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Journal of Community Power Building

Reflections from Community Development

Leaders and Practitioners

Volume IV January 2008

At the heart of community development work there are many challenges in building and exercising power for change. Building CDC power through a

strong, organized group of community residents provides the nec-essary base for CDC’s to help low-income neighborhoods realize their goals. In 1997, the MACDC, an active statewide association, and the Local Initiatives Support Corporation (LISC), a national commu-nity development intermediary, joined together to create the Ri-canne Hadrian Initiative for Community Organizing (RHICO). The program supported CDCs to expand community organizing as a core component of their development and neighborhood revitalization strategies. The program, which ended in 2006, en-gaged organizations through learning, networking, technical assis-tance and grant-making opportunities. MACDC continues to support all of it’s members in community organizing, both locally and statewide, through programming based on the successes and learnings of RHICO.

All articles in the Journal of Community Power Building represent the experi-

ences and opinions of the authors.

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Every kind of peaceful cooperation among men is primarily based on mutual trust and only secondarily on institutions

such as courts of justice and police. --- Albert Einstein

Welcome to the fourth edition of The Journal of Community Power Building, a publication that chronicles power building within the neighborhoods of Massachusetts’s community development cor-porations (CDCs). The Power Journal was originally a publication of the Ricanne Hadriane Initiative for Community Organizing (RHICO). For over ten years RHICO, an initiative of the Local Initiative Support Corporation (LISC) and the Massachusetts As-sociation for Community Development Corporations (MACDC), has provided resources, technical assistance and learning opportu-nities for CDCs engaged in power building. With each edition of the Power Journal, we are collecting stories about community development “from the field.” They are written by CDC staff, board members, leaders and program participants and they document successes, reflections, and frustrations. Power-building and organizing are long-term commitments as CDCs and their members need coalitions that include neighbors, elected officials, and other local organizations in order to build the political strength needed to address community issues. We hope that over time, the Power Journal will become a critical res-ervoir of field observations about the community development field. In the past three volumes of the Power Journal, we have explored power building, justice, and the places where we do our commu-nity development work. In this issue, to rephrase Raymond Carver, we ask: what do we talk about when we talk about em-powerment? When we talk about building relationships and revi-talizing our communities, we almost always mention empowerment. We want to empower the communities in which we live and work; we want people to be empowered to effect change in their lives. We use empower so frequently that we can take its meaning for granted,

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and never fully understand the relationships that we have created when we empower others, become empowered ourselves, or build power together. But these relationships can be fragile, as we bring into them our own needs, expectations, and abilities and must mediate these with the needs, expectations, and abilities of others. Here are some questions we posed in this year’s call for papers: 1. How do we build relationships in a healthy community? How does your position as a staff member or an activist affect your role in the power-building relationships you develop in your com-munity? 2. What role does self-interest play in your work for community empowerment and how does that fit with your purpose in doing this work? How do you feel community empowerment benefits you, either materially or spiritually? 3. In your experience is empowerment necessarily the opposite of community service, do they conflict or can they co-exist? Like finding love, it seems that the path to an empowered state is an elusive one. When reviewing this year’s essays, we noted that many were circumspect and ambiguous in tone. They are reflec-tive, without easy or definitive conclusions. Some writers discov-ered that empowerment is a state of mind that not everyone easily enters, despite the best intentions of the ones offering power. Other writers document power relationships that, like complex dances, require the participants to concentrate mightily on their partners’ cues in order to be successful. This issue opens with a reflection by Delmy Rosales, a community leader with Lawrence Community Works. In “What Does ‘Empower’ Mean to a New Community Activist?” Delmy de-scribes her journey from private citizen to community leader. Working to involve her neighbors in the work of LCW’s Poder Institute, Delmy discusses the difficulties she sometimes encoun-tered and the fact that sometimes, she couldn’t persuade people

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to join in. Two authors wrote essays that reflect the collaborative nature of changing power relationships. For her essay “Reflections on Peo-ple, Power and Change,” Suzanne Buglione, a member of Oak Hill CDC’s board of directors, collected reflections from board members of their work together to select a new executive direc-tor. These reflections uncovered different levels of comfort with power among the board – raising the question of how these con-flicted feelings about using power might affect an organization that is “all about empowering our neighborhood.” Katie Provencher, Resident Association Organizer at Urban Edge, describes Urban Edge’s facilitation to increase resident con-trol and guidance of their properties in her essay, “An Ever Evolving Vision of Resident Collaboration.” Through interviews with Urban Edge staff and resident association members, Katie offers a portrait of a shifting power relationship whose members are continuously changing their expectations of themselves and each other in order to step carefully into a new partnership. Dori Peleg, former Executive Director at Watertown Community Housing and Kate Jordan, Open Space Community Organizer at Allston Brighton CDC, both show us a more indefinable side of empowerment with their essays of personal reflection. Dori’s “Empowerment: An Elusive Outcome at Times” exposes her struggles as a new staff member of an organization meant to em-power women-of-color through educational opportunities and organizational responsibility. Dori’s piece explores empowerment with an analytical eye: is there a formula for winning initiatives, or is there something else at work when empowerment efforts suc-ceed? Kate Jordan, in her piece “Long Lasting Relationships in a Chang-ing Neighborhood,” looks at a community-centered model of empowerment, where residents’ drive to improve their surround-ings lead them to collaborative projects benefiting the whole neighborhood. Though Kate’s piece offers a promising outlook, it

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also questions how empowerment – and the responsibility that goes along with it – is handed off in a neighborhood with an ever-changing population? Carlos Pemberthy concludes this issue with a poetic riff on power. Carlos is a spoken-word artist and his piece sings with the energy and passion of “La Revolución Urbana.” Confronting homelessness, immigration, politics, and inner-city plight, Carlos spits a battle hymn for the modern street soldier. So what do we ultimately gain from the various views on empow-erment offered in this edition of the Journal? It has become some-what of a buzz-word these days, an idea presented as an ideal yet attainable goal, a panacea gained from years of work in the trenches. But as this collection of essays shows, empowerment is not simply a goal, with measurable and definable benchmarks. Neither is it solely a process, with a plan to be thought-out and followed. And, above all, it is certainly not purely a philosophy, championed in our grant proposals, staff-meetings, plenary ses-sions and yes, industry journals. It is, rather, more akin to a living organism, with all the inherent complication and fragility, and thus, it is all these things at once. And, like any organism, its life is carried on, defined and enriched by struggle. This collection, then, may be taken as an affirmation of our efforts, encouragement to keep striving towards some notion of empowerment even as many of us wonder at its definition and its place within our work. Our thanks to MACDC and the Power Journal Editorial Commit-tee for all their work and, of course, to you for reading. In solidarity, Ava Chan Mason Sand Allston Brighton CDC Watertown Community Housing

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Table of Contents Que es “Dar Poder” para una Nueva Activista Comunitaria?..............9 What Does ‘Empower” Mean to a New Community Activist …14 Delmy Rosales, Lawrence CommunityWorks Reflections of People Power and Change……………………...21 Suzanne Buglione, Oak Hill CDC An Ever Evolving Vision of Resident Collaboration………….29 Kate Provencher, Urban Edge Empowerment: An Elusive Outcome at Times ………………37 Dori Peleg, Watertown Community Housing Long Lasting Relationships in a Changing Neighborhood …….43 Kate Jordon and Rachel Ghazaleh, Allston Brighton CDC La Revolucion Urbana ………………………………….. 49 The Urban Revolution……………….……………………….51 Carlos Pemberthy, NOAH

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Que es “Dar Poder” para una Nueva Activista Comunitaria? Delmy Rosales, Lawrence Community Works Construir comunidades fuertes y sanas no es un trabajo fácil. Co-mo nueva activista comunitaria de Lawrence yo he experimentado sentimientos tanto de alegría y satisfacción, como de frustración y desaliento acerca del poder y el trabajo comunitario. Lo primero que yo comprendí es que poder también significa servicio y que aquellos que están en posiciones de liderazgo tienen el compro-miso de aplicar este poder para servir a la gente, por lo tanto para mi, poder y servicio están íntimamente relacionados y cada uno de estos complementan al otro. En mi caso, la puerta de entrada que me ayudó a definir mis idea-les y metas personales fue LAWRENCE COMMUNITY WORKS, Organización que conocí a los tres meses de haber lle-gado a la Ciudad de Lawrence, MA. A través de una invitación para asistir a la graduación del segundo. Grupo de lideres del Ins-tituto PODER. El trabajo de graduación de este grupo fue la ex-celente presentación que hicieron de la primera Guía del Presupuesto de la Ciudad. Los testimonios, acciones y logros que escuche me hicieron re-flexionar y motivarme a decirme a mi misma, “yo tengo que ser parte de LCW”, por que yo me identifico con justicia social, paz y oportunidades de desarrollo para todas las personas. La oportunidad de participar en los programas de LCW está abierta para todas las personas en la comunidad. En Octubre, 2005 yo me hice miembro y participe en la campaña de Presu-puesto. Después yo fui invitada a tomar el curso de liderazgo PO-DER que empezó en Febrero 2006 durante 6 meses, finalizando con nuestro proyecto de graduación denominado: “1ª. Encuesta para evaluar los servicios públicos de Lawrence” el cual fue des-arrollado en conjunto con el Alcalde la ciudad.

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Durante el proceso de distribución de las encuestas entre todos los residentes, ahí también hubo un desafío. Era la primera vez que como tal tendríamos la oportunidad de participar evaluando los servicios. Al llevar el mensaje a las personas de mi comunidad me di cuenta que la mayoría de ellos a quienes les hablamos di-rectamente del proyecto, estuvieron muy interesados y participa-ron completando la encuesta. Pero no fue así en varios lugares ya que algunos no mostraron el interés necesario para aportar sus ideas a la evaluación o algunos no participaron por no tener mu-cho conocimiento de la actividad. Haciendo esto yo me di cuenta entonces que tan importante es la comunicación y el dar poder a la gente para lograr una respuesta positiva de los residentes. Así mismo, fue muy excitante conocer tanta información impor-tante de la ciudad y de sus residentes, su historia, manejo de las finanzas públicas, modelos de presupuesto participativo de otras ciudades y estados, así mismo en el transcurso, aprender o per-feccionar técnicas de facilitación, como ser más efectivos en la comunicación y conocer e interactuar con oficiales públicos de la ciudad, incluso del Estado. Cada vez que he participado en un proyecto de LCW, me he sen-tido con poder y pienso que para que se desarrolle ese poder es importante experimentar por uno mismo la convicción y moti-vación de los beneficios comunes. Así mismo debemos tener la capacidad de contagiar ese entusiasmo y trasmitir ese poder a las personas de la comunidad, logrando así, mayor nivel de partici-pación y compromiso de ellos. Algunos ejemplos de estos proyec-tos son: La Encuesta de Satisfacción de los Residentes, La Cam-paña del Presupuesto de la Ciudad y Registro de Votantes. Ha sido muy importante ser entrenada y capacitada para trabajar en mi comunidad, esta es la primera vez en este país, que tengo la oportunidad de ser considerada como parte de un grupo de perso-nas que desarrollan líderes para trabajar con y para la comunidad en actividades cívicas. Al principio de esta nueva experiencia te-nía la convicción que sería útil, fácil y excitante, tenía muchos ideales de cómo mejorar mi comunidad, conocí acerca de progra-

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mas, proyectos, asignaciones financieras para mejorar la calidad de vida de las personas. Pero como muchas veces sucede, en el mo-mento de realizarse los proyectos, me di cuenta que no solamente el poder y la facultad de los líderes es lo importante para el éxito de cualquier actividad que incluya la participación de la comuni-dad, pues también hay desafíos que los que trabajamos con la comunidad tenemos que enfrentar. Por que digo que “dar poder” es un desafío? Por que este es un proceso que afronta algunos obstáculos. La barrera que yo como activista he observado es la apatía de muchas personas para par-ticipar en actividades comunitarias. Sus actitudes no facilitan que yo comparta o trasmita el poder hacia ellos, viendo como exce-lentes proyectos no llegan a ser exitosos por el bajo nivel de com-promiso de la comunidad. Con asombro muchas veces me he preguntado, por qué las personas no quieren ser parte del trabajo para mejorar la comunidad en donde viven o trabajan? Se que no existe una sola respuesta a esta pregunta, son muchas las razones que merecen ser analizadas. Como parte de esta comunidad, yo podría por ejemplo identificar algunas de esas razones: la falta de una condición migratoria legal, diferencias cul-turales, pobreza, barreras con el lenguaje, así como aspectos psi-cológicos: baja autoestima o interés solo en ellos mismos, única-mente para mencionar unos pocos de ellos. Por lo tanto será de vital importancia que como líderes y trabajadores comunitarios identifiquemos estas debilidades para tomar acciones y luchar por eliminarlas. Lawrence por ejemplo es una ciudad de población predominantemente Latina, nosotros no traemos de nuestros paí-ses de origen la cultura de servicio comunitario, especialmente voluntario, cada quien trabaja por un salario y vela por sus pro-pios intereses. Aquí es lo mismo, incluso algunas personas esco-gen vivir dependiendo de otras o de ayudas del gobierno como una forma mas fácil de sobre vivencia. Esto dificulta motivar a las personas para descubrir y desarrollar su propio potencial como líderes y trabajar no solo por su propio bienestar, sino también por el de su comunidad.

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Los siguientes son algunos ejemplos de los problemas observa-dos, trabajando en los proyectos de LCW: Durante el proceso de completar las encuestas encontramos que muchas personas reque-rían ayuda para entender los formularios, tenían dudas de su elegi-blildad para llenar las formas, manifestaban también falta de con-fianza en las autoridades públicas, por lo que consideraban que su opinión en la encuesta no iba a ser tomada en cuenta. Otra situación fue mostrada al momento de Registrar ciudadanos para votar. Se prepararon charlas y talleres acerca de proceso edu-cativo para registrar y enseñar a ejercer su derecho, motivando a las personas a asistir por todos los medios posibles. Una mínima cantidad de ellos asistieron. Personalmente podría hablar de mi debilidad en el dominio del idioma Inglés, ya que siendo miembro de LCW he tenido la opor-tunidad de estar en reuniones con personas u oficiales públicos y mi participación se ve limitada a tener que depender de traduccio-nes, o no entender totalmente lo que se esta tratando. No obstan-te yo estoy actualmente en el proceso de aprendizaje, así como enseñando Español a otros lideres de la comunidad que su pri-mer Idioma es Inglés, Considero 2 elementos importantes en la revitalización de una comunidad, el apoyo del gobierno ($$) y el poder que la comuni-dad tiene y siente. Los líderes comunitarios tenemos un importante rol en el éxito de construir una mejor comunidad, porque somos los que ayudamos a desarrollar ese lazo entre el gobierno y residentes , así mismo contamos con la facultad y el compromiso para revitalizar la mis-ma, lo cual no podemos llevar a cabo si no combinamos el poder con el servicio. En conclusión como nueva líder comunitaria, me gustaría trabajar en un proyecto enfocado en identificar fortalezas y debilidades de líderes potenciales. Las debilidades porque estas son las que dis-minuye nuestra capacidad para recibir o trasmitir el poder, limi-

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tando así nuestro nivel de compromiso en la comunidad. Las fortalezas porque son nuestras herramientas para construir una relación saludable entre gobierno y los residentes las cuales nos dirigen a una exitosa revitalización de nuestra comunidad. Mien-tras todo esto sucede, yo continuo desarrollando mi máxima capa-cidad como líder, sintiéndome orgullosa de ser parte de esta visio-naria y exitosa institución, llena de esperanza por contar con un mayor número de líderes y de miembros activos, enfocada en nuevas estrategias para lograrlo y especialmente en desarrollan el potencial de personas jóvenes con quienes juntos podamos hacer crecer y prosperar nuestra querida ciudad y a sus residentes.

Delmy Lopez Rosales llegó a Lawrence hace 2 años con más de 20 años de experien-cia bancaria y un grado en administración de recursos humanos de la Universidad Tecno-lógica de El Salvador en El Salvador. Mien-tras trabajaba en el Banco Cuscatlán, El Sal-

vador, Delmy fungió como Supervisora de la Sucursal y como Supervisora Comercial de Operaciones Corporativas. Por medio de numerosas experiencias como voluntaria en Voters in Action, Greater Lawrence Family Health Center, Horizons for Homeless Children, y en el comité de campaña del representante estatal Wi-lliam Lantigua, Delmy ha demostrado su pasión y compromiso de investir de poder a la comunidad Metropolitana de Lawrence. Es graduada del Instituto de Liderazgo Poder, clase del 2006, y conti-núa ejerciendo sus destrezas de liderato como facilitadora y conse-jera estudiantil en el Centro de Aprendizaje para Adultos de Law-rence y como facilitadora de NeighborCircle. Delmy vive con su esposo y dos hijos.

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What does “Empower” Mean for a New Community Activist? Delmy Rosales, Lawrence Community Works Building healthy and stronger communities is not easy work. As a new community activist I have experienced contrasting of feelings happiness and satisfaction, as well as frustration and hopelessness about power and community work. The first thing I became aware of, is that power also means service and that those who are in leadership positions have to commit to using this power to serve people; power and service are intimately related and they complement each other. In my personal experience, the open door that helped me to de-fine my own goals and ideals was Lawrence Community Works (LCW). LCW was the organization I got to know three months after I arrived to the city of Lawrence through an invitation to attend the graduation of the Second Group of Leaders of the PO-DER Institute. Their final project for graduation was an excellent presentation on The First Guide for the City Budget. The testi-monies about actions and achievements I heard at the time made me reflect and tell myself: “I have to be a part of LAWRENCE COMMUNITY WORKS.” I identify myself with the social jus-tice work, peace and opportunities of leadership development for all people. The opportunity to participate in LCW programs is open to eve-rybody in the community. In October 2005, I enrolled as a mem-ber and I participated in the Budget Campaign. Then, I was in-vited to take the PODER Leadership course that started in Feb-ruary 2006 that lasted 5 months; we finished it with a graduation project. This project was titled: “First Survey to Evaluate Law-rence Public Services.” This project was developed in partnership with the Mayor of the city. During the survey, I faced a big chal-lenge. It was the first time that our group would have an actual opportunity to evaluate the services and to work with a large group of residents. I realized that when we explained to the par-ticipants our objectives, the majority of them showed interest and were willing to participate in filling in the survey.

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However, we also learned, that in areas where the objectives were not fully explained to the participants, people responded with apa-thy and skepticism. I realized then how important communication and empowerment are in order to have a positive response from the community. It was exciting to gather and learn this important data about the city and its residents, the city’s history, and how its public finances are managed. We also compared the different participatory budget models developed by other cities and states. But this was not only a process about acquiring information, but also one in which I learned how to improve my facilitation skills, how to develop effective communication techniques, and how to meet and interact with public authorities of the city and even of the state. Every time I participate in a LWC project I feel empowered. However, in order for the project to succeed, I have to feel con-vinced in and motivated by the common benefits of the project in which I am participating. Some examples of the projects that have strongly motivated me to get involved are the Resident Satisfac-tion Survey, The Budget Campaign, and The Voter Registration. My self-conviction about the benefits of the project is essential in order to translate this empowerment to the rest of the people in the community. If I am able to communicate this power and en-thusiasm to them, I can achieve a higher level of resident partici-pation and engagement. It has been really important for me to be trained to work in my community. This is the first time I have had an opportunity in this country to work with my community and be part of a team that works to help develop leaders within community. At the begin-ning of my experience it seemed to be just great, easy, and excit-ing. I had many good ideas about how to build a better commu-nity. I became involved in programs and learned more about eco-nomic development and city resources in order to help people in my community improve their living standards. However, in the

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process of implementing actual projects I soon realized that not only empowerment and leadership are essential to the success of any activity that involves the community, but they are also the main challenges that community workers have to face. Why do I say that empowerment is a challenge? This is a process in which you face some obstacles. A significant barrier that the community builder, has to overcome is the apathy. I have seen how great projects can be unsuccessful because of the level of indifference within the community. I have wondered why people distance themselves from community work and I have asked myself: “Why do people not want to be involved in activi-ties to improve their community or work place?” and “There is not a single answer to this problem.” There are many reasons that are worth analyzing. As a member of the community I could, for instance, identify some of these reasons: lack of a legal immi-gration status, poverty, cultural differences, language barriers, and even psychological issues like low self-esteem or self-interest just to mention a few. So it is vital then, that we, as community work-ers and leaders, identify these problems in order to address and hopefully overcome these roadblocks for creating a stronger and healthier community. The population of Lawrence is predomi-nantly Latino. We do not have in our countries of origin a com-munity service culture. Everybody works for a salary and looks out for themselves. Here, it is the same; some people even find that living dependently on other people or on government welfare is the easier way to survive. It is difficult to encourage people to discover and develop their potential as leaders and to convince them to work not only in favor of their personal interests, but also for the communal well-being. The following are some examples of problems I have observed working on LCW projects: I found out during the process of do-ing the surveys that many people required a lot of help just to understand the forms and answer the questions. Another prob-lem was the lack of confidence in public authorities. They were reluctant to participate in the evaluation process arguing that their participation was not going to make any difference in the quality

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of services. Similarly, during the voter registration process, we prepared talks and workshops around the registration process and educated them about their right to exercise their vote. We tried to motivate people to participate in the events by all means, but a minimum number of people attended. It is true that well-coordinated projects, great programs, or tons of resources can do nothing in a community that does not feel engaged with its own development. Personally I notice that leaders and community workers have their own weaknesses. For instance, my weak point is in speaking and writing English fluently. As a member of the LCW I have had the opportunity to attend some meetings with public authorities. My participation in those meetings was limited because I had to rely on other people to translate for me in order not to lose important points within the discussion. I believe it is important to identify weaknesses and help people address them. In my case, I am trying to achieve a higher level of fluency in English. At the same time, I am sharing my knowledge of Spanish with other community leaders who are English native speakers. It can be said that empowerment and development work hand-in-hand, combining the two will make an effective model for neighborhood activism. There are two vital elements in the revitalization process: the sup-port of the government through funding and the empowerment that a given community feels and has. Community leaders play a big part in the success of community building since we are the ones who will help to develop the strong nexus between govern-ment and people. As community leaders, we have both the skills and the responsibility to revitalize our community. But we cannot do so if we do not combine empowerment with service. In conclusion, as a new community leader I would love to work in a project that focuses on identifying strengths and weaknesses; weaknesses, because by not addressing it, it constrains our capac-ity to increase community engagement; strengths, because these are our tools for sustaining a healthy relationship between the government and residents, and ultimately, to bring about a suc-cessful revitalization of the community. Meanwhile, I will con-

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tinue giving the best of my capacities. I am proud to be a part of this successful and visionary organization. LCW will increase the number of leaders and active members as well as building new strategies for youth and developing their potential as leaders, so we can work together for our beloved community.

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Delmy Lopez Rosales came to Lawrence 2 years ago with over 20 years of banking ex-perience and a degree in human resource administration from Universidad Tec-nologica De El Salvador in El Salva-dor. While working with Banco Cuscatlan,

El Salvador, Delmy served as Branch Supervisor and Corporate Operations Business Supervisor. Through numerous volunteer experiences with Voters in Action, Greater Lawrence Family Health Center, Horizons for Homeless Children, and on the cam-paign committee for state representative William Lantigua, Delmy has demonstrated a passion and commitment to empowering the Greater Lawrence community. She is a graduate of the Poder Leadership Institute class of 2006 and continues to use her leader-ship skills as a student council facilitator for the Lawrence Adult Learning Center and as a NeighborCircle facilitator. Delmy lives with her husband and two sons.

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Reflections on People, Power and Change Suzanne M. Buglione, Oak Hill CDC

If you stand at my front door you might think my home was on top of the world. At your feet is the city of Worcester, with the downtown buildings rising into the sky and the exciting signs of a changing neighborhood. Just beyond this view, is the vast greenness of the western horizon offering the possibility of coun-try-life just outside the city. If you look to the sidewalks that line the hill, you’ll see my neighbors, a diverse group of people on their stoops, in their yards, and a-foot. When I look from high atop one of Worcester’s seven hills, the possibilities seem endless.

I live a block away from Oak Hill CDC where I have been a board member for almost twelve years. It is an exciting organiza-tion. Oak Hill CDC is a member of MACDC and Neighbor-Works America, and it has supported neighborhood revitalization for over 25 years. The CDC works with a number of the city’s east side neighborhoods, and I know the value of that work for myself and those around me.

This reflection examines the departure of the CDC’s execu-tive director after eight years of service and the shifts in power dynamics that followed. After I surveyed members of the Oak Hill CDC board and staff as well as the two consultants who sup-ported the process, the reflection I give is a collective one that incorporates many voices and perspectives discussing power, power-building and change.

The Crossroads of Change

“When the way comes to an end, then change” (I Ching)

In January 2007, our board received the resignation of the CDC’s executive director. One of his greatest accomplishments was to engage residents in the organization and offer opportunities for leadership development. When I first became involved in the CDC there were not many residents involved. Now, it cannot be overstated; we (staff and board members) had become a very in-vested bunch of folks who became much like a family!

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Our responses to the resignation ran the gamut; some of us were nervous, sad, surprised, shocked, and even upset. We worried that we might not be ready to successfully replace our leader. Some reminded us that change is normal. We wondered what could have attracted our executive director away from us. Some reminded us that the change could also be opportunity. We worried about losing the knowledge and experience that our leader brought to us: could our efforts move forward? One of us “feared there would be a bad change.”

In the surveys I conducted, everyone reflected on how power and the perception of powerlessness affected us in this time of change; we clearly had different reactions to change. Some of us shared that our reactions were shaped by previous change and how we felt we gained or lost power in those transi-tions. In community development, we see many examples of people who have power and people who don’t in development, in lending, and in government. Our reflections reminded us that “some use power for ambition,” while “others use powerlessness as an excuse.” I know that when change is managed through good communication and respect for each other, it can be a time of great opportunity to find our strengths.

Some folks wrote in their surveys that they were fearful of using power in times of change, “If you get involved, you might feel afraid that you might make a wrong decision.” Others noted that it’s “easy to sit back and let others do it and just adapt when the changes take place.” Moving Forward Together

“Change is good. You go first.”

So our Transition Committee met to create a Search Committee and define a search process, and I began my work as chair of the Search Committee. We developed a work and communication plan, and sent out letters and emails to keep all stakeholders in-formed along the way. We developed a process that included in-put from board and staff members at the beginning, to set our vision and path for a new executive director, and at the end, to help define our choices. We surveyed all board and staff members

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to define our collective priorities which included the predictable list of desired abilities: managing contracts, real estate, and staff, and the less predictable ability of being able to develop leadership and teamwork with a comprehensive commitment to community development.

We wanted our process and actions to be transparent and inclusive. One survey noted that “the Search Committee might have been viewed as having power, but they worked very hard to represent the view of various ‘publics’ of the agency.” We en-gaged an interim executive director and a search consultant whom we knew and who knew our CDC.

We knew that our search process must help us in finding an executive director that we believed would help us to build a healthy community. The key components for us included first, developing a good profile for the desired candidate by using the criteria from the board and staff, then drawing a large pool of applicants and engaging an outside consultant who understood our mission and culture, but would challenge as well as support us. We built a small search committee selecting members that brought diversity in race, age and experience, and we asked mem-bers to make a huge commitment, mapping out our scheduled meetings and interviews for months in advance. As we inter-viewed, we explored each candidate’s philosophy on community development and completed exhaustive background reviews ask-ing for references that reflected different stakeholders such as board members, community volunteers, and constituents. The Search Committee really worked as a team, like a family coming together in a time of change, meeting three to four times per month with many phone calls and emails in between.

We knew that Oak Hill CDC was in a position to attract great candidates and that we would probably know some of them. Listing our job posting on many online resources and in the local and Boston newspapers, we had the benefit of many applicants. Because we did know many of the applicants, we took great care to preserve relationships as we moved through our elimination process. One person noted that “some people may have had in-sider info” despite the search committee’s efforts to maintain confidentiality.

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Power and its Manifestations Anthony J. D'Angelo, who writes to inspire student lead-

ers, said, “Become a student of change. It is the only thing that will remain constant.” Reflecting on the process by examining it through the lens of power has proved a most interesting view for me.

The surveys revealed that there were definitely times dur-ing this change when we felt powerless. You might guess from our reactions that some of us felt powerless from the start. Others felt powerless in the limited involvement they had in the process. Our process was largely focused within the Search Committee which was comprised of six adult board members, five of whom were neighborhood residents and women, and two of whom were people of color. Although there were consistent updates, and all board and staff members were invited to attend and comment on second interviews, some felt that they had a limited voice. Some reflected that they would have had more power if they had opted to be more involved. Others said that they never felt powerless during the process and some felt a lack of power given all the un-knowns.

Many of us had experiences during this change where we felt powerful. Some reflected that they were most powerful dur-ing the times when their input and feedback were solicited and “taken to heart.” Others noted feeling powerful when communi-cating with stakeholders about the process. Some reflected that they felt powerful during the whole process because their voices were heard.

Our positions as residents, long-time and newcomer community activists, board members, officers of the board, and city representative and our differences in race, age, and gender affected our roles in the power-building relationships we engaged in through our search process. As residents, “We know what we want for our neighborhood.” Some of us reflected that our young people challenged others to fully hear our perspectives. Some of us had previous relationships with candidates which complicated the work. Clearly the Search Committee had more power than others. The Search Committee mirrored the Oak Hill

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CDC board of directors in that it was over 80% residents and composed predominantly of women. Staff did not have represen-tation on the search committee. And having previous relation-ships with the two consultants was truly an advantage.

Reflections from some of our surveys noted that those who had more experience and knowledge had more power. This was an interesting observation for a long-time board member like me. It brought to mind that those of us who think we have power, in the form of knowledge, experience, or connections are more likely to own it and use it. And I realized how valuable long term board service has been for my own skill-building.

Lessons Learned As I asked folks to engage in this reflective process it was clear that we don’t often consider our work through the lens of power despite the fact that we’re all about empowering our neighborhood. Many reflections confirmed this to me: “I don’t think that I really felt power”; “I’m not sure I needed more power”; “Power or lack thereof never entered my mind”; “I’m not looking for power – it was fine with me.” The subject main-tains many taboos in our society: “Power is bad, the powerful use power to oppress others.” I believe we need to find ways to raise a discussion about power and reframe its negative connotations. How will we learn to shift power if we do not? This reflective process has also revealed that a lack of time prevents reflection. When I don't reflect, I usually don’t change my practices – we need to reflect to think about how we can help people be more powerful and less powerless. One reflec-tion offers, “You really don’t have time to think of how to assume more power, because you’re just trying to keep on top of things. Likewise, you don’t have time to think that you’re power-less, because you don’t have the luxury of a lot of time to wallow in your “misery,” so to speak. I strongly believe that we who are committed to community development should be thinking about power so we can “grow” people, ourselves included, policies, and programs. A lot of the work we do is about power and if we want to be able to respond to change, we need to understand and em-

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brace it. Conclusion

The search process has been an opportunity to build leadership for Oak Hill CDC. Our reflections report many out-comes: we’ve learned “new skills and gained great experience”; we’ve come to “understand the structure of the organization” more fully; we’ve learned to “contemplate change and its impact.” The board has “built or strengthened its leadership” and ulti-mately we’ve been privileged to have the opportunity to find a new executive director who can build and strengthen our pro-grams and outreach in the neighborhood. Our surveys note that we’ve exercised and “shared our leadership,” “gained new skills,” “practiced teamwork,” and “created an environment which em-powered people.” We “learned a lot from the process” so we “can teach others” what we know. We’ve unearthed some issues of concern that we will take into our soon-to-begin strategic plan-ning process. Mostly we’ve moved forward, much again like a family, with each member contributing to the work in their own individual and unique ways. Through our planning efforts to ensure direction and input from many voices, “we became more unified.” As a board member and chair of the Search Committee, I was privileged to watch committee members grow and develop, to see staff step up and do whatever it took to move us forward, and to work with consultants who understood, supported and challenged us.

Alan Cohen stated, “In movement there is life, and in change there is power.” Worcester is a city of neighborhoods, carrying with it the power of a diverse culture, age, experience, and terrain. In my neighborhood, we have moved forward from this transition process with renewed hope and excitement - the same kind of hope and excitement you might experience if you stood at my front door looking out onto the city and beyond from atop the hill.

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Suzanne M. Buglione is Prin-cipal of CommunityBuild, a col-lective of skilled consultants, working with groups to build capacity. Suzanne is adjunct faculty at Worcester State Col-lege where she teaches under-graduate Health Sciences and Sociology courses in the Gradu-

ate Education program. She is currently a Doctoral candidate at the University of Massachusetts. She is a board member of the Oak Hill Community Development Corporation where she has served as Chair and Vice Chair there. Suzanne was a Dorothy Richardson Award Honoree from NeighborWorks America, and received the MACDC Richard Smith Award for Excellence in Community Development, the Massachusetts Governor’s Points of Light Award and the Youth & Family Network of Worcester’s Diversity Award. She’s lives in Worcester, her adopted home, with her partner Brian and their dog, cat and fish.

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An Ever Evolving Vision of Resident Collaboration

Katie Provencher, Urban Edge

The core of Urban Edge’s mission has always been a commitment to collaborating with the residents living in Roxbury and Jamaica Plain, the neighborhoods we’ve served for over 30 years. Over 500 local residents have been members of the Urban Edge Board of Directors over the years. Today the organization co-owns four different housing developments with the residents who live there. This number used to be five, but one development is now solely owned by residents! This historical commitment to resident collaboration has prepared the organization for its cur-rent approach to resident collaboration; it is one that is focused on forming even deeper and more sustainable collaborations with residents. This current vision was not born overnight, but rather evolved from years of constant practice and reflection.

In November 2006, I began my position at Urban Edge

as the Resident Association Organizer. My main focus has been to develop and support resident associations at Academy Homes I, Amory Residences, Theroch and Westminster Court Apart-ments. I have also supported Urban Edge’s Resident Leadership Team (RLT), a team of resident leaders from various housing de-velopments in Roxbury, Jamaica Plain, and Dorchester, in their mission to educate and inform residents on how to work together to create and maintain a strong, affordable, and diverse commu-nity. When I began my work with these groups it was expected that they would not only develop their own ideas for their devel-opments and set their own priorities, but that they would also be responsible for putting these ideas into action. This approach, I learned after meeting with residents and staff in my first months of work, had been slowly evolving into its present form for many years.

Dorothy Haskins, a resident at Academy Homes I for

over 30 years and a member of both Academy Homes I Tenants’

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Council and Urban Edge’s Resident Leadership Team, recalls the collaborations between Urban Edge and residents at Academy Homes I when the two groups entered into co-ownership agree-ment of the development in 1998. Dorothy explains, “There were a few residents who were very active, and Urban Edge fo-cused on working with these residents.” She says there was little effort made to connect with a larger group of residents to ensure that they were receiving the training and information they re-quired to be active leaders within the development. Moreover, Haskins recalls that when activities or events were planned for residents, the majority of the work was carried out by one of Ur-ban Edge’s staff members. Haskins thought the events were fun but she wishes that she and other residents could have been more involved in its planning and execution.

Also in the 1990’s, a survey of residents living at the Ur-

ban Edge properties identified the need for an after school pro-gram not only for young people living at properties managed by Urban Edge, but also for those living in the surrounding buildings and houses. Residents felt that the absence of such a program was leading to an increase in violence and damage to the properties. Urban Edge responded by establishing an after school program at Dimock Bragdon Apartments. Urban Edge was granted funds through MassHousing for this program and hired a coordinator to oversee it. The organization also partnered with City Year, whose corps members lent additional support. It drew young people from all over the neighborhood and there was support from several parents to keep it going. This afterschool program “is an example of residents identifying a need and Urban Edge tapping into the necessary resources to fulfill the need” explains Leroy Stoddard who was Urban Edge’s Director of Community Services at that time.

This was the approach behind resident collaboration at

that time. Residents and Urban Edge worked together to set pri-orities and identify issues, and then Urban Edge implemented the agreed upon steps. Today, there is a focus on residents not only planning, but also implementing. As a result, collaborations with

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residents have become deeper. Haskins asserts that she already sees a different type of collaboration between the residents of Academy Homes I and Urban Edge. Haskins explains that Urban Edge staff is no longer doing things for the residents, but instead working with residents to carry out their ideas.

Haskins identified a summer trip initiated by the Acad-

emy Homes I Tenant’s Council. The fifteen-person group was creating flyers, outreaching, and planning for the trip with mini-mal support from me. When I asked Haskins how these changes came about, she responded, “We have been learning.” And by “we,” she means both residents at Academy Homes I and Urban Edge staff. One thing they have learned is the importance of a wide active base of tenants. Many residents at Academy and Ur-ban Edge depended on a small group of leaders from the devel-opment, and when one of these residents recently passed away, the residents were back to square one. Haskins reflected, “We all learned we can’t rely on just one or two people within the devel-opment.”

Chrystal Kornegay, deputy director of Urban Edge, ex-

plains that the past collaborations with residents were appropriate when the neighborhood and organization were still developing. In the past, there were major reasons for residents to come together, such as extensive renovations of various developments and the creation of new affordable housing and businesses in Egleston Square. Now that these plans have been carried out, the organiza-tion needs to find a way to keep all residents engaged and to deepen their engagement. This will help ensure that there will be an active group of residents who will be a part of the decision-making process of the neighborhood no matter what the issue.

Karen Royston, a resident at Westminster Court Apart-

ments for 27 years, feels that Urban Edge’s philosophy on resi-dent collaboration is the same as it was years ago, but its approach has changed. The philosophy, Royston explained, has always been that collaborating with residents is of the utmost importance in order for the neighborhood and organization to flourish. She has

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experienced this first-hand by serving on the Urban Edge Board of Directors and by living in a development that the residents co-own with Urban Edge. Royston does believe Urban Edge’s ap-proach to resident collaborations is different today because resi-dents are doing more now than in the past, such as planning and facilitating the Resident Leadership Team (RLT) dinner.

This year will mark the Resident Leadership Team’s 3rd

Annual Dinner, which is an occasion for the team to celebrate their leadership in the community. This is the first year that the dinner has been completely planned by the RLT, with minimal support from Urban Edge. Residents created and tracked their own budget, designed the invitations, managed the guest list, cre-ated the program, facilitated the event, and took care of all the other details that arose while running the event.

The RLT was formed in 2004, yet until recently, they did

not feel compelled to form a mission statement. As the years went by, RLT members talked more about who the group was and what they wanted to accomplish in the future. It became clear that the RLT wanted to do more than host an annual dinner. They wanted to organize more activities like the leadership workshops they once hosted, in which residents taught other residents skills in conflict resolution, facilitation, and public speaking. Their dis-cussions led to the creation of a two-year plan and a mission statement: “To educate and inform residents to work together, and to create and maintain a strong, affordable, and diverse com-munity.” Kornegay points to this recent work of the Resident Leadership Team as an example of more sustainable collabora-tions with residents. Residents are learning what they need to do in order to carry out the goals that they identify. They are receiv-ing support from Urban Edge, but the majority of the work is being done by the residents. This model encourages sustainable development because the work does not just depend on one indi-vidual or Urban Edge.

Genie Curry is a member of the RLT. She attends

monthly meetings and learns about the various initiatives resident

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groups undertake at different housing developments. After several meetings, Curry asked me, the staff to the RLT, why her own housing development, the new 64-unit Amory Residences in which she lives, does not have an active resident group. I told Genie that initiating such a group was a definite possibility as long as she was willing to put in quite a bit of work. Curry agreed, and with a little support from Urban Edge staff, Curry learned how to outreach to residents, create meeting agendas, and facilitate a resi-dent meeting. In the beginning, Curry carried out all of these ac-tivities on her own, but now several residents have begun sup-porting her. Since March, there have been monthly resident meet-ings at Amory and the group has already started to establish resi-dent parking at the development.

“I am really excited about our work at Amory over the

past couple of months,” Curry noted, “the best part is that resi-dents have been coming together and getting to know each other.” Curry, however, is not the only one excited about an ac-tive resident group at Amory. The Property Manager at Amory, Tanyah Gray, adds that at first, she did not understand how an active resident group could be a positive force at the develop-ment. Through conversations with Urban Edge staff and Curry, Gray has come to embrace the group. “The group is great! They carry out their own meetings, let me know how to improve upon my work here, and are excited to collaborate with property man-agement.” It is expected that these deeper collaborations will lead to better relationships. Gray has found that she interacts with resi-dents more often and has a better understanding of what is and isn’t working on the property for the residents.

I too am excited about this group because I believe it is a

great example of residents taking initiative, establishing, and working toward their own goals. This group is building the capac-ity to continue on with its work regardless of who else is there to support them. The solid relationship that this group has devel-oped with property management also exemplifies how residents and property management can work together to create a thriving and safe neighborhood. It has been really fun and exciting watch-

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ing the group form and grow over the past months! Kornegay believes that this current approach to resident

collaboration has caused three different groups to form amongst the staff. One group Kornegay termed the “skeptical” group. This is the group that does not believe that the current vision of resident collaboration will be successful. Kornegay states that as the organization continues to pursue its current vision there will eventually be no room for such skeptics in the organization. The second group of employees that has emerged is one that is unable to recognize the difference between today’s vision and the vision of years past, although they are not necessarily opposed to the new vision.

The final group of employees that Kornegay identified is

the visionary group. This group understands deeper resident col-laborations will have a positive impact on a greater number of individuals. They understand that such collaborations will create a group of experienced leaders who will be able to initiate and carry out their own plans in the community. Today’s vision of resident collaboration has taken years of practice and implementation to form. This group will no longer take the lead on resident’s ideas. Instead, these individuals will continue to guide the organization to collaborate in a way that provides residents with the opportuni-ties to plan, implement, and lead.

Urban Edge has been on a journey for many years which

has led us to embrace the current philosophy of resident collabo-ration. It has been a slow journey in which the organization has continually acted, evaluated, adjusted, and acted again. Each piece of the organization’s history has been crucial to its ability to evolve into what it is today. I am happy to be a part of the organi-zation at this time and to continue to learn how to form even deeper collaborations with residents. Since I began working at Urban Edge, I have developed relationships with residents from all over Roxbury and Jamaica Plan. It is exciting to hear them talk about taking more initiative and to watch them progress towards goals that they set for themselves and their respective resident groups. The work being done by the residents with whom I col-

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Katie Provencher, Resident Asso-ciation Organizer at Urban Edge, is originally from Lowell, Massachu-setts and studied Community Orga-

nizing, Planning, Policy, and Administration at Boston College’s Graduate School of Social Work. Katie is a City Year Boston alumnus and has been working with and organizing residents in Roxbury, Mission Hill, and the South End for the past two years.

laborate truly inspires me to continue my work in assisting Urban Edge to evolve into the next stage of resident collaboration.

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Empowerment: An Elusive Outcome Dori Peleg, Watertown Community Housing

Empowerment is an elusive program outcome that emerges

from effort, planning, respect and—as I learned the hard way—a splash of magic. I was idealistic and inexperienced when I was hired to run CAP (College Access Program), a program for “non-traditional age” undergraduates, all women of color in their 30s and 40s. CAP was funded and sponsored by Learning Power, a nonprofit that aimed to empower the participants so that eventu-ally they could run CAP on their own. I believed deeply in the tenets of participatory leadership, and in the wisdom of the women, who had developed the program themselves. I also be-lieved that CAP was virtually guaranteed to succeed. After all, it had each of the critical ingredients: a program model developed by and for its participants; an established peer leadership struc-ture; secure funding and institutional support; and a committed (albeit novice) staff.

CAP’s model was simple and promising. Women with

jobs and children face daunting barriers to success in college. So CAP members held regular meetings to exchange support, strate-gies, and resources. Because it takes years of part-time study to graduate, the group’s membership changed little over the years. I assumed this was a good thing, and that the deeply entrenched relationships had fostered closeness and trust. I never expected that cliques and various resentments would have also cropped up, and that the support meetings would feature squabbling as well as caring conversations. Attendance wavered even though we pro-vided reminders and offered food and childcare; even though the participants planned their own meetings; even though the staff tried to do everything right. It became clear that group members were over-whelmed with work, school, and family responsibilities. Although they had conceived of their own support and leadership network, maintaining it proved burdensome.

In addition to CAP’s promising grassroots beginning,

there was another built-in success factor: the funding and infra-

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structure of Learning Power (the established host organization), which had its own clearly defined leadership structure. As a Learning Power employee, I supervised (and again, was supposed to empower) Eva, who had been elected by the group to serve as a paid liaison between the organization and the group members. Hoping to start off a solid collaboration, I planned our first meet-ing carefully; expecting to build on Eva’s ideas for the job and the future of the program, while supporting her professional develop-ment. I had no supervisory experience, but I had good intentions, and I hoped those would suffice.

I asked her about her goals and visions, and she re-

sponded with stony silence. So I turned our attention to the work I’d prepared. I had a stack of about 20 files I’d inherited from my predecessor. I asked Eva to go through them and identify which paperwork was missing, keeping the folders in alphabetical order. Eva watched me impassively.

“OK?” I asked her, itching to get back to my desk, which

was already in chaos. I was counting on her to get the paperwork sorted out while I worked on other things. An hour later I re-turned to check on Eva, and found that she had un-alphabetized the files.

I soon learned that while Eva was a passionate activist

and a devoted mother of four, her office abilities were lacking at best. More importantly, she was openly unexcited about reporting to someone half her age. I’m sure I made many social and mana-gerial gaffes in trying to change this. I tried to forge a trusting and collegial relationship, and to build her skills (after all, she’d been appointed as CAP’s leader), but she dismissed my friendly over-tures and became defensive when I offered suggestions. It would have been difficult for any young, inexperienced manager to han-dle the supervision of someone so much older—much less to promote empowerment—but the added barriers of race and class loaded every aspect of our relationship. I felt guilty and racist when I assessed her performance, and I hated the hard, bright voice I used with her.

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When Learning Power received funding for a summer internship position, the senior staff debated whether CAP mem-bers should be invited to apply. They discussed how poorly the roles of program participant and staff member had overlapped in Eva’s case. Ultimately, the director decided against the idea.

"You don’t think any of us are qualified for the job,” Eva

said when she found out. I tried to explain the reasoning behind the decision, and surprisingly, Eva dropped the subject. I assumed the matter was closed, until a few days later, when I learned that she had circulated an inflammatory email to the group, conveying her spin on the situation. Floored, I wondered: is this empower-ment? Undermining the decisions of sponsoring organization? Avoiding open dialogue? Instigating mutiny?

The internship debacle blew over surprisingly quickly, but

our collaboration never improved. In reflecting on the unsuccess-ful relationship—one in which I tried to do everything right—I can see how it characterized the entire experience. CAP itself was an undeniably successful program. It provided friendship, sup-port, and camaraderie to women facing incredible obstacles, and helped dozens of them attain undergraduate—and even graduate degrees. Many of the participants engaged in advocacy and activ-ism and spoke publicly about the need for increased access to higher education.

But ultimately, CAP did not result in empowerment in

the way it was intended. The program had everything going for it: steady funding and a solid yet flexible model. But when Learning Power eventually liberated CAP, expecting the group to strike out on its own, the program fell apart. A CAP “alumna” recently told me that the group had disbanded, even with continued agency funding.

Since leaving Learning Power, I’ve mulled over what hap-

pened, and why. As CDC practitioners, we plan and run programs based on our best intentions and evidence-based principles. And yet so many programs thrive despite the fact that they don’t have

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everything (or even very much) going for them. Sometimes the right mix of people find themselves in the right room at the right time. And on those occasions, with or without the support of CDC staff, relationships gradually coalesce, and then, enduring leadership – empowerment!– takes root. Most of the time, though, CDCs act as matchmakers, working intentionally to identify po-tential leaders and potential causes—and creating opportunities for them to mix. Practitioners hover over the process and wait anxiously for results. And yet empowerment is elusive, mysteri-ous. Sometimes, despite our best efforts—there just isn’t a spark.

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Dori Peleg is a passionate advocate of social and economic justice. She served as the ex-ecutive director of Watertown Community Housing (WCH) from 2004-2007, and, prior to that, worked with a range of organizations that promote community change. Dori holds

an MBA in Human Services Management from Brandeis Univer-sity’s Heller School. She is a proud resident of Somerville.

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Developing Relationships in a Changing Neighborhood

Kate Jordan & Rachel Ghazaleh, Allston Brighton CDC “We have to do something about this!” Rachel ex-claimed during our first meeting. We had scheduled the time to share information about resources offered by the CDC and some-how ended up brainstorming solutions to a pervasive urban prob-lem: how do we eliminate the trash piled up on a busy street and inform city and state officials that maintenance was needed at the intersection? A wild crop of invasive trees hung over the major thoroughfare, making visibility more difficult for drivers and pos-ing a danger for pedestrians and bikers. Rachel’s brand new home, built in 2005, was located across the street from this neglected area, and she hated how trash collected in front of her house.

We decided to hold a neighborhood clean-up to connect neighbors on an issue we knew was a concern for many and to bring this problem to the wider attention of our elected officials and other community members and residents. Rachel keenly rec-ognized the importance of involving neighbors in this improve-ment effort. “Our neighbors have to be involved to show that this is a major problem.” Rachel immediately struck me as a natural leader, and I knew we could tap into her diverse network of friends and neighbors, young and old.

This was April 2006, and I had worked at the Allston

Brighton CDC as an AmeriCorps volunteer for 8 months with only peripheral involvement in this particular part of the neighborhood, having moved to Brighton Center only 10 months before. In fact, I wasn’t completely familiar with the places Rachel described as needing repairs and maintenance. I saw this as an opportunity to get to know more people, learn the landscape, and begin to fulfill my role as a community organizer. To make this event a success, we needed to build authentic relationships with ourselves and our neighbors— and thus began a journey into

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community action through mutual friendship, respect, and care for each other. Through organizing the clean-up and the commu-nity work that followed, we have learned something about sus-taining long-term relationships that reflects a model of unity and activism. Only through relationships that honor our struggles and our worth can we begin to understand and work towards over-coming the outside influences that challenge civic engagement in cities like Boston.

In July 2006, we organized a day of cleaning, landscape

improvements, and repairs. Over 50 residents made a substantial difference in the appearance of the Hano Street neighborhood, and we enjoyed even more the fun dinner that followed the clean-ing. We sent a strong statement to our politicians and city officials through before and after digital pictures of the clean-up site. The “after” pictures showed how we came together as a community not only to improve our neighborhood, but also to build and strengthen our relationships with each other. It was a really im-portant day for us. We believed that we sent a powerful message, and we also made a lot of wonderful connections.

Today, more than a year later, the energy we felt in our community has diminished. Maybe we’ve waited too long for an-other clean-up. Maybe it’s hard to keep relationships going when there are many community struggles. Maybe we’re all tired from working hard and living life. There are pressures in the neighbor-hood. Perceptions of crime and safety and the much-needed maintenance of sidewalks and streets (to keep pedestrian and bi-cyclist access safe) are a few of the main concerns. These are situations that cause tension, stress, and aggravation, and they can affect community involvement. Robert Putnam, a political scien-tist who has researched civic engagement in urban centers, found that people who live in diverse communities tend to participate in community life less than those who live in more homogenous communities. Maybe Putnam’s idea relates to our neighborhood. Maybe the differences amongst us inhibit real relationship-building.

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For Rachel, myself, and our friends and family, these are complex times in a special place. We know that diversity in all forms can generate good ideas when we share our multiple view-points and experiences. At the same time, we recognize that cul-tural barriers can limit open communication among residents. But for us, life exists within the cultures of Allston-Brighton, and we deeply honor and respect the mix of cultures, language, and food in our lives. We both value the ideal of the Brian J. Honan Apartments and want for these homes to be a center of growth and personal happiness where supportive net-works flourish. “I really wanted to live somewhere where my kids were safe, where they could have friends over and have cook-outs, so moving here was my big thing,” says Rachel of her vision of the Brian J. Honan Apartments. The idea of connections built upon diversity is the foundation of Rachel’s conception of home, and this is a place where each neighbor has a unique story to tell. Our friend Dalma’s experience opposes Putnam’s idea that people in diverse communities feel less connected to their neighbors. Since moving here, Dalma has made strong links with her neighbors that include a real sense of openness and caring for the people around her. Her apartment is a place where her chil-dren have the space to grow, and because of its affordability, she can save money toward buying a home. Supported by friends, she can open her doors for the first time to share in neighborhood accomplishments and celebrations.

Dalma’s sense of home and hearth acts as a base for her family’s positive growth, and her family’s comfort at home forms the impetus for her involvement as a volunteer and advocate. Ra-chel and I share a vision of community empowerment that identi-fies a person’s initial and ongoing comfort as the most important aspect of community life. Our vision supposes that only through personal relationship-building can we move towards defining is-sues, creating solutions, and effecting change. So when we organ-ized the clean-up, we were excited about the physical improve-ments, but we were most energized by the neighbors we met, the

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conversations, the good feelings, and the interactions. Without creating that base, we cannot push for social change, and we can-not fight for our rights with unity. Developing, supporting, and enjoying relationships is the first and last step in community and family life.

The need for continual work is made obvious when

qualities in our community challenge these cooperative relation-ships. And it’s never easy when change is constant. Allston-Brighton is a vibrant place that transforms and turns over often. With an active student life, this Boston neighborhood is fueled by institutional growth and groups of residents who come and go among a more permanent population. My recent move to Somer-ville, after a long struggle to find a suitable and affordable apart-ment, illustrates the transient nature of residential life in this neighborhood. This move also profoundly challenges how I can be present in my relationships with friends, coworkers, and com-munity members in Allston-Brighton, in addition to being an ef-fective community organizer working in a CDC. Building relation-ships is a lengthy full-time labor of love and if I’m not physically present, it’s not going to happen.

In order to address the conflict of working in a neighbor-

hood where I no longer live, I’ve been taking time to hang out in Allston-Brighton more since my move. The weather’s been nice, and it’s good to sit on the bench and watch basketball games and talk to young people. After a long winter and a hot summer, neighbors are starting to see more of each other. Rachel, myself, and many others have been working on solving problems, making sure neighbors are informed and supported in their homes. We’ve been able to use our connections to provide information to help families along the way. Our work of being good neighbors can be simple, and we are proud of ourselves and our hopeful commu-nity as we move towards accomplishing our larger community goals.

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Kate Jordan has worked as an Open Space Commu-nity Organizer at the Allston Brighton CDC for two years. She is a certified elementary school teacher who hails from the fair city of Gloucester, Massachusetts.

Rachel Ghazaleh is a community leader in Allston Brighton. She has volunteer experi-ence with the Allston Brighton CDC and the Brighton Allston Congregational Church. Rachel is an active, engaged mother of two who is an inspiration to her family.

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La Revolución Urbana Carlos Pemberthy, NOAH

Poder infinito de luchar por lo que es mió,

lo que hace parte de mi se ha convertido en: derechos humanos para la mujer y el inmigrante, el derecho a estar vivos sin leyes

impuestas, un gobierno absurdo que no ve mi sufrimiento - mien-tras soldados en la guerra de Irak siguen muriendo, una guerra

también en nuestros barrios, países y ciudades, que crece en nues-tros hogares y escala a proporciones intercontinentales, fenome-nales, guerra entre nacionalidades, clases sociales y cultura, donde el dinero es lo que vale, y nuestra gente esta pintando un sueño en el cielo- y un poder comunitario en la lucha con empeño, con to-das las destrezas que yo manejo, no necesito un presidente que

me represente, este perro sabueso no tiene dueño. Mi sueño infinito seria parques donde los niños puedan

jugar, asilos con miles de recursos con viejitos felices que los pue-dan disfrutar, que ninguna madre tenga que llorar por la violencia

domestica, y que los convictos inocentes puedan ser liberados; que la paz y la tranquilidad del mundo pueda reinar. Es el mundo

perfecto que con mis letras hoy te quiero regalar, pero hay que luchar y luchar. Si no te parece algo sal a la calle a marchar, pro-testar, y no se trata de hablar y luego no demostrar, se trata de luchar y luchar para al final coronar la victoria alcanzar y ganar.

Hoy yo quiero tomar la política en mis propias manos para que no

sufran los indigentes pues también son ellos mis hermanos y hermanas, ellos duermen en las aceras al lado de la casa del

estado, mientras mas de uno de esos corruptos actúan como si nada esta pasando.

Yo estoy cansado de que los recursos naturales de Latinoamérica estén siendo explotados. En Chelsea plantas de energía y en los suburbios molinos de viento, en tu casa un manjar y no quieres saber en la mía que estoy comiendo. Tiroteos en Roxbury, asesi-natos en Mattapan, estamos siendo linchados como en la época

de los encapuchados de aquel clan, que ni quiero mencionar. Esta

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injusticia no se puede prolongar, hay que luchar, hay que luchar. Machetazos en East Boston, persecuciones en Beachmont, y se-guimos caminando como si todo nos da lo mismo. Yo exijo el derecho a la vida; exijo el derecho al voto. No somos nosotros

acaso los que pagamos taxes???

Exijo una reforma migratoria que me permita ver a mi familia, poder viajar tranquilo sin agentes que me vigilan.

Cuando observan un tipo árabe enseguida se llenan de fobia, de-jen que se rompan las fronteras para poner ver a mi padre que se

encuentra en Colombia. Yo estoy aquí en Boston Mass. USA lidiando con tantas injusti-

cias, Revolución Urbana, mi ejército mi táctica y mi milicia...

Carlos Pemberthy vino a los Esta-dos Unidos en 1999 desde Medellín, Colombia. Carlos se graduó de la Escuela Superior de East Boston en el 2005. Su experiencia de traba-jo incluye trabajo en un restaurante

y fue miembro del equipo de Chelsea Crew Environmental Youth Crew en el 2003. Carlos Pemberthy fue promovido de miembro de equipo E3C a ser el primer Becario Juvenil de NOAH. En esta posición, Carlos ha tomado el liderato de la organización de un Diálogo entre la Juventud y la Policía, y en problemas de seguridad que afectan a la juventud. Carlos co-menta, “He cambiado tanto desde que comencé a trabajar en NOAH (2003). Solía andar por las calles, y ahora estoy traba-jando por mejorar los servicios para la juventud y para sacar a los muchachos de la calle – y así tener mejores oportunidades. También estoy trabajando para conseguir fondos de Matrícula Estatal para estudiantes inmigrantes de Massachusetts”. Debi-do a su increíble dedicación y ardua labor, Carlos ha sido pro-movido a Organizador Comunitario Menor. Carlos vive con su madre y hermano en East Boston. Su padre todavía está tratan-do de entrar a los Estados Unidos.

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The Urban Revolution Carlos Pemberthy, NOAH

Infinite power to fight for what is mine,

what is part of me has become: human rights for women and im-migrants, the right to be alive without any imposed laws, an ab-

surd government unaware of my suffering - while soldiers in Iraq’s war keep dying, a war also in our barrios, countries and cit-ies, which grows in our homes and escalates to intercontinental proportions, phenomenal, war between nationalities, social class and culture, where money is what matters, and our people paint-ing a dream on the heavens- and a community power in the fight

with zeal, with all the skills I manage.

I don’t need a president to represent me; this bloodhound has no owner. I dream of infinite parks where children can play; homes with thousands of resources where the elderly can enjoy them; no mother would have to cry because of

domestic violence; and innocent convicts would be free; world peace and tranquility will reign. It’s the perfect world and

with my words today I want to give them to you, but you have to fight and fight. If you don’t agree with something, go out and

march, protest, and it’s not about talking and then not doing any-thing; it’s about fighting and fighting so that at the end we crown

victory and win.

Today I want to take politics into my hands so that the homeless don’t have to suffer, because they are also my brothers and sisters; they sleep on the street beside the State House, while some of the

corrupt ones act like nothing is going on.

I am tired of natural resources from Latin America being ex-ploited. In Chelsea, power plants and in the suburbs, windmills;

in your house, a feast; you don’t want to know what I’m eating in mine. Shootings in Roxbury and killings in Mattapan,

we are being lynched like during the times of the hooded clan. I don’t even want to mention them.

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This injustice can no longer persist, we have to fight we have to fight. Machetes in East Boston, persecutions in Beachmont, and we

keep walking like we don’t care. I demand the right to life; de-mand the right to vote. Are we not the ones who pay taxes???

I demand an immigration reform that lets me see my family, to be able to travel without agents watching over me. They see an Arab type and are immediately overpowered with phobia, may the bor-ders be broken so that I can see my father who is in Colombia. I’m here in Boston, Mass., USA, dealing with so many injus-

tices… Revolución Urbana mi ejercito, mi táctica y mi milicia…

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Carlos Pemberthy came to the United States in 1999 from Medellin, Colom-bia. Carlos graduated from East Bos-ton High School in 2005. His work experience includes working at a res-taurant, and a team member of the

Chelsea Crew Environmental Youth Crew in 2003. Carlos Pem-berthy was promoted from an E3C crew member to NOAH’s first Youth Intern. In this position, Carlos has been taking leader-ship in organizing a Youth/Police Dialogue, and on youth safety issues. Carlos says, “I’ve changed so much since I started working at NOAH (in 2003). I used to hang out on the streets, and now I’m working for better youth services to get kids off the streets – and to have better opportunities. I’m also working to get In-State Tuition for immigrant students from Massachusetts”. Because of his incredibly hard work and dedication, Carlos has been pro-moted to Junior Community Organizer. Carlos lives with his mother and brother in East Boston. His Father is still trying to enter the United States.