| Hmong
American Partnership
Activity: Hmong Fitness Clubs and Seminars
Project Lead: May Thao-Schuck 651/235-1646
Hmong American Partnership Contact: Laura LaBlanc 651/495-1505
Brief Overview: The fitness clubs and seminars are one
activity in a continuum which represent our efforts to promote a development
of health and wellbeing consciousness with the local Hmong community.
Historically the Hmong led a physically active life with a very balanced
diet high in natural grains and vegetables. Living in balance was a natural
way of being. Life in the United States has brought a more sedentary life
style and a diet high in fats. At the same time emotional wellbeing has
been greatly challenged by dramatic change in economy and lifestyle and
the complex adjustment required for refugees of war. We are teaching excercise
as a means to support the community to be more deliberate about returning
to a physical way of life in an urban setting both for the benefits of
physical health and emotional wellbeing.
Goals of the Photoethnography project: With this opportunity
we hope to document our progress with the fitness clubs to touch the lives
of individuals in the community. We hope that by the end of the project
to have a photoethnography as well as a narrative ethnography which illustrates
the impact of the clubs on the community. These products will be used
to report to the State of Minnesota Department of Health about the outcomes
of our work on the Elimanating Health Disparities Intiative. This may
also help us secure on-going financial support for this important work,
as well as to help us celebrate the work currently done. In 2004, our
agency will be opening a new building, the Hmong American Center, on Arcade
in the heart of the Hmong community in St. Paul. A display of the photos
in this new site will make our programs more visible to the community
as well as serve as further public education about health and fitness. |
St.
Paul Public Housing Agency
Fieldsite Location: Wilson Hi-Rise, 1300 Wilson Street, St. Paul,
MN (Mapquest
Map)
-- (Located off Johnson Parkway and 3rd Street on St. Paul's east side.
Near HY 94 and HY 61.)
HI-RISE HERITAGE PROJECT
EXPLORING AND SHARING HERITAGE AS A TOOL TO
COMMUNITY-BUILDING IN A PUBLIC HOUSING HI-RISE
Goal: Create, organize and conduct a community-building
program in a multi-cultural, multi-age, low-income hi-rise where many
residents fail to fully accept, value or relate to each other. Students
will facilitate various types of activities/connections resulting in increased
acceptance, participation and sense of community between hi-rise residents.
Expectations:
I. Conduct Photoethnographic activities with residents, culminating in
a final Hi-Rise Resident Heritage Event.
Approach:
- Students will gain rapport, and get to know isolated residents, record
their life histories, and prepare willing residents to share their photos
and life stories at a final culminating Hi-Rise Heritage Celebration.
Students will play a major role in organizing the final building event
in coordination with the council, the Adopt a Hi-Rise corporation, and
PHA staff. Event can include multi-ethnic food, entertainment, etc.
- Explore and test different means of actively connecting residents
with each other to build the hi-rise community using life history focus
when useful.
- Create and experiment with different techniques to help residents
become acquainted with their neighbors. Form small heritage-sharing
sessions between residents who do not regularly participate in building
functions. Form other small groups/sessions as appropriate to facilitate
contact and develop relationships between residents.
- Facilitate residents' interest in their community which ultimately
leads to interest in participating in their Resident Council Meetings,
Adopt-A-Hi-Rise and other building activities.
- Prepare a simple, bulleted report at the end of the project describing
methods attempted and apparent results of efforts to join people of
different backgrounds toward a more cohesive community.
Supervision and Connections to Systems:
- Supervision by Public Housing EOD diversity coordinator and her supervisor.
- Participation on a planning committee consisting of the hi-rise's
adopting corporation, a consultant/leader of a conflict resolution group,
the manager, human services coordinator, PHA diversity staff and other
resource people.
- Monthly meetings with hi-rise manager and human services coordinator.
- Introduction to hi-rise council members and attendance at council
meetings.
- Attendance at umbrella organization's Hi-Rise Presidents Council.
- Introduction to a conflict resolution group meeting weekly in building.
- Introduction to the hi-rise's adopter, St. Paul Companies.
- Possible attendance at a Public Housing Board of Commissioners meeting.
- Exposure to county and other local social services programs serving
low-income residents in the community.
- Exposure to the organizational structure of the St. Paul Public Housing
Agency and its relationship to the City of St. Paul and the U.S. Department
of Housing and Urban Development.
Measurement of Success:
- Degree of increased attendance at council meetings, Adopt-A-Hi-Rise
activities and other building activities compared to beginning of project.
- Degree of increase in new, individual friendships within the hi-rise.
|
Jane
Addams School for Democracy
Activity: Hmong, Somali, and Spanish Learning Circles
Location: Humboldt High School; 30 East Baker Street; St Paul
MN 55107 (mapquest
map)
Contact person: Derek Johnson 612.626.1147; djohnson@hhh.umn.edu
Jane Addams webpage: www.publicwork.org/jas
Internship schedule: Mondays and Wednesday from 6-9pm
Orientation: Tuesday, September 23rd from 6:30-8:30pm
(interns will begin at site before orientation
Overview: Jane Addams School for Democracy brings together
immigrant and native English speaking families to do civic engagement
and mutual education work on the West Side of St. Paul. There are currently
2 Hmong Circles, a Somali Circle, a Spanish Circle, and a Children's Circle
that are a part of the Jane Addams School. In the adult circles, which
are all bilingual, our format is to have a cultural exchange together
and then do pair or small group educational work. A guiding principle
is that everyone is a teacher and learner, and relationships of people
working together are central to our work. The cultural exchange is a bilingual
conversation about a topic that the group wants to discuss. Topics vary
from from issues such as issues in schools and immigration policy to current
events and food and dating practices. The educational work is generated
by the pair with support from others at Jane Addams. Learning goals of
immigrant adults range from the US citizenship test to English practice
to computer work to more creative artistic projects.
Photoethnography project goals: The starting point is
that Macalester students will be participants of learning circles, which
will be determined with Jane Addams School staff. Students will have learning
partners and will be full participants in our work. We would like the
students to focus on 2 projects. First, we would like them to document
the practice as well as other activities of Jane Addams School through
photographs and use these to create a visual orientation that will be
shown to all new participants at Jane Addams. This could be Powerpoint
or some other medium determined along with Jane Addams staff. The second
project that we would like the Macalester students to focus on would be
a family album of families of Jane Addams School. We would like this to
be a creative project that would include both photos and some type of
written statement or stories about families that are a part of Jane
Addams School. We would like students to put this together in a tangible
way, but it is quite possible that all components of this project will
not be completed this semester. However, we would like to complete
photos of all current families at Jane Addams School and complete the
written portion for a large percentage of the families. Students will
use this focus on family to look at various issues that affect immigrant
and geographical communities in St. Paul.
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