ONLINE / OFFLINE

I've lived in a world with the Internet and constant technological updates my entire life. I've also grown up in a world where most Americans don’t know their neighbors, with some studies finding that Millennials, young adults between the ages of 18 and 30 (I’m 23), are least likely to know their neighbors. These facts are from coincidental.

One of the biggest complaints we have heard from residents throughout the Asset Based Community Development (ABCD) process is that new residents moving into the neighborhood don’t want to get to know their neighbors like the older culture in Northwest Denver where folks knew their entire block.

It seems more and more that people are moving their communities online through social media sites like Facebook, Twitter, and NextDoor.com. There is nothing inherently wrong with these sites, but they can either create or tear down community depending on how they are used.

One of the main problems with the Internet is the idea of anonymity and problems with physical separation. It’s much easier to type something hateful or rude to someone that isn't in your immediate vicinity and may not have a picture of you or know your name. Anybody who has spent any amount of time online on social media sites, article comment sections, or chat forums have seen this type of unproductive bickering where opinions are rarely changed (i.e. controversies like GamerGate).

Where, then, is the place for the Internet and technology in community? North Denver happens to be a place where great things are happening online. These illustrations show how online community can build up offline community.

#WeAreNorthDenver was a movement started by the Hispanic community in Northwest Denver after flyers were put up around the Highlands area that targeted Hispanics and other racial groups. This movement is more than just a hash tag and has been used as a resource for community members to create and share events, keep up with neighborhood news, and mobilize outside of this online community. Recently they posted a list of neighborhood associations on their Facebook page, encouraging members to join and advocate for themselves from within.

Other examples include blogs like this one, neighborhood publications like The North Denver Tribune, campaign websites to organize volunteers for local elections, and advertising for events happening in the neighborhood, all of which can be found online. When technology is used like this, it can build up offline community - not destroy it.

What we have with modern day technology is a resource that can be used for both good and bad. North Denver and all communities that are surrounded by these technologies have a choice: use technology to organize, advocate, and collaborate, or use it as a way to keep distance from our neighbors and mask our identity while attacking others. The problem then, is not the tech itself, but rather how we choose to use it. Let’s use our online resources to make community happen offline.

- John Putnam, The 32^nd Avenue Jubilee Center Episcopal Service Corps Intern

Lively, passionate, and engaged conversation

On Wednesday, January 21, the Jubilee Center held a community meeting for residents living in North Denver to discuss our past year of Asset Based Community Development (ABCD) work and to pose some reflecting questions to them about their own contributions to the neighborhood. Although we ended up meeting on a very snowy, cold night, about 40 community members joined in on the meal provided by Rosa Linda’s and Patsy’s Inn and the following conversation. We measure our success on this meeting by the lively, passionate, and engaged conversation that was generated and self-sustained by the people in attendance. Once we began sharing our story about our experience working on this project and being members of North Denver, others began sharing their thoughts and feelings about their time in North Denver too. As we have found time and again with this endeavor, simply asking questions about people’s experiences, hopes, and passions is a transformative process. The person who asked the question begins to see something they may have never thought of before, while the person answering can take a critical, but positive look at their life and the circumstances around them.

There was much preparation for this event by everyone in our office. We worked together to advertise the event, continue making connections in the community, complete catering orders, and put together the presentation. Every moment of our presentation did not go as planned; rather something better happened. The energy of the people in the meeting took over to create conversation on topics such as gentrification, making connections with new neighbors, appreciating arts and cultures of others, and finding ways to articulate thoughts and feelings. With the exceedingly fast array of changes in the neighborhood (architecturally, socio-economically, culturally, etc.), many residents are finding it hard to keep up with what’s happening with neighbors on their own streets. This meeting was said to be a strong first step for identifying some of the challenges facing all the people of North Denver right now, but also for showing all the strengths and resources that North Denver has had in the past and will continue to build on for generations to come.

Our next step in ABCD:

Through our ABCD work, we determined this community meeting was something residents desperately desired so they would have a welcoming venue for people to discuss their experiences in North Denver in a larger group setting. As mentioned in the meeting, it was the first step in creating new community connections and developing self-empowerment. One of our hoped for outcomes for the ABCD project is to learn how the Jubilee Center can be a better neighborhood and service provider to residents in the neighborhood. One way we hope to do this is by continuing positive, thoughtful community discussions. As of the end of January we will begin writing our final report of our ABCD work. We will always be listening to the voices in the neighborhood and do our best to contribute to the community as a respectful and caring neighbor.

Thank you to Rosa Linda’s, Patsy’s Inn, Menchie’s, and Rosales Bakery for contributing a delicious and hearty meal.

Thank you to Our Merciful Savior for hosting us in the church basement.

Thank you to Lelanda Lee for helping facilitate the conversation.

And thank you to everyone who attended the meeting and have supported the ABCD project.

The Kids Are Alright - Part 2

On Monday I wrote about my visit to North High School in Denver with ABCD Coordinator Aspen Matthews. Our objective was to interview high school students in the neighborhood about the ongoing gentrification in their neighborhood, and what we found was that the students were as aware and opinionated about gentrification as many of the adults.

The freshmen and sophomores we spoke to first were able to identify and discuss the changes happening in their neighborhood, but many of these students incorrectly identified the gentrification as happening within the last year or two. This is a far cry from the a general consensus found during the ABCD project that place the first signs of gentrification around 2007 or even earlier.

The Juniors and Seniors, on the other hand, generally identified the gentrification as beginning five to seven years ago. This is much more in line with our earlier findings.

What was even more interesting is the varied reactions to gentrification. It can be easy to try to over simplify the issue and assume that the Hispanics and Italians, whose families have been in the neighborhood longer, would be against gentrification, while newer whites might be indifferent to it.

However, that wasn't the case.

Since we talked to students in groups, there may have been group think at work, but we ended up talking to a group of white students that hated the gentrification, a group of Hispanic students that liked it, and another group of Hispanic students that hated it.

Furthermore, Aspen talked to a group of students that had a mutual dislike of gentrification, but found that not everyone was comfortable sharing that. When one of the white students she spoke to stated their dislike for gentrification, a group of Hispanic students responded with, "you can say that because you're white."

For these students, the fear is that they will be perceived as being racist for expressing negative opinions about the changes in the neighborhood, since the gentrification is caused by wealthier whites who are culturally different than they are.

If anything, this only adds to the helplessness that these students feel as they are forced to watch the neighborhood around them change, with many low income Hispanic and Italian families are being pushed out due to rising property taxes and outside pressure from real estate agents.

So, what does all this mean?

While I don't have a definitive answer to that, the variable that I imagine would make these students unique - compared with adults we interviewed - is that they have grown up with the gentrification and the consequences of it most of their lives.

For some, gentrification may feel natural and normal. This doesn't necessarily mean that they do or don't like what is happening, but it may explain why we were able to find students that might be more negatively effected by gentrification responding positively to it or why young Hispanics are hyper aware of the perception their opinions might send to outsiders.

These are just some initial thoughts, not hard theories or conclusions. At the very least, we learned that whether or not they have a name for the concept, high school students in Northwest Denver are aware of the changes caused by gentrification, and whether positive or negative - and in fact, it's mostly negative - these students have strong opinions about it.

- John Putnam, The 32^nd Avenue Jubilee Center Episcopal Service Corps Intern

The Kids Are Alright - Part 1

As someone who has worked with teens extensively the past two summers, I can honestly say that I have never met a dumb teenager. Teenagers are usually very intelligent, often much more so than society gives them credit for. Such was my experience when Aspen and I visited North High School this past Wednesday to interview the students during Freshman/Sophomore and Junior/Senior lunch.

I went in without too many expectations, and found two images of the school once I was there. The first came from my own impressions. All of the kids we talked to seemed like fairly typical high school students. In fact, they were all fairly calm and approachable. Chill is the perfect word to describe these teens.

However, another image I received was the ones the students painted of their school. It seems that both the school and the neighborhood has a reputation for being "ghetto" or "hood" - a reputation that the students were not too fond of. I won't make a statement for or against that reputation, but simply want to point out that the language surrounding the school's identity seemed very different from the reality of it.

Aspen talked to a woman who works for the district as a hall monitor of sorts. She goes to different schools throughout the year and acts as a roamer, making sure students get where they need to be going. When asked about her experience at North, she said that the students there were better behaved and easier to work for than any other school she had been to.

Something else we noticed is that what appeared to be at least half of the students were wearing purple North High School apparel on what was just an average day of school - not a pep rally or football day. We asked about the dress code and found out that there really wasn't much of one. It's simply popular to wear North High apparel.

This says a lot about North.

Regardless of what people think about it - and I will admit to only having a limited view - it appears that North does a great job of fostering school spirit, has a well-behaved, active student body, and has students that are proud to be North Vikings.

To the students who described their neighborhood or school as "ghetto" or "hood," I would simply say, "don't." A reputation won't change unless you can change the way you view yourselves. You come from a neighborhood and school that is rich in culture and diversity...

... and you have a lot to be proud of.

- John Putnam, The 32^nd Avenue Jubilee Center Episcopal Service Corps Intern


In part 2 I will discuss our findings from our conversations with the students about the neighborhood and gentrification.

Food Gentrification in North Denver

Yesterday at the Jubilee Center our ABCD pilot project held our second small community discussion. Our first meeting was on education and youth, this one focused on a challenge that many have not yet admitted is happening in Northwest Denver: gentrification. However, throughout our one-to-one interviews with community members, we have heard quotes talking about gentrification such as:

“I worry that people are living here because it’s trendy and cool and they don’t have a commitment to where they live.”

“One time we had a community meeting at Our Lady of Guadalupe – it was the first time Italians were in a Mexican church. People are drawn through the history and culture. If you capitalize on the people who were here, who have that history and culture, there is a point of equalizing.”

“Younger metropolitan group doesn’t have historical connection, instead want access to downtown.”

It is clear that the influx of people into Northwest Denver is part of people’s thoughts when they are discussing their neighborhood. At our second community meeting, we had a more in-depth discussion on gentrification. As we prepared for that meeting though, we stumbled across articles about something called food gentrification, which refers to previously inexpensive or unpopular foods becoming the new “foodie trends”. This means that the higher the demand, the higher the prices because there is a shortage in supply and willingness to pay more.

The food that tends to come to mind when talking about popular new vegetables is kale, a leafy green that has been dubbed a superfood. In 2011, kale was sold in 4,700 stores in the United States. Now, it is sold in 50,700 stores and during that time increased in price by 25%. In 2013, Entrepreneur wrote an article dubbing 2013 as “the year of kale”. Everyone is talking about kale, blogging recipes centered around it, and sharing on social media when they eat it. Whole Foods recognized the takeover that kale had in the food industry and at the beginning of 2014, wrote an official blog post and marketed in store the idea: Collards Are the New Kale. This is where the food gentrification began.

Collard greens have been a staple of working class Black and White Southern American’s meals for centuries. When a high end grocer decides to market collards by likening them to the status of kale, prices undoubtedly increase to accommodate the surge in demand, leading to less availability and affordable prices for the people that had already “discovered” this vegetable. The life of collards may soon mirror that of kale’s to be a booming fad across the country.

Through our work in North Denver, we thought about this idea of food gentrification a little differently. Here, food gentrification manifests itself differently than by increasing prices in grocery stores. Rather, our change in prices has come through an abundance of restaurants. Gossip around the neighborhood states we have about 65 restaurants within a two mile radius. Many of these restaurants offer a variety of cuisines and the prices in these establishments tend to be on the higher end. Such an incredible number of options to dine out implies that the people of the neighborhood have that leisure time as well as the disposable income to choose which restaurant they are in the mood for. What does that mean for restaurants that have been in the neighborhood for years?

This neighborhood is very good at dining out, enjoying the social scene, and hosting community events around food and leisure. Knowing about food gentrification and its implications on the prices and availability of food, how do we welcome new restaurants into our community? In what ways can restaurants bring us together? How do we appropriately manage this influx of higher end cuisine in our neighborhood while also having local grocery stores and restaurants that cater to lower income families?

Curiosity and judgement cannot live together in the same space

This past weekend the Jubilee Center presented at the 127th Annual Convention of the Episcopal Diocese of Colorado on Asset Based Community Development. The presentation was a way to share our story of implementing ABCD work in a community, including first steps, asset mapping, and continuing conversations. We met people from Episcopal churches across Colorado that were looking to begin community building initiatives in their church or out in their neighborhoods.

The Jubilee Center used this workshop as a way to begin organizing our own thoughts about ABCD and the work we have done. As a pilot project, we are responsible for completing a "how-to" manual to share our processes, including how we structured our project and what worked well for us in our neighborhood, which is in a state of constant change. The workshop had three different sections: an overview of ABCD, an appreciative inquiry exercise that led into preliminary asset mapping, and a description of how we are using ABCD in North Denver.

Attendees were active participants by conducting "one-to-one" interviews with partners to discover gifts and assets in their stories. They shared answers to one of the following questions: What is something you did to prepare to come to Convention? or What is something you left behind when you came to Convention? Participants observed that it was easy to begin connecting right away with their partners and found that their conversations began to delve deeper into more than simply answering the question. This allowed attendees to start thinking of the gifts both they and their partners have. Then participants began the mapping process of their gifts. This was an individual exercise in which attendees wrote their individuals gifts, associations they belong to, and institutions they are part of in their communities. They also wrote what they are most excited about for convention, which goes on what Aspen (our ABCD intern) calls the themes board, which helps to organize people by their passions and interests.

The attendees gave great responses to the mapping exercise and had many questions on how it works and how to implement it for themselves. We were very excited about their interest in the project and how we can continue to share our own story.

If you are interested in seeing our presentation slides or learning more about how we're using ABCD in North Denver, please contact the 32nd Avenue Jubilee Center at aspen.matthews@jubilee32.org.

Blowing Bubbles

There is an image of a beautiful woman blowing bubbles between Little Man Ice Cream and Olinger’s. She wears a colorful outfit highlighted by a butterfly wing tutu and carries colorful, abstract hair behind her. This image should be a joyful one, as it is filled with symbols of color and hope, but the woman doesn’t look happy. The look on her face screams bored, dull and disenchanted. It’s as if she has lost her grasp on the beauty surrounding her.

 

I’m not sure what the artist had in mind when she or he made this masterful street art, but it reminds me of North Denver in many ways. There is still so much beauty in North Denver: from the children that visit the 32^nd Avenue Jubilee Center after school program and fill North Denver schools to the oldest generations that have kept businesses, cultures and lineages alive throughout the years.

However, I have also noticed the changes that have been made over the past decade. The culture of North Denver is being lost in the influx of modern homes and businesses that have brought in a completely new people and lifestyle to the neighborhood. People and businesses are being pushed out of North Denver so that a younger and wealthier generation can move in. Of course this is a great financial move for the city, one of the driving forces behind this change, but it has taken some of the magic away. The beauty of North Denver is still there, but I can’t help but be disenchanted with the way things are headed.

As frustrating as this is, I am excited by the possibilities of my work with the 32^nd Avenue Jubilee Center and hopeful for all the things North Denver still has to offer. There is great work to be done in North Denver, whether it’s as individual as tutoring children or as large as tackling a project such as the Assessment Based Community Development program headed by Aspen Matthews. Generations of families still have so much to give to North Denver, and it’s exciting that for the next year I can watch and be a part of that. My journey has just begun, and I can’t wait to see the ways 32^nd Avenue Jubilee Center can partner with the community to do great things.

- John Putnam, The 32^nd Avenue Jubilee Center Episcopal Service Corps Intern