“Honor to the soldier and sailor everywhere, who bravely bears his country's cause".

- President Abraham Lincoln

Greetings, 

This month's issue is dedicated to the appreciation and celebration of Veterans and Military Families. This annual proclamation marks the beginning of a month-long celebration of the Military Family in which the Department of Defense and the nation will honor the commitment and sacrifices made by the families of the nation's service members. 

Click here for a list of events for the Week of Valor

Thank you for reading,

Office for Safe and Healthy Neighborhoods

In This Issue

• Walk Out of Darkness
• A Voice for Our Children 2.0
• KentuckianaWorks Internship Academy Graduation
• Data Summit Review
• Suicide Special Broadcast 

Be There to #BeThe1

Out of the Darkness Community Walk - 11.7.15

Every fall, family members, friends, and colleagues walk 3–5 miles together in hundreds of communities across the nation to prevent suicide, raise awareness, and end the stigma that surrounds depression and other mental disorders. With each stride, walkers save lives, honor loved ones lost to suicide and raise funds to support American Foundation for Suicide Prevention's vital mission. YOUR TURN is Saturday November 7 @ Waterfront Park. Register Here. Walk begins at 10am.

A Voice for Our Children 2.0

This parent advocacy group will give parents the chance to express concerns, pose questions and gain information from JCPS representatives. Also, meals will be provided for children 18 and under.    The meetings are every second Thursday 5:30-7:30 at California, Newburg, and Parkland Community Centers respectively. Click here for more information.

Why use 1,000 words when you could simply use a picture? We're so glad you asked because we've got a great answer. To see our ongoing story, click here to see our FLICKR page.

In Case You Missed it

Kentuckiana Youth Career Center

On October 15, the initial cohort of the KYCC Internship Academy graduated. The KYCC Internship Academy is a 12 week process, including 2 weeks of professional development and 6 weeks of paid experience. The focus of the youth involved in the program was on development in financial literacy, entrepreneurial skills and preparation to post-secondary education/training among other areas. We were fortunate enough to have an intern from the cohort, and are looking forward to future interns.

Suicide Special Broadcast

On October 24, reporter Dawne Gee of Wave 3 aired a special broadcast to spread awareness about this troublesome topic in our community. The special features Anthony Smith, Director of the Office for Safe and Healthy Neighborhoods, and Stephen Ulrich (left) Chair of the Kentucky Suicide Prevention Group. To see the broadcast, click here.

 Data Summit 2015

On October 9 over 60 community partners gathered at Metro United Way to discuss various ways to measure the success of the One Love Louisville Community Plan. As a result of this summit, a data plan is due to be released during the first quarter of 2016.  This summit marks a pivotal moment where various silos were broken down in order to better serve our community as a whole by discussing ways to effectively collect data. Click here and here, to see clips of the Data Summit.

1 Love Louisville Updates

Community Plan Updates The One Love Louisville Community Plan was released in January 2015. The 13 goals and 42 initiatives are owned and lead by various community representatives, community organizations, agencies, governmental departments and houses of faith.  Data Plan: A data planning gathering was held on October 9, 2015, 2pm-5pm for the purpose of identifying data collection processes and sources. For more information on our current data planning activities see Data Summit 2015 above.   Goal Report Outs: One Love Louisville goals 1-4 were last reported out on October 16, 2015 and goals 10-12 were last reported on September 18, 2015. Initiative leads provided current progress, actions and next steps. For more information on these report outs, contact, here.  For more detailed updates, please join us at this month's Implementation Team Meeting on Friday, November 13, 2015 @ Kentucky Youth Career Center 9 - 10: 30 a.m. as we review goals 5-9.

MBKLou Updates Office for Safe and Healthy Neighborhoods and Mayor Greg Fischer released their One Love Louisville My Brother’s Keeper Plan (MBKLou) to the White House, MBK Alliance and community on July 20, 2015 – a plan to help young people, specifically young men and boys of color, stay on track.  Mayor Fischer and the Office for Safe and Healthy Neighborhoods hosted an MBK Roundtable discussion on September 16th. This discussion was aimed at learning the insights of young men and women of color after learning about Louisville's progress on the six MBK milestones. This important conversation was facilitated by the Department of Education.  Read more.

We're on Social Media! 

@SAFEHEALTHYLOU 

Nominate someone for a #BeThe1 Shout Out

Do you know someone who is striving to overcome obstacles related to violence or are working within the community to improve outcomes for individuals and/or families? If so, nominate them today to receive a shout out in next months issue of the One Love Louisville Newsletter! 

#Bethe1 Shout Outs

Mr. Rothel Farris

Rothel Farris (Left)  has been involved with Big Brothers Big Sisters for several years and in 2015, was named Big Brother of the Year. Rothel wanted to be a mentor because he wanted to help a Little Brother see that “men can be strong but nurturing; that they can be loving towards their families; it is okay to be a man and be nurturing.” Rothel also has a background in education and wanted to bring that into a match.

Little Brother's mom says, “Since the beginning of the match my son has made great improvements in school. At this time he is an honor roll student. Mr. Farris has provided continuous encouragement for my son to stay on the right track in school & the community. He has also encouraged him to participate in other activities to help develop his leadership skills & to be the best that he can be.” 

Big S/O to you Mr. Rothel Farris and we celebrate your continued effort to #BeThe1 

Anthony D. Smith Over the last two and a half years, Director Smith has played a crucial part to the role of the Office for Safe and Healthy Neighborhoods. He was part of the foundation for the Office and the One Love Louisville campaign. Director Smith is now moving on to a new role on the national level and Chairman and CEO of Cities United, beginning Nov. 2.  Big S/O to you Mr. Smith for your continued effort to #BeThe1

Letter from Director Smith

Greetings,

I hope this letter finds you well. As you may have heard, my time serving as the Director for the Office for Safe and Healthy Neighborhoods has ended. I have loved and enjoyed every day and moment to make a difference here in my hometown of Louisville, KY. Please understand that I am still fighting on behalf of Louisville and continuing our work, I just won’t be working in my own backyard everyday anymore. I’ve accepted the inaugural chief executive officer position of Cities United, a Washington D.C.-based collective of mayors from across the nation working to stop the unprecedented and devastating loss of human life happening in cities throughout America, particularly among African American men and boys.

I trust and have faith that you all will continue to #BeThe1 and spread #OneLoveLouisville even more. I’ll still be around in some capacity so please do not think of this as a goodbye, because it’s only a see ya later.

Best Wishes,

Anthony D. Smith

Be The One Tips

Youth:

1. Call one of the hotline numbers or 9-1-1 if you are currently experiencing a violent situation
2. Ask for a mentor/Talk with a trusted adult
3. Participate in programs and activities at your school, house of faith, and in your neighborhood
4. Do not be afraid to ask for help
5. Act as a role model to your friends and peers

Adults:

1. Attend training's and information sessions at community organizations; Seek out advice
2. Serve as a mentor or sign your child up to receive a mentor 
3. Volunteer with neighborhood beautification projects
4. Participate in your police divisions community engagement activities
5. Learn about the signs and risk factors for youth violence.

Hotline Numbers

• Metro United Way: 2-1-1
• Center for Women and Families:  24 Hour Crisis Line: 502-581-7222
• LMPD Anonymous Crime Tip Line: 502-574-LMPD
• SAMHSA’s National Helpline: 1-800-662-HELP
• Seven Counties Hope Now Hotline: 502-589-4313 or 1-800-221-0446
• National Suicide Prevention Lifeline:  1-800-273-8255
• National Teen Dating Abuse Helpline: 1-866-331-9474
• YMCA Safe Place 24 Hour line: 502-635-5233