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The Nehemiah Project
A few months ago, I attended a Black- Jewish leaders event, run by the New Haven JCRC (Jewish Community Relations Council), that was intended to be a first step in the process of getting these two (okay, it's more complex than that...) communities working together on some common goals.
One of these goals is to mend relations that we found to be a bit strained last summer, when the Edgewood park Defense Patrol (EPDP) announced it's armed patrol here in my neck of the woods. Roundly criticized as a recipe for disaster by the organized Jewish community (people living comfortably outside this area, I'll note) and several Black leaders (also not from this area), the EPDP went away once Police Chief Francisco Ortiz announced his resignation (the NYC Guardian Angels, originally called in by the EPDP founders, is still active in the neighborhood and the city).
But back to the meeting. A New Haven housing project, Westville Manor, was identified as a neighborhood in need of a spectrum of services from various public and private sources. The Nehemiah (Nechemia, for all you old school-ers) Project, a small consortium of Jewish and Black leaders, would attempt to reach out to residents by helping to provide them with basic necessities, and then hooking them up with organizations that would assist with employment, education, parenting skills, etc.
We met last week to discuss an event to be held at the end of the month, the goal being to provide Westville Manor residents with a quick, relatively inexpensive dinner, some engaging home-grown entertainment and opportunities to learn about services.
I'm very excited about this project. It's really wonderful to be a part of such a dynamic group and I'm looking forward to making inroads into establishing community relations (sorely needed!).