Choteau, MT

From Jenn Swanson:

As a result of the Horizons project in our community, an existing organization called Neighbors Helping Neighbors has been reinvigorated. Neighbors Helping Neighbors (NHN) was started by some local community members several years ago as a way to address unmet local needs related to poverty. The originating members had developed a system for accepting referrals or direct calls, documenting a person’s or family’s needs, assessing what the person or family was doing to try to help themselves, and then offering referrals to existing service organizations or limited short-term financial assistance, as appropriate.  Strengths of the organization included its clear mission and vision, excellent documentation system, and its strong collaboration with the Teton Food Pantry. Limitations of the organization included the fact that it did not have tax-exempt status and therefore could not solicit tax-deductible donations, not many people in town knew about the organization, and no low-income persons were involved in the organization.
 
New partnerships formed during the  Horizons project resulted in heightened awareness of Neighbors Helping Neighbors in our community, as well as the involvement of a new board member who has first-hand experience with poverty, including state and federal assistance programs. Additionally, a new volunteer to NHN collaborated with a founding member in preparing the application for tax-exempt status, which was officially granted earlier this year. Two volunteers developed a website for NHN,  http://www.neighborshelping.org  which  contains links to and explanations of the local resources available to people in poverty, thereby providing a free and convenient “resource manual” for NHN volunteers and all community members. New projects that are underway include the development of an informational brochure about NHN, including promotion of its website resource, which will be distributed throughout the county.

According to a founding member, the number of referrals has increased lately, and the organization is optimistic about its ongoing role in our community. 

Mayor Jay Dunckel was asked to provide some input about what sort of concrete action Choteau has taken to reduce poverty in the community. Here is what our Mayor had to say:

The City strongly supports recycling programs. These programs tend to hold down the expense of garbage collection which, in turn, allows us to charge less for the collection. Promotion of recycling is ongoing and we are constantly looking for ways to improve and expand the program.

We continually research grants on the state and federal level looking for monies available for low income housing rehabilitation and new construction.

Some of our employees are being paid below the poverty level. A change in leadership in the city has resulted in an effort to increase salaries to compete with other occupations in local and surrounding communities. We are able to hire additional employees at certain times of the year and generally these jobs, though short lived, provide some help for low income families.

The city maintains a continuing effort to attract new business to the community.  New businesses will provide new jobs usually with more pay. We are able to provide tax incentives to new business as we partner with the county in this endeavor.

So now I ask - how has the Horizons program fit into some of these efforts and goals in which the City is already engaged? Are any of the Action items working on these things: keeping costs down, providing housing, services, and jobs to low income people and families, attracting new businesses to Choteau?

Ok, everybody. I’m back again with more voices from the community. Mark Major was asked to provide his thoughts on how the Horizons program has or has not affected leadership in Choteau. Mark was one of the instructors for the “Leadership Plenty” course last winter and spring. Here’s what Mark had to say:

     During and after teaching the LeadershipPlenty class, I saw a marked increase in “common” citizens taking on “not-so-common” leadership roles.  Class participants, who previously would not have taken on such a role, were actively organizing the community into informal action groups to accomplish things.  I also noticed that group members were employing many of the problem-solving skills taught in the classes.
     One other noticeable change was a common bond among class participants.  The LeadershipPlenty series brought together community members who had never before interacted.  It transcended race, religion,
class, gender, and of course, poverty.  I saw warm interactions and community support and teamwork that involved all parts of Choteau.

I had the good fortune to attend a different, very intense leadership training program through my work late last winter, and I found some of the same things that Mark expressed. The group was a mix of different professions from different areas, and we spent some time really identifying our differences in order to better understand each other. By the end of our 10-day class we had really bonded and become a team. And as Mark noted, some of the folks in the group who would not have stepped into leadership roles were jumping in to head up some of the class activities. Both of these experiences illustrate how a group can become a team, and how effective that can be for accomplishing things.

On another note, for those of you who are interested, there is a lunchtime speaker series being held Wednesdays in the Alice Gleason room at the library - check back in here in a couple of days for the remaining schedule, or look in this week’s Acantha for more information. I will hopefully post some videos of those presentations, but am having some minor technical difficulties at the moment.

Last week I posted some input provided by Kevin St. John that was very positive about the Horizons program outcomes. Even while acknowledging that one of the Action Items did not work out as originally conceived, action was still taken and strides made to achieve change - hopefully lasting change.

This week, we have input provided by Heather McCartney that gives us a slightly different perspective. Heather was asked to give her opinion on whether our community’s knowledge about leadership has changed as a result of the Horizons activities thus far, and how community members see the issue of leadership. Heather has some very clear and useful insights about some of the limitations that both our community and the Horizons effort has faced. I think that her comments are a great reminder that we really do need to monitor our progress. If we aren’t succeeding as we would like to, why aren’t we? How do we address those challenges? Here is what Heather had to say:

I think that my community realizes that two things are finite: enthusiasm and time. So, even if one wanted to be developed as a leader, A) direct mentorship was difficult to identify or cultivate, and/or B) in a community where people in target range either hold down more than one job OR are retired and engaged in activities of choice, leisure time was at a premium.

While many people came together over 4 action items (ages 12 - 65+), by the time the final presentations were given (at the Squash Festival), we only had one of maybe 15 original members even present. Mind you, part of this was that big picture items such as the project calendar for Horizons deadlines was not often shared in a timely manner or with the most junior members of action groups.

[Leadership] is definitely a community issue, but in a different regard. Our leadership has not necessarily refreshed at regular intervals in governmental, judicial, or civic levels. Apart from age-specific organizations such as Jaycees, our leadership is very aged. We have neglected to recruit, mentor, and hand over leadership roles. It is often heard by young leanders wishing to contribute to organizations with at least a generation in age difference, “Well, I had some ideas, but it’s not the way they’ve always done it”.

I believe that after going through the Horizons process, the community felt as if the same leaders/motivators are in place as before. I do not believe that new leadership was attracted and/or developed.

We really ought to think hard about what Heather has to say. How do we attract, inspire, and mentor new leaders who have limited free time? How can Horizons help do this? Perhaps a greater challenge is how we give those younger and/or newer leaders and their ideas a voice in a community with an established set of civic groups, each with their own “turf”, and their own well-established ideas about how to do things?

Very good things to ponder and discuss. Thanks to Heather for her honest and valuable insights!

Ok, so we’ve covered definitions of poverty, and the basics of what the Horizons program is about. As most of us have seen, the program is fairly structured - tested and proven series of steps to create outcomes that will work to build lasting change in small communities. As we go through those steps, how do we know whether we are succeeding?

There are 3 components that the program focuses on: Poverty, Leadership, and Community. The program seeks, for all 3 of these components, to:

• build knowledge and awareness
• build skills and mobilize
• take action
• sustain action and create structural change

Recently, a number of community members and Horizons participants were asked to respond to specific questions on those topics, to gauge how we might be doing in each area (see the Horizons Community Guide, pages 24-25 for the actual questions).  In this and the next few blogs, I will post those responses.

Responding to the question about Community Action, Kevin St. John said:

“Notwithstanding the subtle and unmeasurable benefits of bringing people together to consider how to make our community better, there are two substantive, ongoing changes that are direct results of the Horizons program. The school district adopted the goal of promoting and increasing volunteerism in the community, and an organization has been established for the sole purpose of providing financial assistance to people in our community to participate in an enriching activity (e.g. swimming, piano lessons, etc.) that otherwise would not have the opportunity due to a lack of funds.”

Remember that one of the action items was to create a High School credit or requirement for students to volunteer in the community. Although that action item was not carried forward as originally conceived, its proponents succeeded in raising awareness about volunteerism and created a commitment by the school to promote volunteerism among students. Our outcomes in this process may not always be as we originally envisioned, but may be measured as successes if they promote action and structural change.

Meanwhile, the action item to create a fund to assist people of limited means to participate in the full variety of activities offered in the community and area is moving along very well.

 Up next: another voice, another insight!

I promised more about where we are with the Horizons program, and here is more. Recently, we asked a number of people who have been participants in the Horizons program at one or more stages to respond to some questions about their community. Some have responded and I will post their insights over the next few days. But first I thought it would be useful to review the Horizons program and what it’s all about. That will help you readers (and I know you’re out there!) put the comments of participants into the context of what the program is hoping to accomplish.

Recall that the Horizons program is about reducing poverty in small communities. Straight from the horse’s mouth (that is, from the MT Horizons website, at this link: Simple Definition of Poverty) here is what we mean:

 Simple Definition of Poverty

Horizons is focused on poverty, leadership and community. It explores the perceptions and the sources of poverty, recognizing that it isn’t always just about lack of money. The program focuses on poverty, because poverty impacts everyone in a community. Our goals on poverty are for communities to identify it, commit collectively to do something about it and begin to take strategic action to change it.

Poverty defined is the “extent to which an individual [or community] goes without resources.” The resources are the following:

1. Financial: Having the money to purchase goods and services.
2. Emotional: Being able to choose and control emotional responses, particularly to negative situations, without engaging in self-destructive behavior. This is an internal resource and shows itself through stamina, perseverance, and choice.
3. Mental: Having the mental abilities and acquired skills (reading, writing, computing) to deal with daily life.
4. Spiritual: Believing in divine purpose and guidance.
5. Physical: Having physical health and mobility.
6. Supportive Systems: Having friends, family and backup resources available to access in times of need. These are external resources.
7. Relationship/Role Models: Having frequent access to adult(s) who are appropriate, who are nurturing to children and youth and who do not engage in self-destructive behavior.
8. Knowledge of Hidden Rules: Knowing the unspoken cues and habits of a group.
9. Coping Strategies: Being able to engage in procedural self-talk and the mindsets that allow issues to be moved from the concrete to the abstract. It is the ability to translate from the personal to the issue.

Adapted from the book Bridges Out of Poverty: Strategies for Professionals and Communities, by Ruby Payne, Ph.D., Philip DeVol and Terie Dreussi Smith, 2001.

The goal of the Horizons program is to reduce poverty in all its forms, and to do it through developing leadership and skills within the community, rather than imposing ideas or solutions from some external place or person. Through the study circles, some of the ways that poverty manifests itself in Choteau were discovered and discussed. Through the Leadership Plenty program, a number of people in the community received training in leadership and communication skills. A few ideas were chosen last fall for immediate action, and people rolled up their sleeves and got to work.

How are we doing? Stay tuned for the next blog post to read what some community members and Horizons participants have to say….

… And if you are interested in an overview of how Montanans perceive and are coping with economic poverty, you may wish to read the document 2009 Montana Poll: Struggling to Make Ends Meet . It contains information from a survey conducted in 2009 by the Lake Research Partners, commissioned by the Northwest Area Foundation.

I’ve been thinking about kindness lately. Well, actually, I’ve been thinking about civility, and tolerance, but when I looked at the goals that came out of the Visioning process, kindness was one of them. And I realized that kindness is more than just smiling and saying “Have a good afternoon”, or holding a door for someone whose arms are full. Kindness is larger than that, and, quite frankly, I’ve been wondering lately if it’s in short supply.

Why was I thinking this? For starters, I did something I haven’t done before: I posted a message on one of those “Discuss It” forums that come after many news stories on most major news websites. I have generally not visited those, feeling that news is news and the Average Joe or Jane’s opinion doesn’t really have a lot to do with whether there is a blizzard hammering the Midwest or whether a major sports star got caught doing something wrong. Facts are facts, after all, so what do the opinions of a bunch of bored computer jockeys have to do with those facts? But curiosity got the best of me. I carefully and briefly worded my own thoughts, and hit the “post” button.

Well! Not only did I discover that a number of people disagreed with me (which is fine; I expected that), but I also discovered that they didn’t hesitate to express that disagreement with name-calling, profanity, and some incredibly creative and very personal insults. I was floored! Apparently the anonymity of Internet message boards is taken by many as license to set aside their manners, throw politeness to the winds, and lash out with unbridled nastiness expressed in a way that would make their mothers blush. All because I expressed a relatively mild opinion about something that, quite honestly, has nothing directly (and even possibly indirectly) to do with any of us.

I was dismayed to think that people felt so free to be rude and mean, and even more dismayed to think that this nastiness might be lurking inside a lot of people who use good manners when they are not so anonymous. Is this really how people are?

Two other incidents struck the same chord recently. In the first, I was forwarded an email message filled with intolerance for and venom directed at a certain religious group, based on an incorrect rumor about a postage stamp. Even if the rumor had been true, I was absolutely astounded that people could be so vicious, and that they could feel so comfortable forwarding such vitriol to so many other people. It was startling and depressing.

In the second, I saw a sticker on a pickup truck window that said “[A certain special interest group] Sucks”. I understand that people disagree with the members of that group, but really - hasn’t anyone out there been taught to disagree politely? Weren’t we supposed to learn in kindergarten not to call each other names, no matter how real our grievances? Didn’t they teach us not to pass judgement on others, especially en masse? When did it become okay to display - with apparent pride - a rude insult to an entire group of people?

And so here is my thought about kindness: Let’s commit to being kind again. Really, honestly kind. Let’s do more than open doors and smile and nod at each other. As a community, let’s refrain from rudeness and name-calling even in the privacy of our own homes and computers. Let’s try to respect each other for real, despite our different backgrounds and opinions. Let’s let that legendary Choteau kindness work deeper than our skins - kindness shouldn’t be just a nice-looking cloak worn outside, but then hung on a peg by the door when we enter the privacy of our homes, or tossed aside when among like-minded friends. Kindness should be a way of life, deep and truthful. 

I challenge you all this Holiday season to make honest and soul-deep kindness your gift to the people of Choteau, of Montana, of the world. I’m willing to bet it will turn out to be a gift to yourself, as well. I’m going to try it. Because in all my frustration lately I also became aware that I have some work to do in that regard, as well. Good luck and Best Wishes (I mean that!)!

We started last fall with the Study Circles, went into Leadership Plenty during the winter, saw a bunch of survey forms (that was Visioning) during the summer, heard about a few groups trying to accomplish some things… so where are we with this whole Horizons process? Refer to the graphic below, and/or go to http://www.horizonsmt.org/docs/2008%20Community%20Guide.pdf for a more detailed graphic. But let me also explain:

In a nutshell, we are in the upper left quadrant of the circle, having completed the Community Visioning this summer and early fall. And guess what that means? Not only are we ready to move more fully to Action - the part you’ve all been waiting for. Also, we could be eligible for grant money to help make some of those Action Items a reality. … But what actually happens now that we are on to Action? And what Actions are we going to take?

We’ve heard over the past several months about some Action items members of the community have taken on: a Community Garden, the notion of a Community Service requirement for high school students, the Neighbors Helping Neighbors program to help connect people with the resources of all sorts that they need, and the development of a Community Scholarship to help children and adults participate in a variety of activities, from arts to sports to everything in between. You may ask, what else do we need to be doing?

During the Community Visioning process, the entire town of Choteau was invited to weigh in on what we thought would help really make Choteau shine - and note that many people pointed out that Choteau is already a pretty good place to live and work!. The top 3 Action items that came from the Visioning survey and subsequent vote by participants in the “Squashfest” this fall were:

• Provide more support to community businesses by purchasing goods locally
• Develop life skills education classes for all ages
• Encourage random acts of kindness and a campaign to promote volunteerism

Where will we go with these items? Stay tuned….. !

Ok -I’ve been absent from the blog for way too long. Summer got the best of me, I guess. But it’s certainly not summer anymore, and although we are all as busy as ever, I am going to make a renewed effort to keep this blog updated. Check back weekly - that is about the pace I think I can keep up with. For now, a couple of quick updates:

• A committee has been established to address the “local shopping” action item. Choteau Chamber members Laura Buck, Dana Burns, and Jane Wolery were to meet on Monday, October 26 over the noon hour. The committee planned to look at questions to ask retailers in Choteau to assess business owners’ needs and concerns.
• A ”Squashfest” was held in late September with a presentation by MSU Extension Area Economic Development Specialist Sarah Hamlin. She presented ideas to help businesses deal with and adapt marketing and business strategies to a fluctuating economy.
• A “Visioning” survey was completed to better understand what people feel are important assets to develop in the Choteau community. Stay tuned for results (I’ll post a link as soon as I remember how!)
• A summary of Horizons accomplishments has been completed that covers what we as a community have accomplished in the last 10 months, since we began this effort. I’ll post more complete coverage here next time, but some of the things we can be proud of are:
  • 16 community members have been trained in facilitation skills that can be used to help in future community discussions and planning
  • 60 people participated in study circles to discuss how to use community assets to help create a more thriving community
  • 55 people were trained in leadership skills through the Leadership Plenty course; several earned either college credits or teacher renewal credits
  • 9 people learned more about grant-writing

In short, we’ve been busy getting geared up with skills and ideas to create some more action in Choteau. More opportunities are coming up - tune in next week for more information!

 And have a HAPPY HALLOWEEN!! 

Halfway across town this weekend you could hear the ringing of balls hitting bats and the shouts of the crowd cheering players on, thanks to the baseball tournament organized and hosted by the Choteau Baseball Commission. I confess to only watching part of the tourney, though I couldn’t help but be aware that it was going on all weekend long.

As with all such events, there were highlights and lowlights. On a low note, the Choteau Gold Rookies team suffered the loss of 3 players by mid-game Thursday (one on vacation, one away on urgent family business, one felled by stomach flu after the first inning), and another by Friday morning (stomach bugs tend to spread in families). On a high note, the Choteau Maroon Rookies coach graciously agreed to take on the remaining Gold players for an evening so that they could participate in one more tournament game. The spirit of cooperation and good sportsmanship was alive and well, and the boys had fun playing alongside each other. A big win by the combined team followed by ice cream afterward made for a grand evening.

 By Sunday afternoon kids bored with sitting through their brothers’ ball games took refuge in the park, wading up and down Spring Creek collecting rocks and snails, chasing minnows, and spying on robins’ nests. How great that the creek has continued flowing and providing such time-honored activities for the kids! And how great that Choteau has such a committed group of coaches, players, parents, commissioners, fans, and volunteers who make our baseball program such a success. Thanks to all!