NorthWay Family Project expands job-training potential

At a July 12 press conference at NorthWay Community Trust, the Minneapolis Employment and Training Program, Hennepin County Human Services and Public Health Department, Minneapolis Public Schools and NorthWay Community Trust announced that they had formed a unique and unprecedented partnership to provide a family-centered approach to serving disadvantaged and low income families in North Minneapolis. This partnership will assist disadvantaged youth and their families obtain work-based life skills. Youth will earn a wage while gaining confidence and strengthening connections back to the school they attend while the parent will obtain transferable job skills that could launch them into a career path. This is a new concept of reaching an entire family with employment, coaching sessions, and a potential career path. This approach will systematically change the lives of approximately 200 families through family-centered employment and training services.

The NorthWay Family Project is based on a successful Minneapolis Public School youth job-training model. A seed investment from NorthWay Community Trust allows the program to expand to year-round employment for the youth and add the family component. No other program in the State involves both parent and child in the effort to establish good work habits and achieve a positive work experience.

For more information, contact Lance Knuckles, Program Outreach Manager at 612-521-4500.

North Minneapolis Early Childhood Alliance hires project coordinator

North Minneapolis Early Childhood Alliance (NMECA) announced that it has hired Mary Stalter-Gulling as the Coordinator for the Northside Early Childcare Alliance project to develop a framework for improving early childhood services on the Northside. Mary comes to this position with extensive experience in education, project coordination and community organizing, as well as a Masters degree in Special Education. Please join NorthWay as we welcome Mary to NMECA. For more information contact Allan Malkis at amalkis@northwaycom.org.

Northsiders urged to attend upcoming public meeting on predatory and subprime lending

The U. S. House of Representatives Financial Services Committee, chaired by Rep. Barney Frank and including Rep. Keith Ellison of Minnesota, will hold one of several public hearings on predatory and subprime lending in Minneapolis on Thursday, August 9 from 6-8pm at the downtown Minneapolis Central Library, 300 Nicollet Mall. All those interested are encouraged to attend the meeting.

In addition, the draft report of the Predatory Investment Study, conducted by NorthWay and the Northside Neighborhood Alliance (NNA), will be released in late August. Alyssa Erickson, CURA research intern, has finished interviewing 24 residents, elected officials and housing experts. The Advisory Committee has reviewed the interview results and directed that the remainder of the study focus on two issues – policy changes to increase transparency in public records of mortgage transactions and policy changes that offer the best hope of preserving home ownership in the face of the foreclosure epidemic. Advisory Committee members want to help the families losing their homes through foreclosure to remain on the Northside and have a chance to become homeowners again, if they qualify financially. For more information, please contact Alyssa at research.northwaycom@gmail.com.

Marketing Task Force getting ready to present new image

The Northside Marketing Task Force (NMTF) is listening to community members describe what makes North Minneapolis special. A series of public meetings in June and July wrapped up on July 30 at the Minneapolis Urban League. Additional meetings will be scheduled with individual organizations to allow their members to give their points of view. A community-wide meeting will be scheduled in the fall to present the proposed North Minneapolis logo, slogan, and other community identity materials for use in a campaign to change how people think about our community. For more information, contact the Northside Marketing Task Force at stories@northminneapolis.com.

Taking the next step to financial success

Coming up in August and September, there will be a series of community information meetings so North Minneapolis residents can find out how to take charge of their financial lives. WomenVenture, Greater Twin Cities United Way, Family Assets for Independence in Minnesota (FAIM) program and NorthWay Community Trust are partnering to provide the financial literary training sessions and Individual Development Accounts (IDA). For more information about this opportunity and others facilitated by NorthWay, contact Lance Knuckles, Program Outreach Manager at 612-521-4500 or visit www.northwaycom.org in News and Updates.

National social change model to be studied

The Pittsburgh-based Manchester Bidwell organizations are diverse entities that combine to create a model for arts, education, training and hope to reshape the business of social change. NorthWay Community Trust, in collaboration with the Subzero Collective, the Grassroots Public Policy Institute and the Minneapolis Downtown Council, is exploring the possibility of replicating a Manchester Bidwell Center for Arts and Technology on the Northside.

As a member of the Replication Collaborative led by James Everett of SubZero Collective, NorthWay will convene elected officials, corporations, institutions of higher learning, foundations, arts organizations and community-based organization to assess and evaluate the potential of this initiative to create healthy communities through culture and enterprise in North Minneapolis.

NorthWay will post information about the national replication strategy on its website as the collaborative develops. For more information about the Centers for Arts and Technology, visit manchesterbidwell.org.