Newest articles on The Sacramento Press tagged as "outreach"

Gang violence drops due to city’s new efforts, officials say

2011-11-01T03:30:52Z

Gang violence took what officials described as a drastic drop since July 2010, attributing the drop to Mayor Kevin Johnson’s gang-prevention programs initiated in June of 2010 and again after last December’s fatal barbershop shooting.

Since implementing some of the measures, Lt. Bill Champion of the Sacramento Police Department said that the results have been effective. The number of gang-related firearm assaults has dropped by 60 percent, and the overall rate fell by 39 percent. In addition, there has been a 75 percent drop in homicide rates, and a 100 percent drop in non-fatal shootings.

Community leaders gathered at City Hall Monday morning to discuss the mayor’s plan. Speakers, including Johnson and Khaalid Muttaqi, the head of the mayor’s gang-prevention task force, updated citizens on the new plan, explaining the problems they seek to solve, the methodology of their approach, and the results thus far.

“We asked the community what needs to happen,” Muttaqi said. “The community is obviously engaged.”

Champion spoke about the Sacramento Safe Community Partnership, known more commonly as Ceasefire, a program started by the Police Department to combat gang and gun violence in ways that are different and more effective than in the past.

“A traditional law enforcement response … has been to send a lot of officers into an area with gun violence or gang violence, and you have zero tolerance,” Champion said, adding that this kind of police crackdown not only stops the gangs, but builds distrust between the local community and the police.

“You end up enforcing the rules on the people that are crying out for help,” he said.

He said that Ceasefire is changing the the traditional methods by concentrating its efforts on finding out specifically who is causing the violence. The two primary gangs of the Mack Road commercial corridor, one of the worst areas in Sacramento for gang activity, were found to responsible for a majority of gun violence in the area.

Instead of waiting for a crime to occur, Champion said, the police identify prime suspects and have their probation officers reach out to them, asking them to attend community meetings. Faith-based organizations, health groups and community members are present, asking the gang member to not resort to violence. Champion said that this process is called an intervention, as labled in the graph.

“We have the community tell (the gang members), ‘The violence needs to stop,’ and now it’s very personal because we’re sitting there looking at them,” Champion said.

Muttaqi said that another important element of the task force is to provide alternatives to the gang members, such as educational opportunities, work training programs and other positive and productive options.

Leading the way for community-based efforts is the newly-planned Men’s Leadership Academy being put in place by the Sacramento City Unified School District and the Sacramento Violence Intervention Program, which is run by The Effort, a Sacramento-based health care provider that reaches out to lower income neighborhoods.

Adrian Williams of SCUSD said that the Men’s Leadership Academy is a 4-year program for high school students that is similar to programs such as AVID, a program for advanced high school students that has a class during the school day and additional responsibilities for the students to complete.

He said that a small number of students will be admitted to the program, where they will be closely mentored by teachers who are popular among the students. They will be taken on field trips to top colleges and be given opportunities that will move them away from gang life, such as being required to dress nicely on occasion. The program will begin in the spring.

SVIP is bringing services to struggling communities that were previously unavailable, said Melisa Bayne, who is in charge of the program. By providing services like counseling, addiction help and other medical services, Bayne said that the SVIP has seen drastic improvements in former gang members whom they reached out to.

Berry Accius, a 34-year-old teen mentor who lives in Natomas, attended the meeting and said that while he thought the effort was great, it was very important that people continue to come up with new ideas to combat gang violence.

“We need leaders who really identify with the kids,” he said. “You really need to engage them so they understand that people care about them.”

Muttaqi said that this is only the beginning of the mayor’s push for gang prevention, and that these ideas will continue to be implemented.

“We’re optimistic, and we hope it will continue,” Champion said.

Last week to vote for local agencies to win $10K grant from Sutter Health

2011-02-11T18:43:28Z

To celebrate its 10th year of community benefit funding, Sutter Medical Center, Sacramento (SMCS) will award one of its community partners an additional $10,000 grant for 2011. The winner will be determined through online voting that will close on February 16. The Downtown Sacramento Partnership (DSP) and 16 other local agencies are using social media to help garner the votes they need to win the additional grant money.

"If the DSP is fortunate enough to be granted the additional funding, our organization plans to use it to fund homeless and youth outreach,” said Ryan Loofbourrow, DSP community services director, “Mental illness is one of the leading causes of homelessness. We would love the opportunity to use the $10,000 bonus grant to assist the most vulnerable of our homeless population in gaining access to care and treatment.”

Website visitors can help the DSP win the additional funding by voting at www.smcscommunityvote.com for the Downtown Sacramento Partnership’s vision statement. The 140-character statement illustrates how each agency is changing the world by improving or saving lives and contributing to our community. The DSP’s vision statement reads, “DSP leads the way in homeless & youth street outreach, making a difference by restoring the heart of our city by first rebuilding lives of the lost & forgotten.”

“Our Street outreach team believes that finding housing for the homeless and positive opportunities for our youth is an investment in our community’s future,” explained DSP Executive Director Michael Ault, “We have the people and the ability but we need funding to help open those doors to success.”

Other agencies receiving grants from SMCS and vying for the $10,000 bonus grant include Stanford Settlement, River City Food Bank, People Reaching Out, Society for the Blind, Sacramento ACT, WEAVE, Cottage Housing, Francis House, Loaves & Fishes, St. John's Shelter Program, Women's Empowerment, Center for Community Health and Well-Being, SPIRIT Project, The Effort, Sacramento Self Help Housing and Cover the Kids.

"No matter which agency wins, the real winner is the Sacramento community, "said Lisa Martinez, DSP director of marketing and outreach, "There is a lot of great work being done in our city by these organizations every day, and we are proud that our community services department is among them."

Disclosure: Megan Emmerling is the Marketing Manager for the Downtown Sacramento Partnership

Spending and being spent for Sacramento

2011-01-04T05:39:55Z

In a tiny, 12-by-10 room cluttered with microphones, headphones, soundboards and telephones, a message will soon escape from the confines of the small studio suite and spread throughout Sacramento and its surrounding regions.

A message that, according to its messenger, transcends its own transmission.

Robert Briggs, 43, a pastor at Immanuel Baptist Church in midtown Sacramento, burns the candle at both ends with one end in mind: that the kingdom of God be furthered in the souls of men and women unfettered.

On this particular December, Wednesday morning, Briggs prepares to record a pair of 24-minute messages from the book of Romans that will subsequently air two consecutive Friday afternoons later this month on KFIA-AM 710.

“I’m use to it now,” says Briggs, reflecting on the radio routine he’s followed every other week for the past three years. “I really don’t get too nervous with it anymore. I did when I first started - I was all over the place!”

As he enters the station, Briggs is warmly greeted by its operations manager, Steve Gasser, and its general manager, Dale Hendry. They both gush about how much they enjoy hearing his thick Scottish accent. Yet they’re also quick to acknowledge there’s far more to admire about Briggs and the weekly broadcast he’s appropriately titled “Declaring the Word.”

“He’s got the history and experience to back up what he says,” says Hendry, calling to mind how faithful and committed Briggs has been during his tenure at the station, not to mention his 19-plus years of pastoral ministry.

“Robert Briggs is a man of God,” Gasser adds. “He’s a man whose given his life to it.”

Briggs was born in Glasgow, Scotland’s largest city, but spent most his adolescence and early adult life near the nation’s capital, Edinburgh. At the age of 9, Briggs believes Christ saved him, but says it wasn’t until he was 17 that God really took hold of his life.

A distinct call to formal ministry came two years later when, at the age of 19, he went to hear a preacher named Stephen Olford speak. The preacher’s text was Ephesians 5:16: “Making the best use of the time, because the days are evil.”

From that day on, Briggs says he realized there was nothing else he could do with his life but serve Jesus Christ.

“That sermon just broke me,” Briggs recalls. “I was weeping profusely at the end of that sermon. God just melted my soul.”

Another time shortly thereafter, while working for a bank and meditating on a particular portion of Scripture, Briggs remembers praying, “You know what Lord, I could make a lot of money working here, but I don’t want to. I only want to serve you.”

And so, by the grace of God, that’s what he did.

Now comfortably reclining in the sound booth, Briggs engages in some friendly discourse with Hendry then sets his Bible before him and shuffles his notes into place in preparation for the first round of recordings. Through a window Gasser gives the sign from an adjoining booth, and Briggs starts to impart the good news.

“Peace with God is available, access to God is possible, hope in God can be yours, but it’s only available by believing in the Lord Jesus Christ,” Briggs avidly declares.

Gasser is one of many who appreciates Briggs’ straightforward approach.

“He’s enriched my faith,” Gasser says. “He gets into the Bible and says it the way it is. No holds barred.”

As the first session draws to a close, Briggs takes a quick breather and in preparation for part two swaps his first set of notes for a second.

“That’s what I do, that’s it,” Briggs says, “while I’m sitting here on my backside.”

But Briggs would have you know that faithful pastors don’t frequent that posture.

“Some people think we don’t work very hard, that we only work one day a week and play golf the rest of the week,” Briggs half-jests.

A typical week for Briggs goes something like this:

He’ll spend 9 a.m. until 4 p.m. Monday studying for the following Sunday’s services, making phone calls and sending emails. In addition to this, he’ll spend time mentoring a younger Christian and will teach two evening seminary classes at the church.

Tuesday brings with it an elders meeting, several additional hours of study, and at least five hours divided between pastoral oversight, more phone calls and some premarital counseling.

After dropping the kids off at school on Wednesday, Briggs will spend the morning preparing for an afternoon counseling session before leaving for the radio station. Later, he’ll spend time reading and praying, finish preparing that evening’s prayer meeting devotional as well as Thursday morning’s lecture for a gathering of local pastors, and probably see 10 p.m. pass before he’s finished meeting with prospective church members.

And that’s just the first three days of the week.

All in all, Briggs can log upwards of 80 hours a week in service to Christ and the community while also laboring to balance a healthy, happy home life with his wife and four kids - a small price to pay according to Briggs.

As his Wednesday of recording come to an end, Briggs sums up his second message with a passionate plea to his listeners. And in doing so, reveals what motivates him to take on such a heavy workload.

“God has given the greatest gift that will ever be given to mankind in the person of his Son,” Briggs says, “It’s no small thing for a simple human being to be pardoned by an eternally holy God. In fact, it required heaven’s best to accomplish this. And God, giving his best for us, calls us then to give everything for him.”

House of Plight Opens Doors

2010-04-02T02:57:31Z

The House of Plight, which provides a refuge for single mothers and their children, opened its doors to the public in a housewarming celebration on March 20, 2010.

The program is an extension of Commissioned II Love (C2L) Outreach Ministries and Discipleship Centers Inc., a nondenominational outreach ministry and nonprofit.

Startup funding for The House of Plight came from college students at Consumnes River College in Sacramento, Savannah State University in Georgia, and Florida Agricultural and Mechanical University in Tallahassee, where C2L has campus ministry divisions.

"The vision came from our pastor, Lardina King, who has a real heart for single mothers" said marketing and public relations director Erin Rawls. "We wrote grants, looked for donations and found help from a church in Savannah. As college students, we gave what we could."

C2L's mission statement says that The House of Plight believes that "single mothers and their children can succeed from various hardships in life through accountability and encouragement, life-skill training and love based on the premise of family."

In addition to shelter, The House of Plight offers a multitude of services that connect mothers with adult education, and programs on parenting, finances, buying a home, employment, and mental and social health.

The House of Plight welcomes public involvement, including donations, volunteers and sponsors. People are encouraged to donate items such as lamps, plants, bedding and dishes.

The House of Plight is located at 1301 Sebastian Way.

Social Media for the Social Good—Non-profits Explore New Methods of Outreach

2009-11-20T04:17:59Z

Three local non-profit organizations were featured in a Sacramento Social Media Club panel on Tuesday evening hosted by the Sacramento State College of Continuing Education. The panel included Celia Cortez, Projects and Event Manager for the Sacramento Hispanic Chamber of Commerce; Jordan Blair, Board Member for River City Food Bank; and Jon Benorden, Program Coordinator for the Center for AIDS Research, Education and Service (CARES). Lesley Miller, Media Director for 3Fold Communication, also sat on the panel. Moderator Josh Morgan, principal at Morgan/Dorado and program director for the Sacramento Social Media Club, focused the discussion on how non-profits are using social media to educate, engage, and build lasting relationships with their communities.

Facebook was the unanimous point of entry into social media for all three organizations. Cortez said the Sacramento Hispanic Chamber selected Facebook because it was the most popular platform among their member organizations; Blair choose Facebook for River City Food Bank because it is the platform upon which he spends the most time. “Facebook provides an easy way for people to connect with causes and non-profits thanks to its one-click ‘become a fan’ feature, “commented Morgan. River City Food Bank, where many of their long-term contributors are past retirement age, is finding that Facebook helps them to engage with the next generation of donors. However some of their loyal supporters are stepping out into social media as well; an 85 year old volunteer joined Facebook just so he could “friend” the River city Food Bank. Benorden said that their “old school” supporters are beginning to mesh with the new people they’ve engaged through their group & page on Facebook but that CARES still has a long way to go.

Both the Sacramento Hispanic Chamber of Commerce and CARES are also using Twitter to promote their organizations and causes. Miller said 3Fold encourages their clients to cross post on multiple social media platforms to increase the traffic among all the sites. For example, use Twitter to remind people the organization is on Facebook or create an event on Yelp and ask people to write a review. I frequently use Twitter to drive traffic to SARTA.org’s website or LinkedIn group where more detailed membership and event information is available.

CARES created both a group page and a fan page for its campaign “Are You the Difference” which strives to eliminate new cases of HIV in the Sacramento region by 2015. Benorden plans to expand the campaign to include other platforms like Flickr and YouTube. On YouTube, CARES wants to personalize and promote their campaign by featuring user generated videos about how individuals can be or are the difference in eliminating new cases of HIV.

The biggest challenge for all of the organizations is finding the time to manage and maintain their social media accounts. Cortez shared that she uses cross posting tools to lessen the amount of time she spends managing each platform the Hispanic Chamber employs. Tweetdeck, Hootsuite and Seesmic were mentioned as free services for managing multiple accounts and platforms and Radian6 was recommended as a new professional service for this purpose. Benorden prefers to uniquely post to Facebook and Twitter to keep variety in the CARES messages, but he sticks to a common theme. Blair, who in addition to his responsibilities as a board member of the River City Food Bank works a full time job, schedules time on his weekly calendar to tend to his social media chores. When asked if a volunteer could handle the job, the general consensus among the panelists was that most volunteers and interns do not have enough depth or experience with the organization or its causes to determine social media platform content or to respond to questions and remarks received by followers and friends on the sites. For CARES, sensitivity to and experience with HIV/AIDS is a must for anyone representing the organization on its social media platforms.

The panel wrapped up with a discussion on event promotion using Facebook ads and other tools. All of the organizations are considering using Facebook ads and River City Food Bank has budgeted money for this purpose next year. Benorden pointed out that even if no one clicks through an “Are You the Difference” ad, if enough information is included about the campaign, there is value in people seeing the ad multiple times. Miller said 3Fold advises their clients to put nearly as much energy into post event promotion as they do pre event. Blair followed this advice after a recent River City Food Bank fundraiser, uploading event photos long into the night. The post event promotion is a valuable investment in the success of future events and helps those who attend feel more part of the organization—especially if they are featured in a photo!

After the panel ended, participants informally exchanged ideas on how they are using social media and also had a chance to meet the panelists and ask more questions. The event was live tweeted by volunteer Ira Cohen on behalf of @SMCSac using the hashtag #smcsac. The venue provided by Sacramento State College of Continuing Education is well equipped for meetings and seminars and the Senior Program Coordinator, Toni Ramirez shared that the college is considering offering courses on social media in the future.

Social Media Club, an international non-profit organization, brings together journalists, publishers, communications professionals, artists, amateur media creators, citizen journalists, teachers, students, tool makers, and other interested collaborators. The Sacramento chapter was founded in March of 2009 by local users of social media. Free events are normally held on the third Tuesday of each month, but in December, the group is planning a Holiday Party or “holitweetup” in partnership with SacTweetUp on December 10 at Hot Italian in midtown. In January, the normal schedule of monthly panels will resume. For information about the Sacramento Social Media Club and its events, join their groups on Facebook and LinkedIn and follow them on Twitter.

Photgraphs by Marie Young Photography. For more photos of this event visit her Facebook Page

Sacramento Social Media Club Leadership Team:

Julie Berge, Angela D'Arcy, Laura Good, Suzanne Hopkins, Ronnie Ledesma, Jeff Marmins, Josh Morgan

On the move in Council District 1

2008-12-15T05:07:44Z

From the City of Sacramento Department of Neighborhood Services newsletter The Bridge.

By Brit Irby, Neighborhood Resources Coordinator serving Council District 1

During the busy autumn season, where can you find your Neighborhood Resources Coordinator? You can find her coordinating City Department booths and bringing helpful information for your neighborhood special event such as the Alkali Mansion Flats Celebration, the Creekside Community Fair, or Celebrate Natomas. Or maybe you’ll catch her working with business representatives and the City to help revitalize Chinatown Mall. You’ll likely sit next to her at a neighborhood meeting for Gardenland/Northgate, Valley View Acres or the Natomas Community Association, where she’ll be making community announcements and offering follow-up information when applicable. Perhaps you’ve seen her assisting the Department of Utilities on their recent Knock and Talk project in Natomas, or promoting a Parks and Recreation neighborhood meeting to discuss future plans for Jefferson Park. She’s also providing guidance and informational materials to community members starting a new neighborhood association, such as the up and coming South Natomas Neighborhood Association.

Whether it’s co-facilitating Area 4 Leadership meetings or driving through an area to follow up on a concern, there is one place you’re sure to find your NRC…in the neighborhood.

If you’d like more information on any of these events, meetings or neighborhood groups, please contact Brit Irby at birby@cityofsacramento.org or visit www.cityofsacramento.org/ns.Brit Irby with NSD intern Michel Huizar at Celebrate Natomas 2008.

The Photo caption: Brit Irby with NSD intern Michel Huizar at Celebrate Natomas 2008.

The reach of outreach

2008-12-14T05:47:21Z

From the City of Sacramento Department of Neighborhood Services newsletter The Bridge.

By Derrick Lim, Area Manager serving all Council Districts

Neighborhood Services has engaged in a great deal of community outreach this year. Upon reflection, several themes come to mind in relation to levels of service and customer service. Neighborhood Services can do a better job of articulating outreach levels of service, which in turn results in better customer service to the public.

Using Olympic medals as an analogy, outreach can also be categorized into three major categories: gold, silver, and bronze.

Gold is the highest level because the objective is not only to get the word out, but to also get more than 50 residents to attend and participate. Neighborhood Services experience tells us a minimum of 6-8 weeks is needed to craft and implement a strategy. In addition, resources are needed for translation, partnering with community nonprofits, and establishing new contacts. Going for the gold is getting harder in these challenging economic times, and we need to work smarter to achieve it with limited resources.

Silver is the intermediate level of outreach. Getting the word out is important to neighborhood groups. There may or may not be an expectation of neighborhood participation. Resources may or may not be available to engage new participants.

Bronze is the basic level of helping only to get information out. There is no expectation of turnout or community participation. Translation assistance may be involved if resources are available.

Let me know what you think of these themes. Your feedback will help Neighborhood Services fine tune its outreach levels of service, improve its customer service, and maximize the reach of outreach.