relationships are built with the other person’s families, but the family is also a constant reminder of your now EX. Also some families may have an ill feeling towards you for being the person responsible for the break up or even the person that did the breaking up. Just give everyone time to adjust to the new situation.

5.

Understand what role you played in the break-up.

Some of you may feel like me. I felt that I did everything that a woman could do to make a man happy and faithful. The role that I played in my relationship ending was that I ignored and accepted to many warning signs. Sometimes we feel certain things will get better. Happiness and faithfulnesses has to be in an individual’s character before we even come along.

6.

Get rid of pictures as a couple.

Yes pictures are apart of your life captured forever.

You may be asking “why the pictures”? Pictures are so sentimental. Everyone has different levels of coping with heartbreak or disappointment. If your level isn’t at a high tolerance level, you may want to toss those snaps.

The Trumpet | May/June | 2015

20 Thoughts r of the book, ho ut a e th e who is n, a Orleans nativ e” Chapm ew eC N “C a ty is is e hr e. Sh heAuthor.

By C Should Hav itter at @CeCet n Tw a m on r o he W w ry Eve e.” Follo ng years of ag “twenty somethi

7.

Erase those emails and text messages.

It doesn’t matter if the messages are out of love or fussing. This form of communication is so easy to be revisited because we use our phone and computer daily. It is automatic access. We tend to review these things during a break up only sometimes to be set back because of the heart. Re-visiting these is what is called self-torment.

8.

Block communication.

When it is over, it is over. You may have an EX that doesn’t believe it truly is over because they are able to contact you as easy as you were as couple. It is hard to move on when that person is still sending a “Good Morning” message at every start of your day.

9.

If you once stayed together, change the house locks.

Never trust because your EX’s gave back copies of the house key that you safe and secure. If you aren’t moving from a home that you shared, always think ahead. He or she may have made an extra house key long before the break up occurs.

10. Do NOT wish harm in any way toward your EX because they hurt you or ended the relationship.

Do not get even. Do not wish ill in any form fashion.

I know this sometimes can be hard. Never allow hate to consume your heart or thoughts because of someone else. You are already feeling hurt from this person. Don’t give them any POWER of you, your heart and thoughts.

11. Do not frequent places that your EX frequents if you weren’t frequenting them before.

It is a Magazine St. bar that your EX patronizes every Friday night. Everyone knows them. You never had cocktails at the bar while in your relationship. Do not go there on Friday’s now that you out of your relationship. You can be sending different signals to your EX and others. You may be telling your EX that you miss them but you may be looking like a stalker to those who know you are no longer together.

12. Understand hurt doesn’t last forever.

The initial shock of a break up is hurt that will not immediately leave. Do not feel that something is wrong with you because you are hurting. Do not give yourself a time limit. Find your own way to cope.

13. Occupy your free time.

Free time gives you time to harbor on the person and the break up. Pick up a hobby. This is a great way to reconnect to what you like.

14. Change your hair.

You will be amazed at how a new hair cut or hair color can boost your spirits. Trust me I know. It makes you feel new in a sense. It won’t take all the feelings of hurt or resentment, but it will definitely give you a burst of refreshment.

15. Be honest with family and real friends.

Rely on these people. Family and real friends love you unconditionally. They want to see you happy.

They want to see you win. Getting over an EX is the ultimate goal of your heart at this time. If you find yourself restless at 2 am, pick up the phone and call that friend that knows the situation. They may be initially upset you disrupted sleep, but they will be just as happy to be a listening ear to help you get through.

16. Invest in yourself again.

Learn to be happy alone again. In relationships you get used to having that buddy all the time in most cases. Start taking yourself on dates. Think about YOU and what you like.

17. Ask yourself how you have changed as a person from or during the relationship.

Some relationships/people bring out the bad and good in you. Are you a better person? Are you a bitter person? Are you angry? If your EX was a mean person, are you mean now? If one of your answers is “YES”, redirect that energy and get back to the person you was. Never allow the way you were treated to change the way you treat others.

18. Get a restraining order.

If your EX has been physically abusive in the pass and still displaying it with irrational behavior towards you, protect yourself. If your EX is making threats toward you, forcing themselves upon you or even popping up at your home or job, find out the proper protocol to stop this. People don’t always think rational in these situations. Never underestimate what someone who loves or even once loved you would do to you out of hurt or anger.

19. Do not live your life expecting to rekindle with your EX.

The worst feeling along with hurt is disappointment.

Do not feel that if you change whatever led up to the break up that your EX will come back to you. Do not hope that the person you had to break up with will change. People have agendas of their own. Because the truth is that person might move on to someone else and that other person may never change.

20. Move On and Succeed.

The best feeling in the world is being involved in yourself, your life and your career. When you do this, success will follow. Get that inner peace and commit to yourself failure isn’t an option. Get yourself together. You can’t be right for anyone if you aren’t properly together. Stay focused. Pay attention to the warning signs. No matter how bad it hurts never go back to a situation you were disrespected, abused in any way or even your standards had to be compromised. Relationships are work but they shouldn’t have to worked at so hard to it is almost forced. Set your standards and stick to them.

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Neighborhood Meetings

Algiers Point Association 1st Thursday of the month 7 p.m.

Visit www.algierspoint.org for location.

Algiers Presidents’ Council 4th Tuesday of the month 7 p.m.

Woldenberg Village - 3701 Behrman Place www.anpcnola.org Broadmoor Improvement Association 3rd Monday of every other month 7 p.m.

Andrew H. Wilson Charter School Cafeteria 3617 General Pershing Street www.broadmoorimprovement.com Bunny Friend Neighborhood Association 3rd Saturday of the month Mt. Carmel Baptist Church 3721 N. Claiborne Avenue bunnyfriendassoc@gmail.com BywaterNeighborhoodAssociation 2nd Tuesday of the month 7 p.m.

Holy Angels Cafeteria 3500 St. Claude Avenue www.bywaterneighbors.com CarrolltonRiverbendNeighborhood Association 2nd Thursday of the month Central St. Matthew United Church of Christ 1333 S. Carrollton Avenue Carrollton United 2nd Monday of the month - 5 p.m.

St. John Missionary Baptist Church Leonidas Avenue and Hickory Street www.healthyneworleans.org Central City Renaissance Alliance (CCRA) 3rd Tuesday of each month 6:00pm Mahalia Jackson Early Childhood & Family Learning Center 2405 Jackson Avenue www.myccra.org Chapel of the Holy Comforter 4th Thursday of the month 6:30 p.m.

2200 Lakeshore Drive

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Neighborhood Meetings

Claiborne-UniversityNeighborhood Association Quarterly meetings (Date and time TBA) Jewish Community Center 5342 St. Charles Avenue Downtown Neighborhoods Improvement Association (DNIA) Last Tuesday of each month 7 p.m.

Joan Mitchell Center 2275 Bayou Road DeSaix Neighborhood Association 2nd Saturday of the month 10 a.m.

Langston Hughes Academy 3519 Trafalgar Street danadesaix.org East New Orleans Neighborhood Advisory Committee 2nd Tuesday of the month 6 p.m.

St. Maria Goretti Catholic Church 7300 Crowder Boulevard www.enonac.org

Filmore Gardens Neighborhood Association 4th Thursday of the month (no meetings in November and December) 6:30 p.m.

Project Home Again 5506 Wickfield Street

Holy Cross Neighborhood Association 2nd Thursday of the month 5:30 p.m.

Center for Sustainability Greater Little Zion Missionary Baptist Church 5130 Chartres Street

Garden District Association Visit www.gardendistrictassociation. com for annual meeting information.

Irish Channel Neighborhood Association 2nd Thursday of the month 7 p.m.

Irish Channel Christian Fellowship 819 First Street www.irishchannel.org

Gentilly Civic Improvement Association (GCIA) 3rd Saturday of the month 6:30 p.m.

Edgewater Baptist Church 5900 Paris Avenue www.facebook.com/gentillycivic Gentilly Heights East Neighborhood Association 3rd Monday of the month 6 p.m.

Dillard University, Dent Hall – Room 104

Edgewood Park Neighborhood Association 1st Saturday of the month 10 a.m.

New Hope Community Church 3708 Gentilly Blvd.

Gentilly Sugar Hill Neighborhood Association 3rd Monday of the month 6:30 p.m.

Volunteers of America 2929 St. Anthony Avenue

FaubourgDelachaiseNeighborhood Association Quarterly meetings Visit http://fdna-nola.org for details.

Gentilly Terrace and Gardens Improvement Association 2nd Wednesday of the month 7 p.m.

Gentilly Terrace School 4720 Painters Street www.gentillyterrace.org

Faubourg St. John Neighborhood Association Board Meeting – 2nd Monday of the month 7 p.m.

Our Lady of the Holy Rosary Cafeteria 1368 Moss Street http://www.fsjna.org Faubourg St. Roch Improvement Association 2nd Thursday of the month 6 p.m.

True Vine Baptist Church 2008 Marigny Street

Hoffman Triangle Neighborhood Association 2nd Tuesday of the month 5:30 p.m.

Pleasant Zion Missionary Baptist Church 3327 Toledano Street hoffmantriangle.org Hollygrove Neighbors Association Quarterly on Saturdays 12 p.m.

St. Peter AME Church 3424 Eagle Street Email hollygroveneighbors@yahoo.com for dates

Lake Bullard Home Owners Association Cornerstone United Methodist Church 5276 Bullard Avenue Visit lakebullard.org for meeting schedule Lake Catherine Civic Association 2nd Tuesday of the month 7 p.m.

Email lakecatherineassociation@yahoo. com for location information Lake Willow Neighborhood 2nd Saturday of the month 10 a.m.

St. Maria Goretti Church Lower Ninth Ward Neighborhood EmpowermentNetworkAssociation 2nd Saturday of the month 12 p.m.

1120 Lamanche Street www.9thwardnena.org Lower Ward Ninth Ward Stakeholders Coalition 1st and 3rd Wednesday of the month 5:30 p.m.

1800 Deslonde Street Melia Subdivision 2nd Saturday of the month

5 p.m.

Anchored in Christ Church 4334 Stemway

The Trumpet | May/June | 2015

Neighborhood Meetings

Mid-City Neighborhood Organization 2nd Monday of the month 6 p.m. – meet & greet 6:30 p.m. – neighborhood meeting Warren Easton High School 3019 Canal Street www.mcno.org Milneburg Neighborhood Association 4th Thursday of the month 6:30 p.m.

Chapel of the Holy Comforter 2200 Lakeshore Drive The New St. Claude Association of Neighbors 1st Thursday of the month 7 p.m.

Pierre’s Hall 4138 St. Claude Avenue www.newstclaude.assocn.nscan.com New Zion City Preservation Association 1st Monday of the month 7 p.m.

APEX Youth Center 4360 Washington Ave. Oak Park Civic Association 3rd Thursday of the month 6:30 p.m.

Edgewater Baptist Church 5900 Paris Avenue www.facebook.com/ OakParkNewOrleans

Paris Oaks/Bayou Vista Neighborhood Association Last Saturday of the month 4 p.m.

Third District Police Station 4650 Paris Avenue Pensiontown of Carrollton Neighborhood Association 1st Saturday of the month 2 p.m.

Leonidas House Community Center 1407 Leonidas Street Pilotland Neighborhood Association 3rd Saturday of the month 3 p.m.

Pentecost Baptist Church Fellowship Hall 1510 Harrison Avenue Pontilly Association Pontilly Disaster Collaborative - 3rd Wednesday of the month General Meeting 2nd Saturday of the month 3869 Gentilly Blvd., Suite C Rosedale Subdivision Last Friday of the month 5:30 p.m.

Greater Bright Morning Star Baptist Church 4253 Dale Street

Ask City Hall Seventh Ward Neighborhood Association 3rd Saturday of the month 1 p.m.

St. Augustine High School 2600 A.P. Tureaud Avenue seventhwardassoc@aol.com Seabrook Neighborhood Association 2nd Monday on the month Gentilly Terrace School 4720 Painter Street Email seabrookassociation@yahoo.com for times Tall Timbers Owners Association 2nd Wednesday in April & October 7 p.m.

Tunisburg Square Homeowners Civic Association, Inc. 2nd Monday of the month 6:30 p.m.

Visit tunisburg.org for location information Village de L’Est Improvement Association 1st Tuesday of every other month 7 p.m.

Einstein Charter School 5100 Cannes Street

West Barrington Association 1st Tuesday of the month 6 p.m.

Holiday Inn Express 7049 Bullard Avenue

Send your neighborhood meeting details to: info@npnnola.com

Neighborhoods Partnership Network 3321 Tulane Avenue New Orleans, LA 70119 504.940.2207 • FX 504.940.2208 thetrumpet@npnnola.com www.npnnola.com

The Trumpet | May/June | 2015

District A Susan G. Guidry City Hall, Room 2W80 1300 Perdido Street New Orleans, LA 70112 Phone: (504) 658-1010 Fax: (504) 658-1016 Email: sgguidry@nola.gov District B LaToya Cantrell City Hall, Room 2W10 1300 Perdido Street New Orleans, LA 70112 Phone: (504) 658-1020 Fax: (504) 658-1025 lcantrell@nola.gov District C Nadine M. Ramsey City Hall, Room 2W70 1300 Perdido Street Phone: (504) 658-1030 Fax: (504) 658-1037 Email: nramsey@nola.gov District D Jared C. Brossett City Hall, Room 2W20 1300 Perdido Street Phone: (504) 658-1040 Fax: (504) 658-1048 E-mail: jcbrossett@nola.gov District E James Austin Gray II City Hall, Room 2W60 1300 Perdido Street New Orleans, LA 70112 Phone: (504) 658-1050 Fax: (504) 658-1058 Email: jagray@nola.gov Council Member-At-Large Stacy Head City Hall, Room 2W40 1300 Perdido Street Phone: (504) 658 -1060 Fax: (504) 658-1068 Email: shead@nola.gov Council Member-At-Large Jason Rogers Williams City Hall, Room 2W50 1300 Perdido Street New Orleans, LA 70112 Phone: (504) 658-1070 Fax: (504) 658-1077 Email:jarwilliams@nola.gov

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