Best Start West Athens Summary of Visioning Meeting 2: Asset Mapping Monday July 18, 2011; 5:30‐7:30 pm at First New Christian Fellowship 1555 W. 108th Street Los Angeles, CA 90047 Who was at the meeting? Twenty‐eight (28) people were at the meeting. They included parents, community residents, service providers, and members of the faith based community. Purpose of the Meeting: The purpose of the meeting was to take the next steps in forming a community vision by engaging in community mapping activities. This is the 2nd of 3 Community Visioning meetings. The 3rd meeting will finalize a Vision Statement for the group. INFORMATION PROVIDED TO GROUP: Background about First 5 LA Best Start First 5 LA is a public funding agency that uses money from tobacco taxes and invests it to improve the lives of children and families in LA County. First 5 LA focuses on children from birth to 5 years old. The Best Start initiative includes 14 communities across LA County. First 5 plans to provide funding to communities. West Athens is one of the communities included in the initiative. Best Start creates opportunities for everyone who lives and works in the community to come together and create a plan for West Athens. The plan should focus on achieving the four goals for Best Start: o Children are born healthy o Children maintain a healthy weight o Children are safe from abuse and neglect o Children are ready for kindergarten Through this process, a partnership will be created in West Athens. The purpose of the partnership is to strengthen and increase the ability of community members to support children and families. To do this, we need to have a long‐term commitment to the process. The timeline for the creation of this Plan and Partnership is December 2011. Being at these community meetings gives you a chance to work for community change and support children and families in the community. GROUP ACTIVITY: Uncovering Community Strengths The process of creating a vision statement began during the June 2nd meeting when small groups discussed what we’d like to see in our community in 20 years. The July 18 meeting was step two, where we uncovered more of West Athens’s strengths and assets. During the August meeting, we will actually review draft vision statements crafted by the Visioning Workgroup and ultimately choose one. West Athens Community Asset Mapping Meeting Page 1 The community assessment activity, led by the Best Start Community Assessment Team, helps us create a Vision Statement by turning our attention to the good things in West Athens. Examples of community treasures: o Organizations working for children zero to five and their parents. o Leaders who are making a difference in the community and in children’s lives. o Services or people that we depend on for advice and encouragement. Activity #1: Community Asset Mapping Activity The Group broke into 5 smaller groups at their round tables and conducted an activity where they identified various places of importance on a map of the West Athens area. A table facilitator asked several questions to find out where community members live, where they work, where they get their fresh fruits and vegetables, where they exercise, and where their children go to play. Participants identified these places with stickers and writing cross‐streets on the map. The group was also asked to identify, “What makes you proud about your community?”, “Where do you feel unsafe in your community?” and “What do you wish was in your community?” These questions led community members to really talk about how they view the West Athens community. The note taker took notes to document what everyone at the table was saying. Activity #2: My Assets & My Fix‐Its Participants were given a large sheet with “Assets” on one side and “Changes” on the other. Everyone got into groups of two or three. At their table, they wrote down the people, places and organizations that they saw as positive parts of the West Athens community. In the center of the sheet, they wrote down their biggest asset. Next, the small groups flipped their papers over and wrote down the changes they would like to see in their community. In the center of the sheet, they wrote down the biggest thing that they would change. Both community asset mapping activities helped community members think about what resources are already in the community, and what is needed in the community. What are the next steps? Participants were asked if they would like to participate in a Visioning Work Group to help the community create a Vision Statement. Eight community members signed up for a Work Group, which will meet the first week of August to create sample vision statements to present at the next West Athens Best Start Partnership meeting. Participants interested in gathering a group of parents for a focus group are encouraged to contact the Community Assessment Team in the next 2 weeks. Next Meeting: Wednesday, August 10, 2011 5:30‐7:30 pm. First New Christian Fellowship 1555 W. 108th Street Los Angeles, CA 90047. West Athens Community Asset Mapping Meeting Page 2