tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-75818533823896928032024-03-05T16:32:08.327-08:00Community organizationsBengal News Editorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03209451649003025385noreply@blogger.comBlogger41125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7581853382389692803.post-43122944735093275912014-11-15T07:53:00.001-08:002014-11-15T09:50:37.463-08:00East and West come together in schools<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><b>By Andrea Chevalier and Lucy Lopez</b></span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><i><b>Bengal News Reporters</b></i> </span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"> This is a tale of two high schools.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"> Both work with teenage students who have similar stories, likes, dislikes and problems. What separates the two is geography and race.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"> The <a href="http://www.friendsofthebuffalostory.org/#!ferrystcorridorproject/cj5l">Ferry Street Corridor Project</a> uses art and history to help unify these high schools and the communities around them. The project is a set of after-school programs in Lafayette High School on the West Side and the Buffalo Academy for Visual and Performing Arts on the East Side that is using art to find common ground between the two communities. One program is run by Friends of the Buffalo Story, and the other by the Anne Frank Project at SUNY Buffalo State. </span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"> Through the project students from both schools have the opportunity to learn about the history of the city they live in while giving back to the community. </span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"> “They are doing art-related and theatrical-related story gathering right now,” said Cassie Lipsitz, lead art teacher at Lafayette High School. “They develop ideas and concepts for art, and they are making a logo, and they also participate in community-building theatre activities. The Anne Frank Project is working on that with them. The idea is that the students at Lafayette will work with the students from Performing Arts. There is a gap that we know exists in the City of Buffalo between the East and the West Side. Ferry Street is the corridor that would satisfy that.”</span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"> Friends of the Buffalo Story, which is just one of the <a href="http://www.friendsofthebuffalostory.org/#!ourpartners/ctc5">partners</a> involved in the project, is a program that was created in order to bring the people of Buffalo closer to the roots and history of the city. Through citizen-based programing, Friends of the Buffalo Story hope to open the eyes of the people in the community to the history of Buffalo.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"> “(A group of people) realized that there was a need for some group to kind of represent the heritage of Buffalo,” said Marissa Lehner, project manager of the Ferry Street Corridor Project. “Since they’ve formed themselves, they’ve been around for about a year-and-a-half, now two years, where they’ve held various types of programming.” </span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"> Lehner, Annette Daniels-Taylor and Barrett Gordon run one of the after-school programs, where they work to get to know the school, the students and their needs. Daniels-Taylor works on the East Side while Gordon, who also runs the <a href="http://thewashproject.org/about/">WASH Project</a>, works with the school on the West Side. </span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"> “These kids matter and it is really important for them to realize that,” Lehner said. “ (We hope to) teach students a different curriculum based on public art — trying to help the students understand that art can be out in the community. Dialog can be art.”</span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"> </span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="//www.youtube.com/embed/0hU9oP9oFVM" width="560"></iframe> </span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"> In the other program, teaming up with Drew Kahn and Eve Everette of the <a href="http://www.annefrankproject.com/projects/">Anne Frank Project</a>, the Ferry Street Corridor Project has started work with both schools to focus on community building, something the Anne Frank Project is known for.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"> “Buffalo is a town that has celebrated refugees and its immigrants – the Italians, the Polish, the Germans – for years,” Kahn said. “Now we’re celebrating the Bhutanese, the Congolese, the Burmese, the Iraqi; all of these great new communities and great new stories coming in that will make Buffalo’s new singular story.” </span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"> The support that the Ferry Street Corridor Project receives from the community and local political leaders helps it grow. Buffalo artists are involved with helping the students create art works and Mayor Byron Brown has also shown his approval for the goals of the project’s mission. An “Our Town” grant from the National Endowment for the Arts funds the project. </span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"> The project began on Oct. 28. For the first 15 weeks, the students will focus on gathering stories. In the spring, they will start putting public art pieces together. </span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"> “At this point, we definitely want to find a way to make this sustainable,” Lehner said. “Ferry Street just has so much history and relevance for Buffalo. It really can tell a very broad story but also with a lot of great details. Ferry Street was technically part of the Underground Railroad and they are a lot of great stories to be told.”
</span></span>Bengal News Editorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03209451649003025385noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7581853382389692803.post-55662657997582206852014-05-12T11:48:00.000-07:002014-05-12T11:48:14.337-07:00Clubhouse preps for summer construction <b><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">By Peter Murphy and Bill Schutt<span style="line-height: 115%;"> </span></span></span></b><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="line-height: 115%;"><i><b>Bengal News West Reporters</b></i> </span></span></span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="line-height: 115%;">The 60-year-old Butler-Mitchell
Clubhouse has seen better days with outdated classrooms, no air conditioning
and ceilings falling down.</span></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="line-height: 115%;">The <a href="http://www.211wny.net/Erie-County/Program-Information/results_popup.aspx?ID=CRS10314AB">clubhouse</a> at 370
Massachusetts Ave. will undergo a $650,000 reconstruction project. Phase one
will start in July with the gymnasium and in October phase two will close the
doors on the Boys and Girls Club until January 2015.</span></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="line-height: 115%;">“The footprint of the building
will not change,” said Tim Brennan, the chief
development officer of the Boys and Girls Club. “The building will be gutted to
create more space inside for our children.”</span></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0.5in;">
<br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="line-height: 115%;">Tim Brennan, on project specifics:<iframe frameborder="no" height="100" scrolling="no" src="https://w.soundcloud.com/player/?url=https%3A//api.soundcloud.com/tracks/147460573&auto_play=false&hide_related=false&visual=true" width="100%"></iframe> </span></span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="line-height: 115%;"> The Butler-Mitchell Clubhouse
was built in the early 1950s and is the second oldest <a href="http://www.bgcbuffalo.org/default.asp">Boys and Girls Club</a> in
the area. The clubhouse needed renovations, or it was in danger of being
closed, said Brennan. </span></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="line-height: 115%;">The gymnasium’s paint is
chipping and the ceiling is falling down. New York State determined that
children under the age of 12 should not be in the gym until it was fixed, said
Brennan.</span></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="line-height: 115%;">In October, when phase two
begins the remaining building will be gutted.</span></span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="line-height: 115%;">“Plumbing will be addressed first,” said Jody Briggs-Garcia the resource
development coordinator of the Boys and Girls Club. “We are limited now to the
number of children we can serve based on the amount of urinals and sinks we
have, but after the renovation we will be able to increase our average daily
attendance.”</span></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="line-height: 115%;">Currently, Butler-Mitchell
serves 76 children on a daily basis and 300 children a year, but after the
renovation the club expects to serve 120 children a day and over 500 children a
year.</span></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="line-height: 115%;">The construction company to
work on the renovation for the clubhouse has not been decided yet, but bidding
will begin shortly, Briggs-Garcia said.</span></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0.5in;">
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhw9WkjMRgW-U3KyQhBjDJ9hoCtiX9jpBV0h39gn3WQUDxPiVlLUNDJosIlIliKYjHJa73vweY-7JBWYVOak4dqzR2C-wGE3mV3OlMlLgd4SxFz7AVaIpDS7gc16gQKcmJ8SuHFmArJz8Q/s1600/Untitled1.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhw9WkjMRgW-U3KyQhBjDJ9hoCtiX9jpBV0h39gn3WQUDxPiVlLUNDJosIlIliKYjHJa73vweY-7JBWYVOak4dqzR2C-wGE3mV3OlMlLgd4SxFz7AVaIpDS7gc16gQKcmJ8SuHFmArJz8Q/s1600/Untitled1.png" height="240" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">New windows and larger access will be added to the entrance</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="line-height: 115%;">The front of the clubhouse will
change during renovation. The entrance will be larger to support more children.
The front window will be larger, and a security system with extra lighting will
be added to the entrance to provide a safer environment for the children coming
and going throughout the hours the club is open.</span></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="line-height: 115%;">The Boys and Girls Club has
raised $440,000 so far, $150,000 coming from a state grant, which will be used
to begin renovations on the gym. Phase two of the project will begin in the
fall when the club hopes to raise the remaining $210,000 Briggs-Garcia said.</span></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="line-height: 115%;">During phase two, the whole
club will be shut down, but the Boys and Girls Club will provide transportation
for children of the Butler-Mitchell Clubhouse to some of the other clubhouses
in the area. </span></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="line-height: 115%;">“We would end up working with
our other clubs where we could actually transport our kids that come here to
another clubhouse,” Briggs-Garcia said. </span></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="line-height: 115%;">There are several clubhouses in
the area, the closest being the John F. Beecher Clubhouse on Tenth Street. The
John F. Beecher Clubhouse is a possible relocation for the children of
Butler-Mitchell, but where the children end up could vary.</span></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="line-height: 115%;">“It’s going to depend on what
we’re able to coordinate from this end. It’s going to depend on how many kids
are registered and where their parents want to send the children. Some parents
might say ‘my kid will take a break for a little while.’ For our working
parents, and we have a lot of them, they might say ‘transport them somewhere
else because we need a program,’” said Briggs-Garcia.</span></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="line-height: 115%;">After phase two is completed
the children of the clubhouse will have air conditioning for the summer months,
and a new reception area when they enter the building, said Briggs-Garcia.</span></span></span><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="line-height: 115%;">The kitchen also will be modernized
and become a learning kitchen where the meals and snacks will be served daily,
and nutrition classes will be offered to the children.<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhkGq0qKPV8eHU4dUBWQbHJ13yj9JMf1QYx_Wc1ykDG7p6ECAg-DsDBx9Y4kUcnrLa0ohl7-CPPdil7MeZ7rVDtIkMnyD_9ioKAKwVTvpagBoRbWE1IBGKcF0mEuj5rbeaf26nHDZqX2So/s1600/Untitled.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhkGq0qKPV8eHU4dUBWQbHJ13yj9JMf1QYx_Wc1ykDG7p6ECAg-DsDBx9Y4kUcnrLa0ohl7-CPPdil7MeZ7rVDtIkMnyD_9ioKAKwVTvpagBoRbWE1IBGKcF0mEuj5rbeaf26nHDZqX2So/s1600/Untitled.png" height="240" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Classrooms will be outfitted with new technology</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
</span></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="line-height: 115%;">The children will also have
more modernized classroom facilities. The current classroom at the clubhouse is
outdated and after the renovations, new computers and tablets will be added to
the club.</span></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="line-height: 115%;">“We want to teach the kids how
to use tablets and smart boards,” Briggs-Garcia said. “We want the kids to be
on the cutting edge, when it comes to going to school or getting a job.” <span style="color: red;"></span></span></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br /></span></span></div>
Bengal News Editorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03209451649003025385noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7581853382389692803.post-13618316428844872822013-12-08T11:48:00.001-08:002015-09-08T18:09:49.294-07:00Olmsted's pruned trees ready for new storm<b>By Chris Dierken and Leif Reigstad</b><br />
<i><b>Bengal News West Reporters </b></i><style><!--
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<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>In
2006, the October surprise storm<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>wreaked havoc on Buffalo’s landscape. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>Fierce
winds toppled trees, and heavy snowfall burdened branches that had yet to shed
their leaves, littering front lawns with the snapped limbs of large oaks and
maples that line the city’s iconic canopy-covered streets. <span style="color: red;"></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: red;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span></span>Now,
seven years later, Buffalo’s trees and parks have made a full recovery, and
should another surprise storm hit the city, the trees will be better prepared
thanks to the <a href="http://www.bfloparks.org/"> </a><a href="http://www.bfloparks.org/">Buffalo Olmsted Parks Conservancy</a>'s pruning crew. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>“The October storm really brought to
light how the trees really were badly pruned,” said Olmsted superintendent of
parks Bob Stokes. “It was a catastrophic storm, but I think it brought to
light, when you saw how the parks were just devastated, that we really had to
step up the care of the trees.”</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>After
the storm, the conservancy put more of an emphasis on making trees wind resistant,
dedicating a crew to prune the trees. Pruning in this case means clipping the
branches in a way that makes the tree built better for facing high winds. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>“It’s
like preventative maintenance, if you will,” Stokes said. “We’re going out and
trying to take care of the problem before it becomes a bigger problem.”</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>Stokes
and arborist Mark Brand are both experts in the complex process of pruning. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>“You
go through the whole crown, and you remove branches in strategic locations to
reduce the wind load on any given branch or a tree as a whole,” Brand <span style="color: red;">- </span>said, wearing tan gardening gloves and holding a
pair of clippers. “If there is a weak branch, you can reduce the load that it
will take in a storm by pruning some of the ends off, and it’s less likely to
fail. If you thin the whole tree, it’s less likely to uproot.”</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>Brand
said pruning does not make trees wind resistant overnight. Instead, it is a
long process.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>“A
good pruning, you can’t do it all at one time,” Brand said. “It takes multiple
prunings over a period of time to really achieve the desired results in a tree.”<br />
<br />
<br />
Mark Brand, on pruning techniques: <br />
<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="//www.youtube.com/embed/3-U1i7Xbfg4" width="560"></iframe> <br />
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>In
the middle of November, Stokes and Brand’s process was put to the test when
strong winds battered the city of Buffalo over the weekend. After the storm
settled, there was minimal damage done to trees in city parks. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>Even
trees in Front Park and LaSalle Park, were largely unaffected by the high winds
coming off of Lake Erie. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>Brand
said that this is partly because of the pruning, but it also has to do with the
way trees grow when they’re planted in areas that typically experience high
winds.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>“Trees,
if they’re planted when they’re young in an area that’s windy, they’re going to
grow stronger,” Brand said. “They grow thicker stems, and they’ll have more
anchorage roots on the windward side.” </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>Stokes
and Brand said the best time to prune is the fall and spring. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>But
“there is always more work to be done,” Stokes said, adding that volunteers are
welcome to help prune trees year-round.</div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
Bengal News Editorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03209451649003025385noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7581853382389692803.post-23884653240917840002013-12-07T05:01:00.004-08:002013-12-15T11:37:19.902-08:00Buffalo CarShare revs engine for expansion<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjwBvjO8hX1IVgAQKXaTusz_d-cQQxx86oiVEe3J2yEH8TYhqJJaVDl2aDKYzDmfJbAplEcMRMs805eLkvsyaoWzLQhyphenhyphenQ07PihbdPwj0HqbAdZ8moW3qfhygK23hDOy2f5BHelzRbQWtDU/s1600/Untitled1.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="256" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjwBvjO8hX1IVgAQKXaTusz_d-cQQxx86oiVEe3J2yEH8TYhqJJaVDl2aDKYzDmfJbAplEcMRMs805eLkvsyaoWzLQhyphenhyphenQ07PihbdPwj0HqbAdZ8moW3qfhygK23hDOy2f5BHelzRbQWtDU/s320/Untitled1.png" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Student Ashley Perez checks out the CareShare vehicle at Buffalo State</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<b>By Caitlin Kupiec</b><br />
<b> and James McDonald</b><br />
<i><b>Bengal News West Reporters</b></i><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; mso-line-height-alt: 5.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="color: #222222;">Buffalo CarShare has its foot on
the gas and is driving to expand its services to the city of Buffalo, including
the West Side.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; mso-line-height-alt: 5.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="color: #222222;">Buffalo CarShare is a non-profit
that offers the community a lower priced</span><span style="color: #1a1a1a;"> and
environmentally friendly transportation system. Over the summer, the
organization received a $300,000 grant from the John R. Oishei Foundation to
double its number of vehicles to 30 by December 2015.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; mso-line-height-alt: 5.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="color: #1a1a1a;">It currently has five cars
located on the West Side. One is on Niagara Street at the Niagara Café, another
at the Quaker Bonnet Eatery at Rhode Island Street and Chenango Street, a third
on Grant Street near West Delavan Avenue</span><span style="color: red;"></span><span style="color: #1a1a1a;"> <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"></span>behind PUSH Buffalo, and a fourth and
fifth car in the M-2 and C lots at SUNY Buffalo State.</span><span style="color: #1a1a1a;"> It also has vehicles stationed in
Allentown and the Elmwood village. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; mso-line-height-alt: 5.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="color: #1a1a1a;"></span><span style="color: #1a1a1a;">The organization added a 17th </span><span style="color: #1a1a1a;">vehicle in October,
at Joe’s Service Center at the corner of Elmwood Avenue and Amherst Street,
allowing wider access in the Grant/Amherst neighborhood for the 650 Buffalo
CarShare members.</span><span style="color: red;"></span>
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; mso-line-height-alt: 5.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="color: #1a1a1a;">According to Jennifer White, the
public relations and marketing associate for Buffalo CarShare, </span><span style="color: #1a1a1a;"> most of the
organization’s customers walk, bike, or take public transit, and use Buffalo
CarShare occasionally for short trips. She says<span style="background: white;">
48 percent </span>of its members live in households with a total income of <span style="background: white;">$25,000 </span>or less and <span style="background: white;">two-thirds </span>of its members live in households with no vehicle
access at all.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; mso-line-height-alt: 5.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; mso-line-height-alt: 5.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="color: #1a1a1a;">Jennifer White, on CarShare's impact on the West Side: </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; mso-line-height-alt: 5.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="color: #1a1a1a;"><iframe frameborder="no" height="100" scrolling="no" src="https://w.soundcloud.com/player/?url=https%3A//api.soundcloud.com/tracks/120727612&color=ff6600&auto_play=false&show_artwork=true" width="75%"></iframe> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; mso-line-height-alt: 5.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; mso-line-height-alt: 5.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; mso-line-height-alt: 5.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="color: #1a1a1a;">White said the organization also
partners with non-profits who use its service for free. According to her, PUSH
Buffalo uses Buffalo CarShare and said the service has helped the organization </span><span style="color: #1a1a1a;">
save money, time and stress on transportation needs.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; mso-line-height-alt: 5.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="color: #1a1a1a;">Tamar Rothaus, finance,
administration and operations director at PUSH </span><span style="color: #1a1a1a;">told White</span><span style="color: #222222;"> that the </span><span style="color: #1a1a1a;">small
non-profit is </span><span style="color: #1a1a1a;"> always looking for ways to
add creative and useful employee benefits to its </span><span style="color: red;"> </span><span style="color: #1a1a1a;">staff, many of whom </span><span style="color: #1a1a1a;">live in the neighborhood and bike or walk to work. And
the opportunity to use a car for<span style="background: white;"> work-related</span>
trips and avoid the expense of owning their own car is a huge benefit. </span><span style="color: red;"></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; mso-line-height-alt: 5.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="color: #1a1a1a;">Also, by offering shared work and
personal accounts, Rothaus told White that PUSH can take on the enrollment fees
and offer staff the reduced hourly rate for any personal use of CarShare.
</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; mso-line-height-alt: 5.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="color: #1a1a1a;">Other West Side non-profit
members include the Buffalo Niagara Riverkeeper and the Massachusetts Avenue
Project.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; mso-line-height-alt: 5.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="color: #222222;">“Our service provides members
freedom and access to health care, healthy food, and a chance to visit friends
and family that they weren’t able to do before Buffalo CarShare existed,” White
said.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; mso-line-height-alt: 5.0pt;">
<span style="color: #222222;"> <span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span><span style="background: white;">Lisa Krieger, </span></span><span style="background: white; color: #222222;"> associate vice president of Buffalo State, </span><span style="background: white; color: #222222;"> said that college students and faculty
alike have their own reasons for investing in an organization like CarShare.
The on-campus parking ban for freshman and sophomores that live within 30 miles
of campus makes it difficult to use one's own transportation, and faculty
members who occasionally leave campus to go to events often find difficulty in
finding a parking spot when they come back.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; mso-line-height-alt: 5.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="background: white; color: #222222;">“When you factor
those two things together, bringing a car sharing program</span><span style="color: #222222;"> to Buffalo State made sense and I think it’s doing
well,” Krieger said.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; mso-line-height-alt: 5.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="color: #222222;">According to Krieger, the
CarShare program has been very successful on campus and benefits the students
in so many ways.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; mso-line-height-alt: 5.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="color: #222222;">“Say they need to go to the
Galleria to buy a birthday present or want to go for a job interview downtown,”
Krieger said. “The CarShare is really the perfect solution to those odd times
where they don’t have to use it five times a week, but just maybe five times a
semester.”</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; mso-line-height-alt: 5.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="color: #1a1a1a;">With the popularity of CarShare
rising at all its locations, White is excited to keep the organization
expanding to help more and more people continue to use its </span><span style="color: red;"> </span><span style="color: #1a1a1a;">services
for convenient transportation. She said as far as the future of its presence on
the West Side goes, Buffalo CarShare’s main goal is to continue to grow its
service to individuals and non-profits in the area.</span><span style="color: #222222;"> More information and updates can be found on <a href="http://www.buffalocareshare.org/">www.buffalocareshare.org</a> </span><span style="color: #222222;">and </span><a href="https://www.facebook.com/buffalocarshare">Facebook</a><span style="color: #222222;">.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; mso-line-height-alt: 5.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="color: #1a1a1a;">“As we branch out we would like
to eventually develop a marketing plan for the neighborhood to include
partnering with more businesses, non-profits, block-clubs, and neighborhood
associations,” White said.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; mso-line-height-alt: 5.0pt;">
<br /></div>
Bengal News Editorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03209451649003025385noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7581853382389692803.post-90017610896566576772013-10-23T18:53:00.004-07:002013-10-23T19:12:42.837-07:00Hero of West Side keeps the gang life away<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><b>By Patrick Lawler and Joe Sarro</b></span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><i><b>Bengal News West Reporters</b></i></span></span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"> Walking
in with a flat brim cap, sunglasses and a heavy gold chain hanging from his
neck, Darrell Barber doesn’t seem like your normal youth director. </span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"> Gangs, guns, fights and robberies were an
everyday occurrence when Barber was growing up. Now being a youth director at
The West Side Community Services, Barber doesn’t want today’s kids living the
same life. </span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="//www.youtube.com/embed/hcDZYjj2RIU" width="420"></iframe> </span></span><br />
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"> Barber
has had a great amount of experience that involves criminal life crowds. It was
different sections of the town that had the conflicts growing up. It was a
known fact that groups of other projects could not come together with one
another. Barber compared gang life to the survival of the fittest. </span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"> “I
grew up in the projects,” Barber said.</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"> West
Side children tend to get a smile from ear to ear when they know they get to
see Barber every day after school. Even though he is strict on them, Barber
plays a significant role between youth director and a fatherly figure. </span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"> Barber
is the youth director at West Side Community Services. He has worked there for
over 15 years now. Starting out as a youth aid, he’s always been able to have
that passion to work with kids. Having two kids of his own, Barber said he has
been known as a great inspiration to the young ones he works with.</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"> “Some
of these kids don’t really have enough people in their life to motivate them to
do the right things and not the wrong things,” Barber said. </span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"> Buffalo
has been known as one of the most dangerous cities in the nation. According to
Forbes, Buffalo was ranked as the 10<sup>th</sup> most dangerous city in the
nation. According to
city-data.com, Buffalo has had over 4,000 burglaries and over 1,000 auto thefts
in 2011. Buffalo had over 3,200 thefts per a 100,000 population while the U.S.
average was 2,000 thefts per a 100,000 population.</span></span> </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"> Barber
understands the life some of the kids are threatened by. Barber’s main goal is
to show them other alternatives to not lead them in the direction that he
experienced. Showing the kids that he cares and being there for them is what he
feels he was brought there for. A lot of the children are being raised in
single parent homes, broken homes or being raised by their grandparents. </span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"> “These
kids who don’t get the attention they deserve tend to go into that gang life to
find that family atmosphere they are looking for,” said Barber. “They aren’t
looking at the consequences of what they are doing till after the fact.”</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"> Barber
has had an affect on these kids' lives
even further past the community center. He’s been to grammar school
graduations, high school graduations and even college graduations. He’s
realized that some of these kids need that male figure in their life to always
be there for them.</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"> Margaret
Sanabria is a case manager at the West Side Community Services. She has known
Barber for 16 years. Sanabria said Darrell is the glue
that keeps the community center together. She said that Barber is always on
top. Their grades need to be good other wise they will get a talk from “Mr.D.” </span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"> “They
see him, they see what he is doing and a lot of them do consider him as being
their father,” Sanabria said. </span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"> “He
gives off that tough exterior, but inside he is really a teddy bear,” said
Amelia Hernandez, who is now the youth aid at the center. “He is very caring,
not a quitter and definitely competitive and wise.” </span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"> According
to Hernandez, Barber makes the center a fun and safe atmosphere. He shows the
disciplinary but not to the point where the kids ever feel like they cant come
and talk to him. </span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"> “A
lot of them call me ‘dad’ and I accept it,” Barber said. </span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br /></span></span></div>
Bengal News Editorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03209451649003025385noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7581853382389692803.post-3544935777420174422013-05-12T18:21:00.003-07:002013-05-13T19:28:26.869-07:00Anarchy in Action begins in the garden<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><b>By Aaron Garland and Brandon Schlager</b></span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><i><b>BengalNews Reporters </b></i></span></span><style><!--
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<div class="Normal1" style="text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">Nestled
into the corner of the intersection at Normal Avenue and Vermont Street sits a
plot of land that formerly existed as an empty lot sparsely filled with grass
and not much else. <table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiisGaMELa3A1ZjsSSmYAlQ99qN0gAbr4vPYZM0dsLRyGH1G5TNa0b7tffGad5bO-Nt3QG0m-r8LwwcwNWZuK_NrJcEiPGCcLDjifB0P3THltjrNB0nFDTt7g0CHgWesETbEWdn54XSujc/s1600/Untitled4.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiisGaMELa3A1ZjsSSmYAlQ99qN0gAbr4vPYZM0dsLRyGH1G5TNa0b7tffGad5bO-Nt3QG0m-r8LwwcwNWZuK_NrJcEiPGCcLDjifB0P3THltjrNB0nFDTt7g0CHgWesETbEWdn54XSujc/s400/Untitled4.png" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Avorm Siegel prepares his plot for strawberries</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
</span></span></div>
<div class="Normal1" style="text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">Today
it’s flush with budding optimism in the form of sweet strawberries, plump
tomatoes and dozens of other fruits and vegetables planted to bloom for a West
Side community in need thanks to the efforts of one new organization on the
block.</span></span></div>
<div class="Normal1" style="text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">Neighborhood
residents gathered at the junction on May 4 with members of <a href="http://anarchyinaction.org/whatwedo">Anarchy
in Action</a> to christen the Normal
Avenue Community Garden, the newest public garden on the West Side.</span></span></div>
<div class="Normal1" style="text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">Drawn
to celebrate a rare positive development in their community, it was a
fun-filled afternoon of dirt-digging and seed-planting for community members,
who learned from gardening experts the tips and tricks to growing and
maintaining a successful garden as they planted their own.</span></span></div>
<div class="Normal1" style="text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">For
Anarchy in Action, an upstart local anarchist group focused on changing the way
Buffalo thinks through education and voluntary action, it was a landmark day. </span></span></div>
<div class="Normal1" style="text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">The
opening of the garden marked the official beginning of the community garden
initiative. It was also<b> </b>the first
“major” outreach program carried out by the growing organization, which was
established in November.</span></span></div>
<div class="Normal1" style="text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">Dustin
Snyder, a West Side resident and one of the founders of Anarchy in Action, said
it was a simple choice to settle on a site for the group’s first project. The
site was donated by Carrie Nadar, a resident on the adjacent Plymouth Avenue.</span></span></div>
<div class="Normal1" style="text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">“The
people who live on the West Side you’ll find have a really incredible sense of
community and projects like this have a way of taking off,” Snyder said. “…
That’s exactly what we wanted to do. We saw that this was a part of anarchism
that was not present in the Buffalo community and we wanted to fill that niche.”</span></span></div>
<div class="Normal1" style="text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">Dustin Snyder, on Anarchy in Action:<br /><br /><br /><br /><iframe frameborder="no" height="166" scrolling="no" src="https://w.soundcloud.com/player/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fapi.soundcloud.com%2Ftracks%2F90980157" width="100%"></iframe></span></span> <br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">The
foundation of the group is built upon the ideals of interdependence and relying
on a sense of community for growth. They had been active with smaller events
like neighborhood “street cleanups” until now. </span></span></div>
<div class="Normal1" style="text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">But a
community garden, Snyder said, best demonstrates the mission statement Anarchy
in Action is hoping to get across: to put responsibility and accountability
back into the hands of local communities. </span></span></div>
<div class="Normal1" style="text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">“There
are two things that man knows naturally,” said John Roszman, a volunteer with
Anarchy in Action whose experience in gardening aids in leading the project, “That’s
war and gardening. </span></span></div>
<div class="Normal1" style="text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">“One
of the things that I believe is it (a community garden) is probably one of the
ways that we can have peace on this earth. It also shows somebody that he has a
piece of land. A king has land that he can garden. It turns people from pawns
into kings.”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></span></div>
<div class="Normal1" style="text-indent: .5in;">
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgKNhsEZKO-TIjPRQsXY0BKZyU-8MokUBR0oL25Tfw2STXAZlRHXKJY6ch1HOnsDLPs7gmAVlLodzhkudjUtcCnXBE2IKaVk0yrRAy93UzkZsf54B_0A2rIDoI5iwQ3WLxP6Qvnq9w_Xec/s1600/Untitled1.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgKNhsEZKO-TIjPRQsXY0BKZyU-8MokUBR0oL25Tfw2STXAZlRHXKJY6ch1HOnsDLPs7gmAVlLodzhkudjUtcCnXBE2IKaVk0yrRAy93UzkZsf54B_0A2rIDoI5iwQ3WLxP6Qvnq9w_Xec/s400/Untitled1.png" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">John Roszman, left, demonstrates seeding techniques</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">As
part of their community garden initiative, Anarchy in Action will organize
weekly gardening times to assist residents with their personal plots throughout
the summer, mixing in monthly workshops for growers to hear from area gardening
professionals.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></span></div>
<div class="Normal1" style="text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">Each
of the garden’s 14 plots will function as a resident’s personal garden, hosting
seasonal crops that will become a self-sustaining food source for the
community. Residents can grow fresh fruits and vegetables for themselves or donate them to local charities. </span></span></div>
<div class="Normal1" style="text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">Michael
Pacheco, who can see the gardens from the balcony of his Normal Avenue
residence, was in attendance May 4 to prep his plot. </span></span></div>
<div class="Normal1" style="text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">He
said the values the garden adds to the community are endless, especially for
his nieces. They will work together this summer to maintain their sunflowers
and peas and decorate the garden.</span></span></div>
<div class="Normal1" style="text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">“It
will teach them responsibility and also to look out for everyone else, too,”
Pacheco said. “Now when they come home from school they can always keep an eye
on the lot when they’re playing and riding their bikes up and down."</span></span><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"> </span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"> "This is such a benefit <span style="font-size: large;">to the community that it's a shame that there's not more," he <span style="font-size: large;">added. <span style="font-size: large;">"You go to any store, I would say, within 10 blocks of where we're at, you're not going to find <span style="font-size: large;">fresh produce anywhere. Everything is a corner store, so something like this gets people thinking differently.</span></span></span></span></span></span>”</div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br /></span></span>Bengal News Editorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03209451649003025385noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7581853382389692803.post-42024357122521933732013-05-12T08:37:00.001-07:002013-05-12T08:40:42.476-07:00New beginnings towards an Open Buffalo <b>By Malniquia Evans and Janiel Thomas</b><br />
<i><b>BengalNews Reporters</b></i> <style><!--
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12.0pt;">PUSH Buffalo and three other non-profit
organizations in Buffalo have teamed up to create Open Buffalo, a collaborative
program working towards a more democratic innovative and united Bufflao.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: justify; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12.0pt;">PUSH Buffalo, <a href="http://www.ppgbuffalo.org/">Partnership for the Public Good</a>,
Coalition for economic Justice, and VOICE Buffalo were selected to receive a
grant from the Open Society Foundations. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><a href="http://www.opensocietyfoundations.org/">Open Society Foundations</a> awarded a $100,000 grant to the four
organizations to design a plan to increase low-income and minority communities’
influence in Buffalo. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: justify; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12.0pt;">According to Megan Connelly, director of programs
and development at Partnership for the Public Good, Buffalo was one of 16
cities that were invited to apply for the foundation’s new Open Places
Initiative program. The program aims to bring about systematic change relating
to equity, justice, and democratic practice. The four non-profit organizations
in Buffalo were chosen to form collaborations and come up with a proposal. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: justify; text-indent: .5in;">
<br />
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12.0pt;">Megan Connelly, on Open Buffalo:</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: justify; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12.0pt;"><iframe frameborder="no" height="166" scrolling="no" src="https://w.soundcloud.com/player/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fapi.soundcloud.com%2Ftracks%2F89084687" width="100%"></iframe></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: justify; text-indent: .5in;">
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: justify; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12.0pt;">Buffalo became one of the eight cities to win the
planning grant. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: justify; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12.0pt;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>“The
program has been in a few other cities, but Buffalo’s version brings together
PUSH Buffalo, Partnership for the Public Good, Coalition for Economic Justice
and VOICE Buffalo,” Lonnie Barlow, communications coordinator at PUSH Buffalo
said. “These organizations will work together to help bring about change in different
areas throughout the city of Buffalo.”</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: justify; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12.0pt;">PUSH Buffalo is geared towards improving housing
in Buffalo, while Coalition for Economic Justice and VOICE Buffalo works to
create economic justice in the city. Partnership for the Public Good caters to
Buffalo by creating a more cultural and vibrant community.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: justify; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12.0pt;">Each of the participating organizations were sent
email invitations to apply for the grant, which allows the organizations to
focus their efforts on different areas they would like to work on.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: justify; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12.0pt;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>“What
I think that says is that there is some very interesting non-profit activity
going on here in Buffalo that is maybe not so well-known here,” Lou Jean
Fleron, co-director of Partnership for the Public Good said. “It’s getting
attention outside our own area because we didn’t seek out the grant.”</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: justify; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12.0pt;">The next step in the planning process will take
place from April to September 2013 and will propose a plan for building the
region’s capacity and bring about long-term change. Open Buffalo will work with
other organizations that cater to the West Side like the Belle Center, Jericho
Road Ministries, Boys and Girls Club and the Peace Keepers’ Coalition. The
program will also have a community rollout in June to include West Side
residents in the planning process. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: justify; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12.0pt;">“Access to communications is really important so
we want to make sure that people know about what we’re doing so we can present
it in a way they feel is going to affect them,” Connelly said.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>“We have an incredibly vibrant refugee
and immigrant community on the West Side so we want to make sure that there’s a
cultural competency to everything we do.” </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: justify; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12.0pt;">Connelly says she is confident that the
organizations will win the implementation grant, and that Open Buffalo will
continue even if they do not win. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: justify; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12.0pt;">“Open Buffalo started the day that we received
the planning grant,” Connelly said <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>“We want this process to continue regardless of whether we
get the implementation grant or not.” </span></div>
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Bengal News Editorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03209451649003025385noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7581853382389692803.post-92097904311159530662013-05-11T20:21:00.000-07:002013-05-11T20:21:04.320-07:00Tour highlights W.S. environmental concerns<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><b>By Jasmine Peterson and Maria Yankova</b></span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><i><b>BengalNews Reporters </b></i></span></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">On
a sunny, windy day in late April, groups of people equipped with fishing poles
gather down by the Niagara River at Squaw Island<span style="font-size: large;">.</span></span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"> </span>The river’s current is strong and rapid, and the water is seafoam
green.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"> But
the river is contaminated by sewage, where some fish for food, making it the
first stop on the Environmental Justice Walking Tour<span style="font-size: large;">.</span></span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"> </span>Hosted
by students at the University at Buffalo Law School, the tour took visitors
through various troubled locations throughout the West Side. It’s based on a
36-page report produced by the students about environmental hazards in the
neighborhood. The report focuses on Squaw Island, Buffalo Sewer Authority </span></span><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">Treatment Plant </span></span><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">and Rich Products.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"> <span id="ctl00_contentArea_lblSubmissionText"> </span></span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span id="ctl00_contentArea_lblSubmissionText">V<span style="font-size: large;">a</span>nessa Glushefski, on West Side environmental issues:</span></span></span><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span id="ctl00_contentArea_lblSubmissionText"></span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">Squaw Island, just off of Niagara Street
on Robert Rich Way, used to be a place for swimming and other activities, said
student Irene Rekhviashvili. In the nineteenth century, it was a stop on the
Underground Railroad; a place for slaves to rest on their way to Canada.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"> Today, it is frequented by many people looking for fresh,
affordable fish to eat.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"> “The many refugee groups and immigrants,
they used to fish back in their hometowns, so they continue this tradition
here,” Rekhviashvili said.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"> But pollution gets concentrated in parts
of the river that are nonmoving, she said. There are also signs warning people
not to swim. The United States Army Corps of Engineers recently took steps to
close off the island due to drownings and health hazards.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"> Congressman Brian Higgins put a stop to
that because of how necessary the island is to the community. Higgins addressed
a <a href="http://higgins.house.gov/2013/04/congressman-higgins-calls-on-us-army-corps-to-maintain-public-access-at-squaw-island-pier.shtml">letter</a><span style="color: #222222;"> </span>to
the Buffalo Commander, in which he wrote that “wealthier people fish on boats,
and less wealthy people fish on land,” making it unfair to the community to
close off the island.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"> “The benefits of having access are just
tremendous,” Rekhviashvili said. “Maybe food for some, activities, having green
space. It’s all very important.”</span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"> At the coast of the river sits the
Buffalo Sewer Authority Treatment Plant. A century ago, the river, Scajaquada
Creek, Black Rock Canal and the Buffalo River were major depositories for
sewage, said student Brendan McGrath.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"> But as Buffalo’s population expanded,
pollution in the water became a big problem. In 1938, the treatment plant was
built to address this issue. However, the city still uses the sewer
infrastructure from 1908, and there is now a combined sewer overflow problem.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"> There’s a total of 1.75 billion gallons
of sewer output into Buffalo’s waterways per year, McGrath said. One of the
city’s 52 registered combined sewer overflow release valves is at the Niagara
River, contaminating the same water people fish in. It takes only an inch of
rain for valves to activate, releasing both sanitary and storm water waste into
the river. But the Sewage Authority has submitted a proposal to the
Environmental Protection Agency to control this issue, McGrath said.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"> The plan proposes the use of green
infrastructure, or natural resources, as an alternative to using sewers. One
idea is to use the city’s vacant land as storm water holding environments to
allow water to slowly absorb back into the ground instead of ending up in the
sewer system, McGrath said. <span style="color: #222222;"> </span></span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="color: #222222;"> Rich Products is just a few
steps away from the river. The corporation's two massive buildings, each
settled on either side of Robert Rich Way, are connected by an internal walkway
that stretches over the street. Rich’s is in the process of expanding – it will
soon replace a Niagara Street butcher shop with a parking lot. This may cause
problems, said student Vanessa Glushefski said. </span></span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="color: #222222;"> <span style="font-size: large;"></span>“When you are a corporation
like Rich Products, you need to be mindful of what you’re doing,” Glushefski
said. “Because, yes, they can buy this building, they can pave it into a
parking lot -- that may be a viable business solution for them – however, they
have to think of what that does to the neighborhood surrounding them.”</span></span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="color: #222222;"> A parking lot is not only detrimental to the attractiveness of the neighborhood,
but it may also give the impression that the area is lifeless and dilapidated,
she said.</span></span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="color: #222222;"> “This is why
Rich’s buying this old butcher shop and turning it into a parking lot may not
seem like a big deal initially, but it can become a big deal,” she said.</span></span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="color: #222222;"> Despite the environmental issues in the area, there are signs of growth
and change. On West Avenue, in the neighborhood across the street from Rich
Products, some vacant lots are being used to grow fresh vegetables for the community.
It’s part of an effort by 5 Loaves Farm, an outreach of Vineyard City Church on
Potomac Avenue.</span></span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="color: #222222;"> The project aims at “creating
sustainable market gardens on Buffalo’s Upper West Side that produce healthy
foods along with educational and economic opportunities,” according to its </span><a href="http://www.blogger.com/null">website</a><span style="color: #222222;">.</span></span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="color: #222222;"> Since last year,
neighbors, volunteers and teenage interns from the area have grown onions,
spinach, potatoes and other foods for the community, said Matt Kauffman,
initiator of the community gardens. </span></span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="color: #222222;"> <span style="background: none repeat scroll 0% 0% white;">“We’re trying to engage neighbors,” Kauffman said. “Even the young teens
in some of these things that are going on in the neighborhood and trying to be
a positive voice for redeeming some of abandoned and vacant places here in Buffalo.”
</span></span>
</span></span>Bengal News Editorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03209451649003025385noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7581853382389692803.post-49525542233702517772013-05-02T05:41:00.000-07:002013-05-02T05:45:21.808-07:00New mural to be painted on West Side<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><b>By Anika
Rawlins and A.J. Speier</b></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><b><i>BengalNews Reporters</i></b></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"> At
first glance, the corner of Grant Street and Auburn Avenue may not be very
appealing with the view of a large blank wall that does not have much
attraction. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"> With just a 7-Eleven and a large
vacant lot across the street, this area may be overlooked with very little to
offer a neighborhood with a great deal of culture and diversity.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">The
view of this West Side corner is about to change.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"> By September, this corner will be ornamented
with a beautiful mural reflecting the large immigrant population and variety of
cultures that are present on the West Side. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">Grant
Street Global Voice Public Arts Project: Celebrating Immigrants and Refugee
Experience is the project to commemorate the immigrant community through
different visual arts projects. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"> The mural design project is one of
the Buffalo State Community Academic Center’s projects in efforts to showcase
the diverse cultures while integrating student input from West Side schools
Lafayette High School and International School 45.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">The
mural project is a collaboration between Buffalo State College, <a href="http://yawny.org/">Young Audiences of Western New York</a>, Buffalo Public Schools and the City of Buffalo.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">Funding
for the mural is a 75 thousand dollar Our Town Grant from National Endowment
for the Arts who provide grants for art projects that will add to the culture
of different communities. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"> The proposal for the grant consisted of a
Mural, speaking to the theme of cultural diversity and a series of community
and school based art workshops that would be incorporated into the mural. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">“We’re
budgeted for the year with the grant but we see this as starting the
possibilities for Grant Street being an arts corridor and really celebrating
its history in a visual way,” Maureen McCarthy, director of the Buffalo State
Community Academic Center said.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">Ellen
Melmed a teaching artist and leader of school based workshops held at
International School 45 and Lafayette, and <a href="http://admuralstudio.com/">Augustina Droze</a>, the muralist that
will paint the mural on Grant Street, held workshops for students to come up
with their own art designs that may be incorporated into the mural and in
window shops down Grant Street.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">The
workshops that are conducted for the mural will allow students and members of
the community to incorporate their ideas and refugee stories pertaining to the theme
of diversity to be included in the mural.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">With
plans to start the mural painting in May, Droze is currently focusing on
incorporating artwork from students and locals of the West Side.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">“<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;">It will be a
celebration of diversity and unity incorporating some of the student artwork
created in workshops over the past months as well as numerous photos recently
taken of local people” Droze said.</span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">The
mural is expected to be complete by September of this year with earlier
unveilings throughout July and August.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<!--EndFragment-->Bengal News Editorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03209451649003025385noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7581853382389692803.post-73090211285579713132013-04-28T16:42:00.000-07:002013-04-28T17:38:06.909-07:00PUSH to expand water-runoff initiative<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b>By</b></span> <b>Aaron Garland and Brandon Schlager</b></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><i><b>BengalNews Reporters</b></i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="color: windowtext; font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12.0pt;"> Spring can’t come soon enough for PUSH Buffalo.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="color: windowtext; font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12.0pt;"> Once the weather becomes
warmer, PUSH will plant and install various increments, which will absorb
runoff storm water, to ensure that sewers do not overflow throughout the West
Side. Rain gardens, green roofs, bio swales and rainwater catchment systems
will be installed to act as sponges to combat runoff pollution and guarantee
cleaner water in Buffalo. This new initiative will be called the Green
Infrastructure project.</span></span></div>
<div class="Normal1" style="text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="color: windowtext; font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12.0pt;"> The city is becoming
increasingly flooded with environmental hitches, and the recent profusion of
rain has further exposed the faulty sewer systems of Buffalo. Storm water and
sanitary water from houses in the city combine to run in one system, which
drains into Lake Erie and area rivers through a wastewater treatment facility.
During times of extended rain or sewer runoff, a system overflow is created,
causing untreated water to flow into the lake and rivers. </span></span></div>
<div class="Normal1" style="text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="color: windowtext; font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12.0pt;"> “It’s a pretty significant
issue for the city when any amount of sewage going into the lake and the rivers
is an issue,” Jenifer Kaminsky, director of housing for PUSH Buffalo, said. “I
think it impacts all facets of the economy and just the health and safety of
neighborhoods.” Kaminsky claims that there are millions of gallons going into
the system every year.</span></span></div>
<div class="Normal1" style="text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="color: windowtext; font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12.0pt;"> The project will be
concentrated in PUSH’s “green development zone,” which consists of a 25-block
area and 25 PUSH-owned sites on the West Side. The sites are all in the same
sewer shed, which runs at the foot of Albany Street. Kaminsky sees this as
advantageous because they all share the pipe system.</span></span></div>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhEJCnZA9ZgShnYNrKBU9zq-FFPfUEukmJ7MOXWjuqgBcgpuMlg93njsHneMEqZ6pl8K2fxCGnJa5K2gRKCe0DejU9LT4fGNcPe1avQSgS7BMQCCl6fnuVhNaw4u0qpkFREd5HL2vRMWd4/s1600/Untitled3.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="239" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhEJCnZA9ZgShnYNrKBU9zq-FFPfUEukmJ7MOXWjuqgBcgpuMlg93njsHneMEqZ6pl8K2fxCGnJa5K2gRKCe0DejU9LT4fGNcPe1avQSgS7BMQCCl6fnuVhNaw4u0qpkFREd5HL2vRMWd4/s320/Untitled3.png" width="320" /></a></span></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">PUSH will add more gardens throughout the West Side.</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="Normal1" style="text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="color: windowtext; font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12.0pt;"> “We purchase them either
because they have been identified as being a burden to the neighborhood, being
used for dumping or illegal activities,” Kaminsky said. “So we purchased it to
clean it up and address what was going on, making it a garden or a simple
‘clean-and-green,’ where we clean, mow, seed and clear any debris.”</span></span></div>
<div class="Normal1" style="text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="color: windowtext; font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12.0pt;"> The project will address the
increasing sewer overflow problem over the next two years. According to
Kaminsky, PUSH’s goal is to fill 10 sites with green infrastructure, this
growing season, and finish the rest next year.</span></span></div>
<div class="Normal1" style="text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="color: windowtext; font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12.0pt;"> PUSH is not alone in putting
the project into fruition. Buffalo Niagara Riverkeeper, the U.S. Environmental
Protection Agency, and the Buffalo Sewer Authority will aid in working to
improve the city’s storm water system. The NYS Environmental Facilities
Corporation will assist funding with a grant. </span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="color: windowtext; font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12.0pt;"><iframe frameborder="no" height="166" scrolling="no" src="https://w.soundcloud.com/player/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fapi.soundcloud.com%2Ftracks%2F88462016" width="100%"></iframe> </span></span></div>
<div class="Normal1" style="text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="color: windowtext; font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12.0pt;"> Judith Enck, EPA’s Region 2
regional administrator, expressed the significance of funding a committed
project that applies cutting-edge ideas to a strong vision for the future of
the city.</span></span></div>
<div class="Normal1" style="text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="color: windowtext; font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12.0pt;"> “These things don’t happen
overnight, but it’s really the community support that makes a difference,” Enck
said. “Clearly, these are organizations who are involved in the community, who
listen to the community, and have found the intersection between affordable
housing, green jobs and sustainability. I think Buffalo has the potential to be
a model for the nation.”</span></span></div>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjgqJRyekIph_nuxwYdztceubUQbxJLNEz9SeVuOqbhTZlOgVGYCIqhEY8GCiCORPYexGg2o06BlV7KWaUqL3TXb6pBNYqY_nhhYPl9q6fOiefIx9fy7rkRGXkH6aSpndt3h0gV-U7svPY/s1600/Untitled2.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="239" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjgqJRyekIph_nuxwYdztceubUQbxJLNEz9SeVuOqbhTZlOgVGYCIqhEY8GCiCORPYexGg2o06BlV7KWaUqL3TXb6pBNYqY_nhhYPl9q6fOiefIx9fy7rkRGXkH6aSpndt3h0gV-U7svPY/s320/Untitled2.png" width="320" /></a></span></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">Some PUSH gardens are design to capture runoff from rain.</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="Normal1" style="text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="color: windowtext; font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12.0pt;"> Not only will the project
reduce the amount of water going into an already stressed storm water system,
but it will also create green jobs. PUSH will hire a landscape crew to help
with the installation of the green infrastructure, which will also augment
aesthetics and living quality of people in the area.</span></span></div>
<div class="Normal1" style="text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="color: windowtext; font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12.0pt;"> “You’re not just building a
rain garden or a community park,” Suzanna Randall, green infrastructure
coordinator at the NYS EFC, said. “You’re enhancing community nutrition, you’re
providing green-job training, you’re providing green jobs, you’re providing a
more walkable neighborhood. In short, you’re revitalizing this community.”</span></span></div>
<div class="Normal1" style="text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="color: windowtext; font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12.0pt;"> Kaminsky noted that residents
could also address the overflow problem to improve standards of living across
the city.</span></span></div>
<div class="Normal1" style="text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="color: windowtext; font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12.0pt;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>“This is a city-wide problem — it’s not just a West Side
problem,” Kaminsky said. “We’re all impacted by the environment of our
waterways, so I think this is something that will happen city-wide. Whether
it’s projects by the city or local homeowners, anyone can install a garden on
their property to help out.”</span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br /></span>Bengal News Editorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03209451649003025385noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7581853382389692803.post-52164392098203839732013-04-19T18:10:00.000-07:002013-04-19T18:10:42.805-07:00Coalition sets sights on West Side youth<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><b>By Michael Mazzuto and Mike Provenzano</b></span><style><!--
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<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">
</span><div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><b><i>BengalNews Reporters</i></b></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">
</span><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">Just
saying no isn’t enough.</span></div>
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">
</span><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">Telling
kids not to do something can make them want to do it anyway. Unfortunately,
many adults don’t realize this until it is too late. But there’s a group of
people trying to change that by a proactive approach at a critical stage in
adolescents.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">
</span><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">The
<a href="http://wsydc.org/">West Side Youth Development Coalition</a> (WSYDC) was formed in 2009, at the
request of the community, to develop approaches to limit the high levels of
violence and gang activity on the West Side. The coalition’s other objectives
include trying to change negative “social norms” and positive impacts on the
environment.</span></div>
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">
</span><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">In
conjunction with the Buffalo Police Department, the WSYDC hosted the 18<sup>th</sup>
annual youth police academy on March 23 at Buffalo Police Headquarters on
Franklin Street.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The event is part
of what the WSYDC calls “enhancing enforcement” in the hope that it will create
an open dialogue between police and the West Side youth community.</span></div>
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">
</span><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">Kids
from schools across Buffalo including six on the West Side, participated in
workshops and activities on personal safety, anti-bullying, and physical
fitness.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">
</span><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">This
marks the third consecutive year in which the WSYDC co-hosted the academy.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The WSYDC was formed in 2009, at
the request of the community, to develop approaches to limit the high levels of
violence and gang activity on the West Side. The coalition’s other objectives
include trying to change negative “social norms,” positive impacts on the environment
and improving the perception of law enforcement within the community. </span></div>
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">
</span><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">Robert
Fink, president of the <a href="http://www.policevolunteers.org/programs/index.cfm?fa=dis_pro_detail&id=1750">Citizens Advisory Group</a> says the youth police academy’s
main focus is to educate 7<sup>th</sup> and 8<sup>th</sup> graders so that they
can make good life choices. </span></div>
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">
</span><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">“For
the kids here, the academy is also a really good introduction to the police,”
Fink says.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>“Many of the kids who
attend the academy go on to join the Buffalo Police Explorer Scouts.”</span></div>
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">
</span><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">The
Explorer Scouts are a group dedicated to giving teens hands-on experience in
mock law-enforcement situations.</span></div>
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">
</span><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">Jonathan Lindner, coordinator for the coalition:</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/9mRp0zXSepw" width="560"></iframe> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">According
to Jonathan Lindner, coordinator for the WSYDC, most negative behaviors in
kids, start around 7<sup>th</sup> or 8<sup>th</sup> grade.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Lindner, who is also a health and
wellness professor at Buffalo State College, was on-hand along with some of his
students, for a presentation on healthy choices.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Lindner says that it is his unique approach that resonates
with the kids.</span></div>
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">
</span><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">“A
lot of people talk at them, I’ve learned to talk to them,” says Lindner.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>“I have a conversation with them.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I show them there is other stuff to
choose.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>If you show them other
things, they realize you don’t have to choose things that are potentially
harmful.”</span></div>
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">
</span><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">Lindner
included a survey when kids signed up for the academy that included what he
calls “perception of harm questions” to gauge how they feel about drugs,
alcohol, and their mental health.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Lindner says the survey helps him to tailor his presentation to the
audience.</span></div>
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">
</span><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">Lindner
knows that kids on the West Side may not have the best perception of law
enforcement.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He experienced his
own learning curve when it came to gaining credibility with the community.</span></div>
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">
</span><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">“When
I first started working on the West Side, it wasn’t easy,” said Lindner.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>“I had to gain trust and respect.”</span></div>
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">
</span><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">Lindner
says the police can’t expect to change their relationship with the youths when
their approach doesn’t change.</span></div>
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">
</span><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">“The
kids will engage, it just depends how on you actually engage them,” says
Lindner.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>“The tough love stuff-
that doesn’t fly.”</span></div>
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">
</span><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">Lindner
is also helping build the foundation for the future leaders of the West Side
community.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Many of his students
also made presentations at the academy and hope to continue their involvement
with the West Side after graduation.</span></div>
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">
</span><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">“You
see more of a positive attitude from West Side students and the kids we are
interacting with,” said Louis DeAngelo, a senior in Buffalo State’s health and
wellness program.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>“The idea that
there is actually something they can do besides being stuck on the West Side
and not being able to go anywhere or do anything.”</span></div>
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">
</span><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;">
<br /></div>
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">
</span><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;">
<br /></div>
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">
</span>Bengal News Editorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03209451649003025385noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7581853382389692803.post-15637518800171986292013-04-19T16:00:00.002-07:002013-04-19T16:00:37.672-07:00Refugee family moves into Habitat House <b>By Malniquia Evans and Janiel Thomas</b><br />
<i><b>BengalNews Reporters</b></i> <style><!--
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<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; text-align: justify; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12.0pt;">A newly renovated
two-story house on Sherwood Street became the home of a Somalian family on
April 7. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; text-align: justify; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12.0pt;">The Malande family, who
were refugees from Kenya before coming to the United States, moved into the
five bedroom, one bath house, with the help of </span><a href="http://www.habitat.org/"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12.0pt;">Habitat
for Humanity</span></a><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12.0pt;">.
This organization focuses on helping low income and refugee families own homes
that they might not otherwise be able to afford. The Malande family consists of
seven members, and was able to move into this renovated home after a long and tenuous
process.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; text-align: justify; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12.0pt;">Through the
organization’s application process and dedicated volunteer services, families
like the Malande family are able to own homes with interest-free mortgages for
up to 35 years.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; text-align: justify; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12.0pt;">“We have an application
process that we market to new families,” Kevin Scherf, executive director of
Habitat for Humanity said. “Our families who wish to be in our program first
have to be employed and they have to meet certain income requirements.”</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; text-align: justify; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12.0pt;">The family was welcomed
into their new home by Habitat for Humanity during a dedication ceremony. The
occasion marked the 240<sup>th</sup> house sold to Habitat for Humanity partner
families.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; text-align: justify; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12.0pt;">The ceremony included
the blessing of the house and the presentations of gifts to the family from
various organizations throughout Buffalo, such as Niagara Frontier Reading
Council, WNY Embroiders Guild and WNY Garden Clubs. The family was also
presented with a Bible, which was donated by the Bible Society of WNY. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; text-align: justify; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12.0pt;">Habitat for Humanity
depended on the service of volunteers who aided in the rehabilitation of the
family’s home.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Like the many other
volunteers and families who have previously owned homes through Habitat, the Malande
family had to dedicate their time to volunteering. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; text-align: justify; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12.0pt;">“It was a vacant house
so we stripped it down onto the basic frame and rebuilt it from there,” Sarah
Mast, an assistant site supervisor for Habitat of Humanity through </span><a href="http://www.americorps.gov/"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12.0pt;">AmeriCorps</span></a><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12.0pt;"> said. “After the application process, the
family has to put in 150 hours on any Habitat house and at that point they get
to pick their own house.”</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; text-align: justify; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12.0pt;">This particular house
was in the works for over a year when Mast started as site supervisor in
October 2012.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; text-align: justify; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12.0pt;">Habitat houses are
donated, and the families are allowed to choose the house they want to live in
and the neighborhood they feel most comfortable in. The Malande family chose
their new home due to a variety of reasons, which included the accessibility of
medical services.<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;"> </span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; text-align: justify; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12.0pt;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;">Mohamed Kulow, on his family's new home:</span> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; text-align: justify; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12.0pt;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/LCO4GhjM1nE" width="560"></iframe> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; text-align: justify; text-indent: .5in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; text-align: justify; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12.0pt;">“We chose this location
because my father is old and it is easier for him to go to the doctor because
it is close,” Mohamed Kulow, the oldest sibling, said. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; text-align: justify; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12.0pt;">In addition to the
Malande family’s home, Habitat has rehabbed and built a number of houses on the
West Side, which includes an entire block on Ferguson Street. Scherf said
Habitat’s goal was to fix up the area so that homeowners have a safe and decent
place to live and raise their families. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; text-align: justify; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12.0pt;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>“We work on 10 to 15 projects a year,”
Scherf said. “About 70 percent of the work we do is rehab and the remaining 30
percent are new builds.”</span></div>
Bengal News Editorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03209451649003025385noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7581853382389692803.post-68153907502355637782013-04-18T16:39:00.003-07:002013-04-18T16:43:41.221-07:00'Night People' run fights hunger, poverty<b>By Brielynn Bell and Margot Harris</b><br />
<i><b>BengalNews Reporters</b></i><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12.0pt;"> Runners sat at the
crowded table, which was covered with flyers and registration forms. Each
runner walked away from the table with a plastic bag filled with goodies, a map
with directions, an itinerary for the run, a large tag with various numbers,
and a bright orange t-shirt that said “Friends of Night People.” </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12.0pt;"> Over 300 people gathered
at D’Youville College on 302 Porter Ave., Sunday April 7 to run for a cause.
Friends of Night People Inc., located on 394 Hudson St., hosted its 10<sup>th</sup>
annual “Putting Hunger on the Run” 5k. The runners were here to do more than
just run; they came to support FONP and their attempt to feed the hungry in the
Buffalo community. </span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12.0pt;">Runners express their feelings on why they
came out to run and what the cause meant to them:<a href="http://www.blogger.com/null" name="_GoBack"></a></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12.0pt;"> </span><br />
<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/rEE_olInzt0" width="560"></iframe><br />
<br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12.0pt;"> Executive Director
Joseph Heary coordinated the event with the help of the development assistant,
Nicole Gawel.</span>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12.0pt;"> “Last year, Friends of
Night People served over 82,000 meals,” Heary said. “This year, so far, we have
served about 20,000 meals. We keep seeing an increase in the number of meals we
serve year after year. All of the money we raise today is going toward that
cause.” </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12.0pt;"> Gawel explained that the
non-profit organization is more than a place where people can come to get food
at night. FONP also offers </span><a href="http://www.friendsofnightpeople.com/services.html"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12.0pt;">services</span></a><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12.0pt;"> such as medical care,
alcohol anonymous classes, clothing closets, veteran assistance programs and
much more. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12.0pt;"> FONP accepts donations
on a daily basis, including Saturday and Sunday. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12.0pt;"> “We accept perishable
and non-perishable products: food, personal care items, and clothes. We need it
all,” Gawel said.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12.0pt;"> According to the </span><a href="http://www.foodbankwny.org/HungerinWNY/HungerStudy.aspx"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12.0pt;">Food Bank</span></a><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12.0pt;"> of Western New York,
there has been an increase, since 2006, in the number of residents who turn to
pantries, shelters, and kitchens for assistance. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12.0pt;"> FONP is a dedicated
organization with a plan to keep its services ongoing for the future. With an
increase of people in need, the organization is always looking for </span><a href="http://www.friendsofnightpeople.com/volunteer.html"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12.0pt;">volunteers</span></a><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12.0pt;"> and donations. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12.0pt;"> “When you start working
with Friends of Night People, you will start to ask yourself, ‘Do I really need
this, because there are other people who are really in need – is this a
necessity?’ ” Gawel said. “I am not saying that I have stopped shopping
completely, but I have really cut back since I began working here a year ago.
This organization has taught me not to be so selfish.” </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12.0pt;"> Many runners who
participated were from previous years and wanted to continue to support the
cause, while several others were running their first 5k. Runners ranged from
young children to elderly men, and from group-home members to experienced
marathon runners. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12.0pt;"> “It was for a good cause
and I just wanted to support my community,” runner, Amanda Vetter said. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12.0pt;"> “Putting Hunger on the
Run” will help FONP provide food, clothing, and medical services to the working
poor, children, elderly, and homeless in the West Side community. Sponsors
included National Gird, National Fuel, UPS, Delta Sonic and Wegmans. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12.0pt;"> The organization sees
many people from the area at its Hudson location, but it also has newer
locations on the East Side to cater to the people in the area.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12.0pt;"> People can visit the
West Side Hudson location any time between 10 a.m. and 7 p.m.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>People can visit the East Side location
on 385 Paderewski St. from 3 p.m. to 6 p.m. or 21 Westminster Ave. from 3:30
p.m. to 5 p.m. for meal assistance programs. </span></div>
Bengal News Editorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03209451649003025385noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7581853382389692803.post-52962476617689441632013-04-13T08:16:00.000-07:002013-04-13T08:17:52.855-07:00PUSH grant to upgrade business buildings<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><b>By Bryan Price and Nick Stutzman</b></span><br />
<b><span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><i>BengalNews Reporters</i></span> </b><style><!--
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<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman";">The West Side and the areas surrounding
it have many historic commercial buildings but some of these structures face
hazardous and maintenance issues because of their age. Building issues such as
bad foundations, leaking pipes, out of date lighting fixtures and drafty
windows are eyesores to the community.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>That’s where the PUSH Green Building Retrofit Program makes
an impact, and its target is small commercial buildings and non-profit
organizations on the West Side and across Western New York.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman";">PUSH leaders discuss the retrofit program: </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-indent: .5in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman";"><iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/ioKp2FBL8fs" width="560"></iframe> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-indent: .5in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman";">Launched on March 27, the $800,000
incentive grant has a goal to upgrade Buffalo’s buildings by making them more
affordable and more energy efficient, improvements that will make them more
sustainable in the long term.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman";">PUSH Green Director of Workforce
Initiatives Clarke Gocker considers this program a way for owners to afford
their building renovations, in what might not have been available before, using
PUSH as the point of entry.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman";">“This program is to leverage the private
investments that small businesses make. And so a $35,000 cap is seen as a
carrot to incentivize them to dig deep to do big improvements that will help
turn our communities around,” Gocker said.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman";">Gocker said that PUSH Green will be the
liaison between the building owners and the contractor who will walk them
through the process of conducting the New York State Energy Research and
Development Authority’s Green Jobs-Green energy audit. Then PUSH will take the
load off of the energy auditor, taking the customer and handling the rest of
the process, such as guiding them through the financing to perform the work
needed. Incentives from NYSERDA partners from across New York State can help
lenders offer energy efficient financing.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman";">Local developer Rocco Termini agrees
that there is a lot of different things that this money can be used for that
will benefit qualified grant recipients, and it’s an organization like PUSH
that makes the process all the easier. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman";">“I think it’s a really good program. I
don’t think you could have found a better organization to administer this
program other than PUSH,” Termini said. “PUSH understands what we all go
through to rehab a building, so I think this going to be a very successful
program and I would encourage everybody to get their applications in as soon as
possible because there is only a limited amount of resources.”</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman";">Applicants will be required to provide
documented evidence of funding for the project costs. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman";">PUSH Green Program Manager, Kate Howard
is in charge of the residential energy efficiency program that launched January
2012. The program was the stepping-stone that helped create the building
retrofit program. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Buffalo has the third oldest housing stock in the nation. And
since PUSH’s home base is on the West Side, Howard says there has been an
outreach to the community to access these incentives and make upgrades to
existing homes.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman";">“Part of living in Buffalo, is that you
live in old houses. So they are interesting and beautiful, but completely
inefficient and expensive to maintain,” Howard said.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman";">Having the energy assessments and showing
the homeowners where they can save money, just like the building program, they
can get work done that they needed or didn’t know they needed done. Howard said
on average, owners could save 20 percent to 40 percent off their utility costs
and bills. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman";">Examples of house improvements are new
furnaces and heating systems, new insulation, blower door assisted air ceiling,
duct work; essentially a whole house retrofit. Anyone across Erie County can
benefit from these programs.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman";">These programs are also helping the
economically troubled community with working alongside<span style="color: red;"> </span>Green
contractors. These contractors are benefiting from the demand of work provided
from the programs, as well as employing local skilled workers who need jobs.
There are about 35 new jobs estimated to be created by these programs.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="color: red;"></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
Bengal News Editorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03209451649003025385noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7581853382389692803.post-9306186066086277652013-03-21T06:23:00.000-07:002013-03-21T06:41:18.513-07:00Completed phases enhance West Side park<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: justify;">
<b><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 12pt;">By </span><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 12pt; text-indent: 0.5in;">Malniquia Evans and Janiel Thomas</span></b><br />
<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 12pt; text-indent: 0.5in;"><b><i>BengalNews Reporters</i></b></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: justify; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 12pt;">Three years ago, a neglected park on the West Side consisted of a run-down playground and a </span><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 12pt; text-indent: 0.5in;">vacant lot with trees and potholes.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: justify; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12.0pt;">That was until <a href="http://pushbuffalo.org/park">PUSH Buffalo</a> members and
community members decided to renovate the park, near the Butler Mitchell Boys
and Girls Club.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: justify; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12.0pt;">The park now has black top pathways that lead to
a full colorful playground with slides and swings, a park pavilion, and a main
entrance archway. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: justify; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12.0pt;">With the help of the City of Buffalo, the PUSH
Buffalo organization and West Side community members were able to focus their efforts
on the redevelopment of the city-owned <a href="http://greendevelopmentzone.org/land/massachusetts-ave-park/">Massachusetts Avenue Park</a>. In an attempt
to make the park more aesthetically pleasing and welcoming, members of the
community drafted the Healthy Neighborhood Park Concept Plan. The Healthy
Neighborhood Park Concept Plan includes construction on the park, which is being
done in three phases. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: justify; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiMZEA_k9MamkDg7w5q6VuvBEbzYHcL1c7Nj09J6ON_qtESGrdyLKkbwhwGKAsRuyRBwl2B9_2kzRslgLS2wVcEWUhI0AFV-AFIzSwGxpvaLReoOFR8EN6gxIQjWJeQOfMe0TxTxJugHj0/s1600/Untitled2.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiMZEA_k9MamkDg7w5q6VuvBEbzYHcL1c7Nj09J6ON_qtESGrdyLKkbwhwGKAsRuyRBwl2B9_2kzRslgLS2wVcEWUhI0AFV-AFIzSwGxpvaLReoOFR8EN6gxIQjWJeQOfMe0TxTxJugHj0/s320/Untitled2.png" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Terry Richard at park entrance</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12.0pt;">In September 2012, construction on Phase II of the
plan began, with hopes of a spring 2013 completion date in mind. However, the
completion of Phase II has been pushed back, due to inclement weather
conditions.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: justify; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12.0pt;">“Phase II had to be put on hold because of the
winter and the weather outside,” said Terry Richard, PUSH Buffalo board member.
“But it should be completed by the summer, so they are going to start back up again
in the spring, which is coming soon.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: justify; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12.0pt;">When construction resumes, a multipurpose
playing field, handball courts, pathways, and a second entrance to the park on Lawrence
Street will be built. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: justify; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12.0pt;">“We’re putting in a multipurpose field so the
children can play soccer, football, and volleyball and that’s going to be
fenced around,” said Richard. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: justify; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12.0pt;">Since the completion of Phase I and the
beginning of Phase II construction, the park has become a site for community
events, as well as organization events. According to Lonnie Barlow, Communications
coordinator at PUSH Buffalo, the organization tries to house as many events in
the park as possible to draw attention the park.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: justify; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12.0pt;">“We’ve had little league soccer events at the
park amongst other things,” Barlow said. “We try to have these events to let
people know that the park is safe and active.” <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: justify; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12.0pt;">When Phase II is complete in June, members of
the community will be able to celebrate yet another milestone in the
redevelopment efforts. Richard says she hopes that the work that has been done
by the PUSH Buffalo organization and the City of Buffalo will not go unnoticed,
and that the community will continue to work together to maintain the park.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: justify; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12.0pt;">“I would really like to see more appreciation
from the community and I think we’re getting there now since they have a hand
in what’s going on, a hand in helping to make these developments,” Richard
said. <o:p></o:p></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12.0pt;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12.0pt;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12.0pt;">Terry Richard, on the PUSH Buffalo's park plans: </span><br />
<iframe frameborder="no" height="166" scrolling="no" src="https://w.soundcloud.com/player/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fapi.soundcloud.com%2Ftracks%2F82908574" width="100%"></iframe><br />
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: justify; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12.0pt;">Upon the completion of Phase II, Phase III will
begin with the hopes of bringing the vision of the organization and that of the
community, full circle. However, funding for Phase III has not yet been
disclosed and construction plans have not yet been put in place. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: justify; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12.0pt;">According to Andrew Rabb, Deputy Commissioner of
Parks & Recreation, it is undetermined at this time what the Phase III
process will involve. Nonetheless, they continue to meet with the community to
meet their needs.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: justify; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12.0pt;">Rabb said that his expectations for the future
of the park are a safer, greener and sustainable park that the neighborhood can
be proud of.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<!--EndFragment-->Bengal News Editorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03209451649003025385noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7581853382389692803.post-31197553641663609902013-03-13T14:11:00.001-07:002013-03-13T14:36:24.112-07:00At-risk youth find hope at Westside Wheels<style> <!--
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<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Times; font-size: 12.0pt;"><b>By Aaron Garland
and Brandon Schlager</b></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Times; font-size: 12.0pt;"><b><i>BengalNews
Reporters</i></b></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Times; font-size: 12.0pt;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>When
Rev. John Mack sees Carl Hooks, it reminds him of his own past.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Times; font-size: 12.0pt;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>Before
he started working for Westside Wheels two years ago, there wasn’t much left
for Hooks. His older brother was in prison, his father nonexistent and he was
in and out of treatment every other week, it seemed, whenever his anger flared
up beyond his control.</span><span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"><br />
<span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span></span><span style="font-family: Times; font-size: 12.0pt;">He couldn’t rely on the streets for
support. He’d end up like his brother. That’s when Hooks, 23, found his escape.
He turned to a local business where dozens of other West Side teenagers and
young adults have gone to gain work experience in search of a better life.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span><span style="color: windowtext; font-family: Times; text-decoration: none; text-underline: none;">Westside
Wheels, located inside the New to You thrift store building at 289 Grant St.,</span></span><span style="font-family: Times; font-size: 12.0pt;"> is one of three businesses operated
by <a href="http://www.otjministries.org/businesses.html">On the Job Ministries</a>, a division of Westside Ministries, which provides
on-the-job training for at-risk youth like Hooks.</span><span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"><br />
<span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span></span><span style="font-family: Times; font-size: 12.0pt;">Since its establishment in 2005,
Westside Wheels’ mission to salvage, repair and resell bicycles at affordable
costs was being carried out inside the dark, cramped basement of the thrift
store. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Times; font-size: 12.0pt;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>After
years of growth, the bike shop is preparing to branch out even further with a
new location directly across the street at 286 Grant St.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjUIjM_s6M0IVwLp6TSCsvz-MLK1JEYBPAI3eX-1p8065-XLZUeGR3NGN3dNVlYCBS7QsEqh_IQL4n7cFXPpfl7nlBJ__jlQ5drqLooBcfLuZdqGhTm5GoMsbCShzBcDLUYmFT2MxDmXno/s1600/photo.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjUIjM_s6M0IVwLp6TSCsvz-MLK1JEYBPAI3eX-1p8065-XLZUeGR3NGN3dNVlYCBS7QsEqh_IQL4n7cFXPpfl7nlBJ__jlQ5drqLooBcfLuZdqGhTm5GoMsbCShzBcDLUYmFT2MxDmXno/s200/photo.JPG" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Rev. John Mack</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span style="font-family: Times; font-size: 12.0pt;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>Mack,
or “Pastor John,” as he is referred to by employees, has been a part of
Westside Wheels since it opened and now serves as its manager. He, too,
overcame a life of crime and violence before a similar organization took him in
off the streets when he was younger.</span><span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"><br />
<span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span></span><span style="font-family: Times; font-size: 12.0pt;">It changed his life. Now, he’s
returning the favor, mentoring young workers like Hooks. </span><span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"><br />
<span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span></span><span style="font-family: Times; font-size: 12.0pt;">“I was at the point in my life where
I only saw two ways out: jail or death. And so I made a change and this is the
change that I made,” Mack said. “It was the first check in my life I ever had.
To be able to take the piece of paper with my name on it and go to the bank, it
was an awesome feeling, a feeling I’ll never forget. And because I never forgot
that feeling, I want a lot of other young men and young women have that same
feeling.”</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Times; font-size: 12.0pt;">Rev. Mack on Westside Wheels impact on Hooks: </span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Times; font-size: 12.0pt;"><iframe frameborder="no" height="166" scrolling="no" src="https://w.soundcloud.com/player/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fapi.soundcloud.com%2Ftracks%2F81757997" width="100%"></iframe></span><br />
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Times; font-size: 12.0pt;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>On
the Job Ministries employs as many as 25 to 30 young adults at any given time
across its three businesses, most between the ages of 18 and 25. </span><span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"><br />
<span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span></span><span style="font-family: Times; font-size: 12.0pt;">Westside Wheels operates solely on
bikes donated by area churches, schools and businesses. All proceeds from the
shop are forwarded to Westside Ministries, which redistributes the money into
the West Side throughout its many programs.</span><span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"><br />
<span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span></span><span style="font-family: Times; font-size: 12.0pt;">A program through the Erie County
Social Services department called </span><span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"><span style="color: windowtext; font-family: Times; text-decoration: none; text-underline: none;"><a href="http://www2.erie.gov/socialservices/index.php?q=pivot-program">Placing Individuals in Vital Opportunity Training</a>,</span></span><span style="font-family: Times; font-size: 12.0pt;"> or PIVOT, reimburses Westside
Wheels for the wages of its employees, allowing paychecks of up to 30 hours per
week at minimum wage.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Times; font-size: 12.0pt;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>The
shop’s expansion, made possible through large donations by PUSH-Buffalo and
other private donors, will allow for more space to repair and display the
bikes. It also means more opportunities for youth to escape the streets and
work inside a nurturing atmosphere.</span><span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"><br />
<span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span></span><span style="font-family: Times; font-size: 12.0pt;">“There are a lot of different
circumstances that the young people that come in here to work are dealing
with,” said Rebecca Ballard, interim program director for On the Job
Ministries. “We offer them a chance to see themselves as a whole person and
recognize maybe stuff going on at home is pretty difficult. We want to show
them that we care about them, and we want to work with them and help them to
have a successful experience here and to look toward setting goals for what’s
next.”</span><span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"><br />
<span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span></span><span style="font-family: Times; font-size: 12.0pt;">For Hooks, working for Westside
Wheels has likely been the difference between a normal life and a life behind
bars -- or worse.</span><span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: Times; font-size: 12.0pt;">Mack said it’s the transformation of
kids like Hooks that makes the program worthwhile.</span><span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"><br />
<span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span></span><span style="font-family: Times; font-size: 12.0pt;">“Carl is the type of person who
needs to be steered in the right direction. If he mixed with the wrong people,
he would probably be somebody we would be watching on the news at night. But
because the doors are open here, it helps him," Mack said.</span><span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"><br />
<span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span></span><span style="font-family: Times; font-size: 12.0pt;">“We get a lot of people here like
Carl who are really hurting hard and they need someone to just spend some time
with them, put their arms around them, pull them in, show them the ropes, show
them what they need to go in the work force and change their lives. And it
works. This program works.”<a href="http://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=7581853382389692803" name="_GoBack"></a></span></div>
Bengal News Editorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03209451649003025385noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7581853382389692803.post-56655856822667579142012-12-11T15:34:00.003-08:002012-12-11T15:43:04.479-08:00W.S. programs aim to help teenage refugees<style>
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<b>By Kristin Ritch and Jasmine Willis</b><br />
<i><b>BengalNews Reporters</b> </i><br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;">When 14-year-old Nepali Hemanta Adhikari came to America
three years ago, she was afraid, overwhelmed and didn’t know where to turn to
for help.</span>
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>She is not alone. Just like her, many other refugees her
age are stepping off a plane into a whole new life and culture. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>Like any other teenager, Adhikari was nervous to start high school<span style="color: red;"></span>. She had to start fresh,
make new friends and
prepare for a harder education. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;">Programs are being formed to help these refugee
teenagers in the West Side adjust to American higher education. <span style="color: red;"></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>The programs Making a Connection, Education Purpose
Integrity and Courage, and the organization West Side Ministries all work with these refugees’ teens to help them
keep up with Americans their age and adjust to the different lifestyle. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>The program<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"></span><span style="color: red;"> </span>Making a Connection<span style="color: red;"></span> <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"></span>is led by Lead Youth Coach,
Mindy Ramey. This program, with help from a $350,000 <span style="color: red;"></span>grant received from New York State, started up Sept. 1 and is
going strong. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;">Mindy Ramey, on the Making a Connection program: </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;"><iframe allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen" frameborder="0" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/riJXa-p70Z8" width="560"></iframe> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>MAC, located in St. Lawrence Academy on Saint Lawrence Avenue, takes<span style="color: red;"></span> up a room that holds 24 students that represent
nine different countries. The age ranges of these students are unlike American
high school students. These students range anywhere from 16 to 21 years old. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>The lessons start at 9 a.m. and end at 2 p.m. with a one-<span style="color: red;"></span>hour lunch break. The students get five hours
of G.E.D. preparation, vocational training, English language instruction, college preparation and community
orientation training. <span style="color: red;"></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>“The great part of
it is the freedom, Buffalo Public Schools are not telling them how much time
they can spend on different subjects,” Ramey said. “We have the freedom of
time, the freedom of time is the amazing part of the program.” </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>Ramey said that none of the teachers are certified
English as a second language (ESL) teachers. They are all just trying to get
these teens up the academic level they need to be at for high school. One of
the exercises at MAC to help these youths enhance their literacy involves
journaling for 20 minutes about anything they want to write about in their own
language. This is meant to teach them flow in writing, and will eventually get
them to translate them into a basic essay.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>Another Program geared towards helping these youths is
called EPIC. Education Purpose Integrity and Courage embodies the goals of the
students. Claire Essley, director of<span style="color: red;"> </span>education
for Jericho Road Ministries, runs this program. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>To check out other refugee programs and opportunities
offered through Jericho Road go to their website, </span><a href="http://www.jrm-buffalo.org/"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;">http://www.jrm-buffalo.org/</span></a><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;">. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>This program is different from MAC because the
participating students are not there to prepare for their G.E.D.s and are not there all
day. This is an after school program that helps students adjust to the Buffalo
Public High Schools. It helps them keep up with the American students so they
don’t fall too far behind. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>“There are dozens of programs all over the city ranging
from kids that have just stepped off the airplane and are completely shell
shocked, and just helping them get acculturated,” Essley said. “This program is
targeting students who have been in the country for two to five years.”</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>West Side Ministries has bought many homes on the West
Side to renovate for these programs.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>EPIC also teaches these youths creative arts. One example
of that is a mural the students painted on the wall of the living room. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>These students have to find their own means of
transportation there and currently there are only four students participating
since the program began in October. The goal is to get at least 12 students
soon. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"></span>Adhikari can speak five different languages. She is
learning Burmese right now, and can already speak Hindi, English, Nepali and a
little Spanish. She misses her own country and hopes to go see her family there
soon, but is learning to adjust to Buffalo with a little help from her friends
at EPIC.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>“I really like this program, they really help me a lot,”
said Adhikari. “I make new friends and I learn about their society." <i>Edited by Caitlin Waters</i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span><span style="color: red;"><br /></span></span></div>
Bengal News Editorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03209451649003025385noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7581853382389692803.post-16323965611544444772012-12-06T14:07:00.001-08:002012-12-06T17:01:33.662-08:00On the Job Ministries puts youth to work<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhI3bMnW4hFISnyPaOKuCBK1u0hfSwb9v_kVU23KliGA-7uSlef-yt-PB_lUPzD2uY0vfO4sNinzmLpcGwJwbU2crQYd7wqGkpyZzlw7zB7y7RnmmF3cCCOQsALQmo97ovc-9mpOaXzJxI/s1600/Untitled.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="232" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhI3bMnW4hFISnyPaOKuCBK1u0hfSwb9v_kVU23KliGA-7uSlef-yt-PB_lUPzD2uY0vfO4sNinzmLpcGwJwbU2crQYd7wqGkpyZzlw7zB7y7RnmmF3cCCOQsALQmo97ovc-9mpOaXzJxI/s320/Untitled.png" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Cambria; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: Cambria; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">Takara Owens sorts through clothing at New To You</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span style="font-family: Cambria; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: Cambria; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;"></span>
<b>By Jessica Chetney</b><br />
<b>and Jessica Goodridge</b><br />
<i><b>BengalNews Reporters</b></i><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>Many
West Side organizations focus on helping residents find employment in today’s
troubling economy. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">And then there’s </span><a href="http://www.otjministries.org/"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">On the Job Ministries</span></a><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">
(OTJ) </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">This organization
primarily focuses on providing jobs for young adults, ages 16-24. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"><span style="color: red;"></span><b>"</b>We have some students who are still in high
school, who work after school and on Saturdays,"<span style="color: red;"></span>
said Rebecca Ballard, assistant director of OTJ Ministries. "We usually have between two to three after
school positions. They often come from Lafayette, McKinley, and other local
high schools."<span style="color: red;"></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">The ministries have
created three small local businesses to help lower unemployment rates.
According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the Buffalo-Niagara region’s
unemployment rate is at 8.4 percent. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">These small local
businesses are New To You, Soapworks, and Westside Wheels located at 289 Grant
St. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">"<span style="color: red;"></span> I think there’s a need for more organizations
like this,"<span style="color: red;"></span> Ballard said. "<span style="color: red;"></span>There’s definitely a need, not only for things
to do, but I like that we are offering them a job and are actually paying them
while they are training. There are some job organizations that give you the
training, but you don’t necessarily get a paycheck."<span style="color: red;"></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">They also work with
social services through the Placing Individuals in Vital Opportunity Training
program (</span><a href="http://www2.erie.gov/socialservices/index.php?q=pivot-program"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">PIVOT</span></a><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">)
to provide jobs for people who are on cash assistance as well.</span></div>
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div.WordSection1
{page:WordSection1;} </style><span style="font-family: Cambria; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: Cambria; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">Rebecca Ballard of On the Job Ministries
discusses recruitment:</span>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"><iframe frameborder="no" height="166" scrolling="no" src="https://w.soundcloud.com/player/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fapi.soundcloud.com%2Ftracks%2F68050232" width="100%"></iframe> </span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">Soapworks, one of the
businesses created by OTJ Ministries, is a natural blend of rich oils and
aromatic fragrances produced on the West Side at the Lafayette Presbyterian
Church. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">"We work with the young women to teach them how
to make the soap, how to package it, and how to market it," Ballard said. "We also go to craft fairs during the holidays to sell our soap. It gets our
name out there."<span style="color: red;"></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">Kierra Pierre, warehouse coordinator <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"></span><span style="color: red;"></span> at the New To You shop, is just one example of how life changing this
program is.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">Pierre started her
journey with OTJ Ministries as a high school student working at Soapworks.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">" It was a struggle for sure," said Rose Gandy, her co-worker and store manager
at New To You. "<span style="color: red;"></span> It is really difficult in
this neighborhood honestly, because they have so many friends. It was
interesting to see how she stood up and said, ‘I need to do this for myself’. " </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">Pierre has been working
with OTJ Ministries for four years now and is making plans for a bright future. <span style="color: red;"></span> <span style="color: red;"></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">"She’s very talented. She has matured
astronomically,"<span style="color: red;"></span> Gandy said. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>"It’s a great program to help develop your
skills," Pierre said. "I want to go to college for business management
and hopefully open my own business."<span style="color: red;"></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>Pierre
also said that working with the program has given her a sense of faith. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>OTJ
Ministries hopes to see more young adults develop life long skills to be used
in the professional world. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>"She has taught me a lot. She has been here so
she knows the functions, where I might have a different area that I may be okay
in, but she knows everything all around,"
Gandy said.<span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>"She is irreplaceable."<span style="color: red;"></span> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;">
<br /></div>
Bengal News Editorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03209451649003025385noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7581853382389692803.post-633429031684499722012-11-18T18:45:00.000-08:002012-11-18T19:03:58.101-08:00PUSH mural to brighten Grant St. offices<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhg05hXt0EXTKdUVCF7Iou6gKC-Czn3yeqGxqCyrzKtYLLcuAQP9_lJ3ph2yhM7UxD9byyrzlxovpqaWqfEZo4OJLIIOHQshkirelOiqOIV9P_r5nsFPVQy9FYBlvXF_DHv8EdX4q3fji8/s1600/Untitled.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhg05hXt0EXTKdUVCF7Iou6gKC-Czn3yeqGxqCyrzKtYLLcuAQP9_lJ3ph2yhM7UxD9byyrzlxovpqaWqfEZo4OJLIIOHQshkirelOiqOIV9P_r5nsFPVQy9FYBlvXF_DHv8EdX4q3fji8/s320/Untitled.png" width="257" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Brittney McClain outside PUSH and MAP offices</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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</style> <b>By Sara O'Brien and James Wright</b><br />
<i><b>BengalNews Reporters</b></i><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: Times;">PUSH Buffalo’s plain, sterile exterior at the Grant
Street location will soon be given a fresh and new artistic look.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Times;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>The dark brick and intimidating façade is not the best
impression placed upon people within the community. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Times;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>This building which PUSH and the Massachusetts Avenue
Project currently call home, was originally built in the 1960s<span style="color: red;"></span> as a library. After decades of use in the
community, the library was forced to close due to budget cuts around the area. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: Times;">Many
people in the community were upset about the closings, but it was a blessing in
disguise for both PUSH and MAP <span style="color: red;"></span> Since both
organizations were looking for a building to call their own, they looked to the
closing as an opportunity. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: Times;">In
2005 shortly after the closing, the two organizations moved in and discovered
that the building was not in good condition. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: Times;">When
she started in 2009, community center Director <span style="color: red;"></span> Janice Li, recalls an atmosphere of broken windows, peeling paint,
and lack of work being completed toward renovations. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>With hard work and funding from Councilman
David Rivera<span style="color: red;">,</span> Li
and others from the Grant Street location, were able to make enough
improvements to the building which generated positive attention and lead to the
rise of the community center. </span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Times;">Janice Li discusses the steps taken to get a mural to grace PUSH and MAP offices: </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: Times;"><iframe frameborder="no" height="166" scrolling="no" src="http://w.soundcloud.com/player/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fapi.soundcloud.com%2Ftracks%2F65376880&show_artwork=true" width="100%"></iframe> </span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Times;">During
the first few months, Li <span style="color: red;"></span>explained how the community center was not getting more
than five visitors a day. Slowly as improvements were being made, more funding
lead to the addition of computers, board games and organization of book shelves
that were left behind. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: Times;">Britney
McClain, development director, agrees on the issue of the building’s
appearance.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: Times;">“Personally
when I was first interviewed and hired, I sort of passed it myself,” she said.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: Times;">With
some of the funds left over from the “Street Scape” program which allocated
$60,000 to improve streets along Grant Street, a professional mural has been
decided to replace the cold brick façade of the PUSH building. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: Times;">The
housing director presented the mural idea to three local artists who were all
given a chance to make their proposal for the project. Max Collins, who is
known for his invigorating and wall based murals, was the chosen artist to take
on the task.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: Times;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>According to Li, “The money is all there, the
artist is there, and the approval has been made. We are just waiting for the
final consent.” </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: Times;">Overall
the goal for this new project is to generate more uplifting attention to the
area. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: Times;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>On a busy day according to Li and McClain,
there can be a range of 30 to 50 visitors coming to the center. By adding this
mural, they hope this will increase the awareness and bring a more positive
outlook toward the Grant Street community. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: Times;">An
expert on advertising and professor of Journalism and Media Studies at Buffalo
State College, Dr. Michael I. Niman focuses on the way propaganda impacts
consumer culture. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: Times;">“The
mural will help the business stand out visually. Also, something like that will
raise community spirit,” he said. <i>Edited by Chanice Johnson</i></span></div>
Bengal News Editorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03209451649003025385noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7581853382389692803.post-57263803130504226842012-11-18T17:56:00.001-08:002012-11-18T18:10:14.994-08:00West Side takes action to prevent violence<style>
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</style><b>By Chanice Johnson and Jennine Taberski</b><br />
<i><b>BengalNews Reporters</b></i><br />
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"></span><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;">According
to Sean Mulligan, legislative aide to
Councilman David Rivera,
the Niagara District has been working with the Buffalo Police Department to
ensure that arrests are being made and the affects of gangs on the West Side
are decreasing.</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;">“We
work directly with residents who will call about high levels of violence in the
area and this information is then passed on to the police department in order
for them to start conducting investigations,” said Mulligan.</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;">The
Niagara District also works with the Department of Citizen Services through a
program called Save Our Streets. Within that program, Operation Clean-Sweeps
holds<span style="color: red;"> <span style="color: black;">day </span></span>projects where people are involved to clean up particular streets where violence,
poverty <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"></span>and housing code violations are prevalent.</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;">“So far
we have done three clean sweeps in the Niagara District this year to make the
West Side a safer and more appealing area to live,” said Mulligan. </span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;">“We
sponsor the </span><a href="http://gsnc.tumblr.com/"><span style="color: blue; font-size: 12pt;">Grant Street Neighborhood
Center</span></a><span style="font-size: 12pt;"> and
other programs that provide safe places for children with an effort to keep
them off of the streets and away from the violence,” said Mulligan.</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;">Six
organizations including Stop the Violence Coalition collaborated to form the
Peacemakers Gang Intervention Program. This program is aimed to uplift the city
and put a halt to the chaos and violence that has placed Buffalo in the
rankings for being one of the most dangerous cities in the nation. </span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;">
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</span></span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman";"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman";"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman";">Pastor James
Giles of Back to Basics Outreach Ministries Inc.<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"> on</span> changing
the attitudes about violence on the West Side:</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman";"> </span><span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;"><iframe frameborder="no" height="166" scrolling="no" src="http://w.soundcloud.com/player/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fapi.soundcloud.com%2Ftracks%2F65363459&show_artwork=true" width="100%"></iframe> </span></span></div>
<br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;">According
to Murray Holman, executive director
of Stop the Violence Coalition, out of the 41 homicides reported this year,
half of them occurred on the West Side. </span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;">The
diverse backgrounds and mixed cultures within the West Side bring a very
different and complex form of violence. As a result, certain gang members who
come to America are bringing more hateful tactics and ways to commit violent
crimes from their cultures back home. </span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;">“Unlike
other gangs throughout the city, different crimes and homicides committed in
the area are not being reported,” said Holman. “People within these communities
remain introvert and only speak out against violence during times of desperation.”
</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;">At a </span><a href="http://voice-buffalo.org/Violence.html"><span style="color: blue; font-size: 12pt;">VOICE-Buffalo Inc</span></a><span style="font-size: 12pt;">., meeting held on Oct. 28. Pastor James Giles, president and CEO of Back to Basics Outreach
Ministries, a program also in collaboration for the Peacemakers Gang
Intervention Program, expanded upon ways to prevent the eruption of violence
within the city. </span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;">“We
came up with an initiative to come together and expand ourselves throughout the
community because violence is always a step ahead of us,” said Giles. </span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;">Mayor
Byron Brown also expressed his support of the Peacemakers Gang Intervention
Program that creates awareness about violent acts and provides preventative
measures within the city by allocating $78,000 towards it.</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;">“We
will follow the examples of successful programs in Providence and Boston and
will come up with a program tailored towards specific needs for the City of
Buffalo,” Brown said. <i>Edited by Jessica Chetney</i></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: .5in;">
<br /></div>
Bengal News Editorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03209451649003025385noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7581853382389692803.post-65370963015934171532012-11-12T14:13:00.001-08:002012-11-12T14:17:35.423-08:00Community works to dispel negative image <b><span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">By Brian Alexander and Jennifer Waters</span></b><br />
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><i><b>BengalNews Reporters</b></i></span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">Forbes Magazine recently rated
Buffalo as the 10th most dangerous
city in the nation.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">Michele
Graves, the community program associate for the Center for Health and Social
Research at Buffalo State College, said several public and community
organizations are working with certain neighborhoods that tend to be viewed as
crime-ridden areas, such as the West Side, to improve the community’s
well-being. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">According to crimereports.com,
there were 24 assaults, 46 thefts, 27 burglaries, one multiple case involving
assault and 14 multiple cases involving theft on the West Side from Oct.
1 to Oct. 30.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;">
<br /></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiw9aCNZPwM_1YRZokMONSsud3o3vv2SGe2wIWPs4LEx2rjDc2yTVkQV40pBWrz0vsuJMsbcV3IWXggWzMtwG-CWDkD2Mm0uBR3HPhA9PXj4WHc-s8Eea4_FSPKXZuJKGuiOTnrJlQajSk/s1600/mural_photo.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiw9aCNZPwM_1YRZokMONSsud3o3vv2SGe2wIWPs4LEx2rjDc2yTVkQV40pBWrz0vsuJMsbcV3IWXggWzMtwG-CWDkD2Mm0uBR3HPhA9PXj4WHc-s8Eea4_FSPKXZuJKGuiOTnrJlQajSk/s400/mural_photo.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Murals, like this one by the West Side Youth Development Coalition, help stop graffiti</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"> </span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">Sean Mulligan, legislative aid to
Buffalo Common Councilmember David Rivera, said the Niagara district is working
with the Buffalo Police Department and the Commission of Citizen Services to
implement a block-by-block approach to addressing criminal behavior in the
neighborhood. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">Beginning in 2008, Mulligan said
the groups have been focusing on different sections of the West Side, starting
with Richmond Avenue and working west street-by-street. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">“We’re trying to focus in on
problem areas and putting in a number of resources to see that those areas
improve,” he said.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">Mulligan said the number one
criminal issue on the West Side is drug dealing. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">Some of the strategies Mulligan said they are looking at to
combat this problem include more strictly enforcing property code and cleaning
up run-down neighborhoods to improve community morale.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">In addition to the city’s efforts,
many community groups are involved in preventing crime by promoting
constructive social behaviors. The West Side Youth Development Coalition is one
such group.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">Graves, who is involved with the
coalition, said the coalition has been working on a social norms piece by
distributing posters with four messages about parenting, which have been
developed over the past year, stating that social norms need to be enforced for
their children. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">“This is all to remind parents that
you have responsibilities that start at home,” Graves said.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">She said most parents feel they can
rely entirely on the schools to provide these tools for kids, along with
messages about guns and drugs. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">National Night Out, which is always
held the first Tuesday in August, was a daytime event held at the West Side
Community Center where roughly 100 kids spend their summer days.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">“We’re trying to give kids healthy
alternatives to hanging out on corners. Simple things like relay races, balloon
races, jump rope, and eating healthy foods, all interspersed with crime
prevention and safety tips,” Graves said.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">Graves said she credits part of the
negative thoughts toward the West Side to the media.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">“I think that when things happen
and it’s reported in the media, all of a sudden people say ‘That’s not a safe
area,’” Graves said. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">When talking about the geographic
area of the West Side, Graves said there are too many different neighborhoods
to take into consideration, including transitional and wealthy neighborhoods.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">She said she feels that if all
people hear and see reported in the media is the West Side in reference to a
crime, people ignore the fact that the same crimes are happening in areas like
Amherst and Orchard Park.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">“You just don’t see it because they
don’t report it the way we do,” she said. “Also, municipal police departments,
suburban ones, tend to be a little more insular about what happens.”</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">She also said she feels that crime
stories are more widely reported in the city, particularly on the West Side,
drawing more negative attention.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">Graves said supervised activities
like sidewalk chalk drawings and other art projects for kids will provide
outlets for any potential negative activities.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">“Sort of the other end of it, the
positive end of that, would be alternatives. Making beautiful murals like
they’ve put along the walkway on Scajaquada Creek and one planned on the West
Side on the side of a business,” she said. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">Mulligan said getting people
involved would instill a sense of pride and responsibility, which will help
residents look out for one another.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">“The more people are out, watching
things, the less likely criminal activity will occur because there are more
eyes out acting as a neighborhood watch. I think that’s really the best way to
decrease criminal activity and increase the perceptions of the community,” he
said.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><i>Edited by Crissie
Russo</i><span style="font-style: normal;"> </span></span></div>
Bengal News Editorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03209451649003025385noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7581853382389692803.post-31463102210300524752012-11-07T13:20:00.003-08:002012-11-11T19:51:54.130-08:00Cooking program helps refugees assimilate<b>By Lakisha Forde and Narmeen Karzoun</b><br />
<i><b>BengalNews Reporters </b></i><br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman";"> Julia Child may
not have envisioned these students when it came time to teach a cooking class,
but then again, she wasn’t teaching refugees.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span><a href="http://www.jersbuffalo.org/">Journey’sEnd</a> sponsors a six-week cooking program that teaches refugees simple kitchen
tasks such as using a knife and measuring ingredients. The vocational training
class was created for members to learn essential job skills.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>“Learning is as sweet as American
cookies,” said Ismail Altaim, a refugee from Iraq that participates in the
program.</span></div>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi4dcr7Gc1Wr3AMcuzYBmlHNK1ouNeseTcNJ5e7Oujuhqm2580hvNsqV5YwLpu2jsitfEmOoSc_DUdkPT6DT9EuneHH6WjHUUtgHIM6ezfsfuQ8JYGIDRY9fIHAQlkvnpnueiOojL-609A/s1600/photo.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi4dcr7Gc1Wr3AMcuzYBmlHNK1ouNeseTcNJ5e7Oujuhqm2580hvNsqV5YwLpu2jsitfEmOoSc_DUdkPT6DT9EuneHH6WjHUUtgHIM6ezfsfuQ8JYGIDRY9fIHAQlkvnpnueiOojL-609A/s400/photo.JPG" width="297" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span id="ctl00_contentArea_lblSubmissionText">Ahmad Ismail, a refugee from Iraq</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Centered on equipping immigrants with
skills specific to the food industry, the class was funded by a state grant and
began in January. The program is free for participants. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"></span>“The class gives refugees big benefits
including giving them an insight into what work in the United States is like,
especially since many of our refugees have never had a job,” said Jeff Ogilvie,
Employment Services Coordinator of Journey’s End. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>Not
only does the class teach <a href="http://www.volunteermatch.org/search/index.jsp?r=20.0&aff=&categories=41&l=Buffalo%2C+NY%2C+USA">refugees</a> skills to apply in the labor force, Ogilvie
said that it also teaches the work ethic within an established kitchen. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>“It
is a really good program because not only do they learn how to cook in the class,
but the instructor also adds an ESL component by teaching them vocabulary
words,” Ogilvie said. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The
students learn basic equipment procedures and the names of kitchenware they can
identify in the work force. They also learn work procedures such as calling in
sick or punching in and out of a time clock. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>“We
also encourage the participants to share their country’s customs and cook their
own food so I could learn about it and we could also come together as a class,”
said class instructor Steve Doherty.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The
program sees participants from various countries such as Iraq, Nepal and Burma.
The students meet three times a week in the kitchen of the Lunchbox, a
restaurant located within the same building as the organization at 2495 Main St.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span><br />
<br />
<h4>
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"><span id="ctl00_contentArea_lblSubmissionText">Amy McCarthy,
president/CEO of the LunchBox, talks about <span style="font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">the</span> </span>Journey's End culinary class:</span></span></span></h4>
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"><iframe frameborder="no" height="166" scrolling="no" src="http://w.soundcloud.com/player/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fapi.soundcloud.com%2Ftracks%2F64519495&show_artwork=true" width="100%"></iframe> </span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>“The
Lunchbox has been very supportive by allowing us to use their kitchen and their
equipment,” Doherty said. “Sometimes the owners are not even here when we are,
so there is a lot of trust involved.”</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman";">The
refugees also help with food production for food sold at the Lunchbox.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Aside from trust, Doherty expressed that through the program,
relationships have been established by simple gestures.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman";">“I
truly enjoy working with people who come and in some cases, my students give me
little treats for my kids,” Doherty said. “It is little exchanges like that
that build mutual respect.”</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman";">Ogilvie
expressed that as a direct result of the program, an average of approximately
250 refugees are placed with a job each year.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;">“Because it is a state employment program,
when the students go through and finish the program, they will certainly be on
the radar when it comes to employers, and have a better chance at a job,”
Ogilvie said. <i>Edited by Tom Gallagher</i></span>
Bengal News Editorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03209451649003025385noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7581853382389692803.post-13737792225673876572012-11-07T12:50:00.000-08:002012-11-07T12:58:15.603-08:00Community Academic Center marks first year<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><b>By Shari Ingles and Mauree Vitali</b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><b><i>BengalNews</i> Reporters</b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"> A half a dozen wiggling children in the Community Academic Center’s visual arts program could be seen through the storefront window molding clay. However, there is more being molded inside than just clay.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"> Since the CAC opened last November, on 214 Grant St., it has molded the minds of youth and is continuing to build bonds of trust with several populations including other community organizations, neighborhood parents and children, and Buffalo State College students. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"> In doing this, the CAC has furthered its mission to coordinate and provide cradle-to-career educational support programming for youth and families on the West Side. Their mission has been made possible thanks to a $500,000 donation from Buffalo State College, class of 1950, graduate, Eleanore Woods Beals and her husband Vaughn Beals.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"> According to the CAC’s page on Buffalo State’s website, “The CAC is jointly operated by Buffalo State's Center for Excellence in Rural and Urban Education and the
This connection proved to be an advantage when it came to building trust and collaboration with other community organizations. Gaining the trust of parents proved to be more difficult. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"> “Since our program is so new, it can be challenging to convince parents in the West Side that we’re credible,” said Buffalo State AmeriCorps Community Service After-School CAC Volunteer, Marshay Berry, as she walked to the Grant Street Neighborhood Center to gather participants for the CAC’s evening activity.
Berry explained that the CAC works directly with well-established community groups such as the Grant Street Neighborhood Center, the Asarese-Matters Community Center, and Journey’s End Refugee Services. According to Berry, these bonds have greatly boosted CAC’s image as a reliable organization.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"> “Parents don’t want their kids to be supervised by just anyone,” said Berry. “Fortunately, our partnerships with other West Side organizations have really helped us to succeed in our goal of becoming a community organization that’s seen as credible.”</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"> Although the CAC has successfully gained the trust of surrounding community organizations, parents and children of the West Side, it is still struggling to earn the trust of Buffalo State students. The CAC is struggling to do this because of the popular student perception that Grant Street is a dangerous place to be. Berry believes this is a poorly founded misconception. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span id="goog_1532335516"></span><span id="goog_1532335517"></span> </span><br />
<iframe allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen" frameborder="0" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/Jm5tCyhc2W0" width="560"></iframe><br />
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</style>--><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Employees of the Community Academic
Center located, on 214 Grant St., discuss the misconceptions of Grant Street
and how the CAC is working to improve relations with Buffalo State College.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"> Berry said that in order to overcome the negative perception of Grant Street; students need to be exposed to more of the positive things that are happening in the area. The CAC already boasts a variety of volunteer opportunities for Buffalo State students, including Berry’s own position with the CAC. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"> However, Berry thinks that more can be done. She would like to see students take charge and experience Grant Street for themselves, so that their positive word-of-mouth can help engage other students. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"> Program Coordinator of the CAC, Maureen McCarthy, said the portion of Grant Street closest to Buffalo State is arguably the most intense area of the street; but she has never felt unsafe in the part of Grant Street where the CAC is located.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"> “Crime only happens in areas where people aren’t paying attention,” said McCarthy.
She agrees with Berry that securing the trust and confidence of Buffalo State students is the key to establishing the success of both the CAC and of the West Side.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"> “We’re not there to just sit and judge, but definitely to be a part of and help the change that is happening with our youth and with our community,” said Berry. “I was one of those students who was unaware of the great things that were happening on Grant, but my eyes have definitely been opened in this position.” <i>Edited by Jasmine Willis</i></span>Bengal News Editorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03209451649003025385noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7581853382389692803.post-23608134594677046072012-10-26T06:56:00.000-07:002012-10-26T07:07:42.723-07:00Grant aims to improve future of W.S. kids<style>
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<b>By Jessica Chetney and Chelsea Goodridge</b><br />
<i><b>BengalNews Reporters</b></i><br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;"> One of the most pressing
issues in today’s society is the future of our nation’s children and what we
can do to improve their chances of success.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span> Kids and their families alike on the West Side will
both be seeing changes that will have a positive effect on their futures. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;">Since
securing a five-year $625,000 grant in September, the Buffalo State College
Center of Health and Social Research along with many West Side organizations are
setting the groundwork to benefit West Side families.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>“The West Side Youth Development Coalition was awarded
the grant to reduce alcohol and drug abuse among youth (18 and younger) living
on the West Side of Buffalo,” said Jonathan Lindner, Center of Health and
Social Research (CHSR) analyst and coordinator of the grant and coalition. “Our
project will employ an environmental approach and include focus on the
development of new school and local government policies and youth-focused
norms.”</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>The “environmental approach” Lindner mentioned evolved
from a previous grant that funded a program called Project Safe Neighborhoods.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>“The main mechanism of the approach is to focus on people
who influence youth, such as parents and others who act in that role,” Lindner
said. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>To do this, the coalition has established a set of goals
to achieve success in their approach. The first goal is to change social norms
by developing parent-specific messages. The coalition also plans to change the physical
environment through the use of visual media, such as billboards to capture
parental attention. Lastly, the coalition would like to see an enhancement in
working alongside law enforcement.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>“We have a graffiti task force that goes out, looks for
graffiti and tags it as gang related,” said Alan Delmerico, research analyst
for the CHSR. “They make notes of that and they work with the block clubs and
civic organizations to try and get rid of those tags and improve the look of
the neighborhood while making it safe.” <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"><b>AUDIO:</b> Alan Delmerico</span></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"><span style="font-family: Cambria; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: Cambria; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">
discusses Project Safe Neighborhood</span> </span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"><a href="http://soundcloud.com/chelseagoodridge/west-side-youth-development?utm_source=soundcloud&utm_campaign=share&utm_medium=blogger&utm_content=http://soundcloud.com/chelseagoodridge/west-side-youth-development">West Side Youth Development Coalition</a>
</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span> </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;"> The West Side Youth Development Coalition (WSYDC) is
composed of 190 members that are divided into 12 different sectors. These sectors
range from community groups, law enforcement, and educational institutions to
health services, and everywhere in between. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>“One of our major partners in this grant is the West Side
Community Services organization,” Delmerico said. “They’re one of the most
prominent community groups we’ve worked with.”</span><br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhJ0vt1VnUpHPTibeVEjwvvliT74wNGn2oDdJ46mBkNvR_4dTqetjJuk7uKCuoaxtcGBSWxpeOqP_5HWIj0VQ67AWniQpdOwtXFqegR4qu4W0VIyfr8bLEzfKj4LkqW1xYh0BpkdxfMi2k/s1600/BARBER.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="204" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhJ0vt1VnUpHPTibeVEjwvvliT74wNGn2oDdJ46mBkNvR_4dTqetjJuk7uKCuoaxtcGBSWxpeOqP_5HWIj0VQ67AWniQpdOwtXFqegR4qu4W0VIyfr8bLEzfKj4LkqW1xYh0BpkdxfMi2k/s320/BARBER.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Darrell Barber, youth director, W.S. Community Services</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;"> According to Lucy Candelario, executive director of </span><a href="http://www.westsidecommunityservices.org/"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;">West
Side Community Services</span></a><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;">, the
grant will help fund some of the programs in the organization. Some of these
programs include Project Alert and Second Step, which welcome young children to
adolescents aged six to 12 in efforts to keep them off the streets and
influenced to stay in school. Academic tutoring, computer labs, open gyms and
game rooms are also available for the children as well. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>Although the West Side Community Center is only one
organization highlighted of the many within the coalition, Lindner explains
that the WSYDC uses many tactics to spread the word and get residents involved
with all the coalition’s organizations. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>“We recruit and advertise in several ways which include,
our </span><a href="http://www.wsydc.org/"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;">website,</span></a><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;"> Facebook, Twitter, and other printed media,”
Lindner said. “We also use word-of-mouth, which helps out tremendously in getting
our message out.” </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>Since the grant is projected to last five years, the WSYDC
plans to secure continued funding by applying for additional grants and public
donations. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>“We would like to have programs and policies in place
during the first five years that ensures sustainability long after the money
runs out,” Lindner said. <i>Edited by Max Borsuk</i></span></div>
Bengal News Editorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03209451649003025385noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7581853382389692803.post-72185749538448281182012-04-15T10:20:00.001-07:002012-04-15T10:44:03.048-07:00Youth police event teaches life skills<b>By Jacob Becker and Edward Mazzu<br />
<i>BengalNews Reporters</i></b><br />
The 17th Annual Youth Police Academy was held at Buffalo Police Headquarters on Saturday, March 24. The event hosted nearly 70 middle school students, many from the West Side, who had the opportunity to learn about making healthy choices and the dangers associated with drugs and crime.<br />
The Youth Police Academy was established at <a href="http://www.westsidecommunityservices.org/">West Side Community Services</a> when members of the Citizens Advisory Group to the Police Commissioner made the decision to try and reach middle school students and create positive interactions with local law enforcement.<br />
“We started out with just a few young kids and progressively have grown to where we are today,” said Danette Porto, human service coordinator at West Side Community Services and senior member of the citizens advisory group who developed the idea for the Youth Police Academy. “I am happy every year to do this. It’s a part of me now.” <br />
<br />
Youth Police Academy event at Buffalo Police Headquarters that featured an assortment of activities and training designed to help kids make better choices for their future:<br />
<iframe width="560" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/XFnJplyxkFk" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe><br />
<br />
The day started with a presentation by Detective Daniel Redmond of the <a href="http://www.bpdny.org/">Buffalo Police Department</a>. Redmond, who is also a member of the Drug Enforcement Agency Task Force, spoke to the kids about the dangers associated with drugs and the consequences that accompany a life of crime. <br />
“For people in the [West Side] neighborhood, if you are trying to raise your kids and your kid can’t ride a bike because there are 10 guys selling drugs out of the house next door, the neighborhood gets destroyed and nobody wants to live there,” said Redmond, who is in his second year with the Youth Police Academy. “It’s a huge problem, but people don’t want to talk about it.”<br />
The Youth Police Academy serves as an introductory course for students interested in learning about law enforcement and grants kids first-hand experience about the duties of a police officer. Students who complete the program will receive a graduation certificate and credit for community service. <br />
Past academy graduates, like Benjamin Gerald, 14, a freshman at Western New York Maritime Charter School, may then choose to become Police Explorer Scouts. The scouts are a drill team that competes with other departments nation-wide in basic law enforcement training, such as building searches. <br />
“I came to the Youth Police Academy in 2009 and was really interested in joining,” said Benjamin, who is aspiring to be in the United States Marine Corps. “I really like to compete and this program helps me to develop the skills I will need in my future.” <br />
Members of the <a href="http://www.buffalostate.edu/centers/CHSR/aboutcenter.shtml">Center for Health and Social Research</a> at Buffalo State College were also invited to give a presentation about making healthy lifestyle choices. The Center’s “Got Health” initiative stressed the importance of diet and daily exercise while striving to be happy. <br />
“It’s great every year to see these kids come in with their enthusiasm,” said Michele Graves, Community Coordinator for the Center for Health and Social Research. “We talked to them about college and how important it is to be healthy and stay away from crime.”<br />
The Youth Police Academy has positively impacted the lives of many children, some of whom have gone on to be police officers. For the kids who were in attendance, the invaluable lessons learned are vital to the life decisions they will face in the future. <br />
“Today I learned about drugs and to stay away from people who use them,” said Luis, an eighth grader at Hillery Park Academy. <i>Edited by Michael Canfield</i>Bengal News Editorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03209451649003025385noreply@blogger.com0