White Sulphur Springs, MT

The Meagher County 4-H Council and the Stevens Youth Center joined forces to clean up the Rodeo Grounds and a neighbor’s yard in connection with the Meagher County Community Foundation Cleanup Grants.  Thirty volunteers from the two organizations spent four hours in the drizzling rain picking up trash and clearing a neighbor’s yard of unwanted items that had accumulated over the years.  Altogether four truckloads of garbage were taken to the dump.  The two groups received a total of $500 for their efforts.  The 4-H Council will be using their portion of the funds to help defer the cost of ribbons, trophies and other awards associated with the 4-H Indoor and Outdoor Fairs.  The Fairs will take place on Saturday, August 9, 2008.  The Stevens Youth Center will use their portion of the funds to bring in visiting artists for summer workshops, open to all ages.  Look for further information on dates and locations and how you can join the fun.

The kids at the Stevens Youth Center were finally able to start planting their veggie garden.  They were given grant money to do so by the Meagher County Community Foundation in connection with the Horizons Across Montana program.  Master Gardener Melinda Vennard was kind enough to lend her expertise to the project.  We are in the process of building two more beds and hope that the gardening season will be kind to us this summer.  The food grown in these gardens will be used by the Youth Center summer program and the families of the kids who attend.  If we are able to produce enough food, we hope to get it out into the community to those who need it.  The Stevens Youth Center runs its free summer program for those going into K-6th grades every Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday from 10 am - 12 pm.  Call or email Bethany with questions, 547-KIDS (5437) or stevensyouthcenter@yahoo.com.

Thanks again for your help with this project.

bridges-out-of-poverty-ppt.pdfbridges-out-of-poverty-ppt.pdf

In looking at the work Horizons has done in WSS, the question may be asked, “What concrete steps has the community taken to address poverty?”  Through the visioning process, WSS identified that the primary means of addressing poverty in the community is to develop a sense of community pride.  The steering committee read some of the work of Ruby Payne in trying to better understand generational poverty and what we could do with Horizons that might impact the community long term. 

In the presentation that is attached, we learned that three of the four factors that Payne’s research identified for moving people out of poverty include: having a goal or vision, mentors or leaders that can be looked to for guidance, finding a specific talent or ability that an individual can use.  We have tried to develop actions that address these issues.

Community beautification was identified as an essential element of addressing the idea of having a future.  Through the visioning process, our community identified that the look and feel of our town communicates that we have little hope for the future.  The Horizons group felt that if we could raise the standard of how we look, we might help individuals to have hope and vision for the future as well.

In all of the work of Horizons, we have tried to recruit diverse groups of people to help us make things happen.  Because of this diversity, we have been able to draw together individuals who have never interacted in the past.  This idea of diverse groups has taken root in other aspects of the community, as the Horizons project demonstrated that there are many people who want to be involved, but need to be asked to participate.  Not only does this help everyone to network, but through this process individuals are able to identify skills and talents that they can use to help the community.

 Leadership Plenty further helped us to train new leaders that can help to guide people through change in the community.

We have also taken on the task of implementing a mutual-self help housing project in the community.  One project is reaching completion and others are slated to start rolling soon.  However, in this project, we have learned that some of the homes in our community are in such poor condition, the government programs cannot assist them.  (The costs for repair and renovation are too high to warrant given the condition of the structure.)  Therefore, we are applying for a planning grant to determine how we might remove the existing structures and develop new housing inventory that provides people with safe, energy-efficient places to live.

What resources are necessary to sustain the community’s efforts to reduce poverty?  The bottom line that emerged from Horizons is that we need to stimulate our economy.  Without jobs that pay a living wage and businesses that can afford to pay those wages, we cannot influence the fundamental lack of fiscal resources in our community.  However, the question of what economic stimulus in WSS looks like is not an easy topic to address.  The visioning process illustrated that our community does not want to recruit businesses that are inconsistent with our current culture.  Further, the community does not want to sacrifice its legitimate small town culture to attract tourists.  For now, our task is to make WSS the best place possible for the people who live here.  As Dan Shilling, director for Civic Tourism, pointed out to us during his presentation (following Study Circles), if we can make WSS a place we enjoy living in, economy will follow.  People will visit because they like being in a place that we are proud to call home.  Businesses will want to move to a community that shows a strong sense of itself. 

So the resources that we need are those that help us to become better at being who we are.  Community beautification is a huge component of that work.  Assistance with funding engineering work and other components of community planning would also help us toward that end.  Finally, understanding from funding sources that improving the look and feel of the community does change the nature of poverty in our community helps us to move both this community, and its economy, forward.

The first self-help rehabilitation housing project is ready for a fresh coat of paint!  The home is receiving two new energy efficient windows, a new roof, a new faucet, lead-based paint mitigation, and new GFI outlets.  The next step is to paint the exterior of the home.  Local youth, under the leadership of Gene Richeson, and several members of the MCCF board have agreed to meet at the home on May 29th to tackle the painting. 

The youth program is a genesis of study circles.  During study circles, the need for help around the community became clear.  A city council member suggested that youth who have been assigned community service should be able to help do work in the community.  The local coordinator of the youth community service program, Bj Hawkins, teamed up with Gene Richeson to provide supervision of youth who do work in town.  They do a number of projects in the community and are a great benefit for those in need.

meagher-county-community-foundation-minutes-041908.doc

Hit the following link to review the minutes from the April 29th MCCF Meeting.

The Meagher County Community Foundation awarded two $500 grants on May 19th, as part of the Community Clean Up Challenge.  The grants go to support two civic organizations that, in return for their help in cleaning up the community, will receive monies to support their organizations.

The Meagher County 4-H program/Stevens Youth Center joint application was the first award.  These youth have offered to clean up the local rodeo grounds - a summer draw for visitors to our community, who take part in the 4th of July Ranch Rodeo, the Labor Day Rodeo, and the 4-H fair.  These youth will also help a citizen in town to clean up the area around their house.  The youth plan to use their $500 to pay for expenses related to the 4-H fair, and also to bring some visiting artists to the Youth Center this summer.

The second grant was awarded to Smith River Health Ministries.  This group will clean three yards of citizens who would struggle to get their lawns, gardens, and flower beds cleaned up this summer.  In addition, this group plans to clean sidewalks, alleys, and other areas of town.  They will use their funds to pay for gas to take senior and disabled citizens to medical appointments out of town, for services that are not available locally.  The ministry notes in their application, “Many of our clients do not have cars, or are unable to drive.  We will use this grant money to assist with the cost of gas to drive out of town.  Many of our elderly clients are not able to afford to pay for gas, especially as prices are so high.  When a person is unable to pay for the gas, the Health Ministry assists them with the cost.”

The MCCF is thrilled to help these two organizations in their work to support our community, and looks forward to seeing the great clean up work that they complete.  These groups will be completing their projects in conjunction with the Clean-Up Days of May 31 and June 7, 2008.

The Meagher County Community Foundation and the Stevens Youth Center are pulling together to develop a small community garden.  The MCCF is donating $500 of capacity building funds to the Center to develop the garden.  The MCCF board and the youth center discussed developing a large garden, but given our very short growing season and the struggle to get things to grow when your community is a mile high, we decided to start small and build the concept.

 For now, the garden will be located behind the Youth Center.  The Youth Center kids will have a portion of the garden and will lease out plots to interested community members.  All produce will be donated to either the center or the food bank.  A full 50% of the youth who use the Center are from impoverished families.  This project will not only provide community garden space for the community, but will also allow kids to learn about growing food and being outside!

 Here’s to a good start on a great project!  Thanks to Bethany Steinken and the Youth Center Board for helping to make this project a reality!

Following the start of construction on the first mutual self-help housing project, five additional home owners have applied for assistance.  Of those, four applications have undergone the housing audit process and are going to bid!  These homes will get the fix ups they need to make them safer for the homeowners.  The audits check for things like asbestos and lead-based paints in the home, as well as for unsafe conditions or improvements that could help to reduce heating costs.

 Volunteers will be needed to help on some of these homes.  More to come on this awesome project!

The first mutual self-help housing project has begun in White Sulphur!  Working with the Northern Rocky Mountain RC&D and HRDC, a home has been identified for safety improvements and modifications that will help to weatherize the home and improve the structure.  The home was damaged in a recent wind storm, so topping the list for work to the home is a new roof.  The mutual self-help housing program offers grants and low-interest loans to low income households who need help in making their homes safe and weatherized.

Volunteers will be used to complete the painting of the home.  We’ll have to wait for warmer weather, but construction is underway for many of the other improvements!