In this edition:
- Acting Black: Demystifying Racism Recap
- 2-Year Anniversary of the Death of Jamar Clark & Resources
- Psychological First Aid Training for City Staff
- Expert Panel Comes Together for Last Session of Trauma Training Dec. 14
- Racial Equity Ordinance Public Hearing
- Apply for a Stipend to Attend PolicyLink's Equity Summit in 2018
- Register Now for GARE MN Racial Equity Speaker Series: Celebrating our Success, Facing New Challenges
Acting Black: Demystifying Racism Recap
On Nov. 14, the Equity & Inclusion team and the Minneapolis Black Employee Network co-sponsored an event at the Capri Theater. Acting Black: Demystifying Racism is 60-minute solo show created to inspire open and honest conversation about race and diversity. The actor, Carlyle Brown, gave an exciting performance followed by a guided interactive discussion with the audience. Overall, those in attendance felt the performance was worthwhile and taught them new things about acting black in a historical context.
2-Year Anniversary of the Death of Jamar Clark & Resources
November 15, 2017 marked the two year anniversary of the death of Jamar Clark. ReCAST Minneapolis recognizes this anniversary may bring up complex trauma for community members, especially those from the Black and African American communities. Below is a link to the first of three videos produced through ReCAST Minneapolis in collaboration with Resmaa Menakem, Dr. Joi Lewis, and SwayHeavy Productions. The video offers several ways to care for yourself through times of stress and trauma. There is also a printable document below that offers other methods of self-care as well as community organizations and mental health resources.
#BLACKJOY Video
Understanding Trauma in the Black Body (PDF)
 Psychological First Aid Training for City Staff
Psychological First Aid training is being offered to first point of contact staff and leaders. This training is meant for a variety of staff including housing inspectors, community engagement specialists, 911 and 311 operators and others. Cultural, somatic and psychological first aid is an evidence-based, trauma-informed approach built on the idea of human resilience.
Goals and outcomes include:
- Better City responsiveness when navigating trauma and civil restlessness issues.
- Better City responsiveness to communities of color as it relates to trauma and civil unrest.
- Better educational knowledge relating to health, productivity and quality of life for employees.
New dates for City employees:
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Mon.-Tues., Dec.18-19 from 8:30 a.m. - 5:30 p.m.
University of Minnesota Urban Research and Outreach-Engagement Center
2001 Plymouth Ave. N.
City employees can register in COMET.
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Expert Panel Comes Together for Last Session of Trauma Training Dec. 14
The last session of the CLUES trauma trainings will be a panel discussion featuring experts in the mental health field, as well as those from immigrant and refugee communities coming together to discuss the trauma they have experienced.
- Dec. 14 from 9 a.m. - noon at the Central Library in the Pohlad Room
The facilitator, Mauricio Cifuentes, is the Senior Division Director of Health and Well-Being for Comunidades Latinas Unidas En Servicio (CLUES). Previously he trained in Colombia as a lawyer where he practices and taught law for almost twenty years until he shifted his focus to pursue clinical social work. Cifuentes received his masters in Social Work and moved on to earn his Ph.D. in Social Work writing his dissertation focused on social stigma as a barrier to remaining in therapy for Latino clients from the perspective of Latino clinicians.
He will be joined by:
- Ahmed Ismail Yusuf, author of three books: Gorgorkii Yimi, Lion's Binding Oath, and Somalis in Minnesota. His mental health publications appeared in the Journal of Muslim Mental Health, Social Psychiatry and Psychiatric Epidemiology, and International Society for Traumatic-stress Studies, Psychiatry times;
- Foua Choua Khang who balances the world of the new and the old between her colleagues at Health East/Fairview as well as within the social dynamics of the Xiong clan. Foua Choua identifies as a practicing Hmong woman as well as a Community Health Worker. Bridging between the western and eastern approaches to health and well-being, she hopes to accomplish world peace someday;
- David Soto, a Financial Empowerment Coach, has provided services based around financial capability since 2011. His knowledge of the U.S. financial system, in conjunction to his upbringing with Latino roots, allow for a culturally relevant approach to the delivery of services. Being a DACA recipient, he holds a unique, yet common perspective around the challenges that surround the immigrant community.
This panel discussion is open to City employees as well as community members. City employees can register in COMET. Community members can email ReCASTMinneapolisInfo@minneapolismn.gov to register.
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Racial Equity Ordinance Public Hearing Dec. 6
There will be a public hearing on the new racial equity ordinance on Dec. 6 during the Committee of Whole meeting. This ordinance proposes the creation of a Race and Equity division in the City Coordinator's Department and declares the City's intent to purposefully integrate a racial equity framework into all of the work the City does to advance racial equity. The public hearing will begin at 10 a.m. in the City Council Chambers at City Hall.
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Apply for a Stipend to Attend PolicyLink's Equity Summit in 2018
The Alliance has recently announced the availability of stipend funds for Twin Cities leaders to attend PolicyLink's upcoming Equity Summit: Our Power. Our Future. Our Nation. This summit will take place Wednesday, April 11-Friday, April 13 and is located in Chicago, IL.
The application period will be open until Monday, December 11. At that time, a community-led committee will review the applications and award stipends to help broaden the Minnesota Delegation attending the conference. Final announcement will be made sometime after Wednesday, December 20.
Individuals interested in receiving a stipend should fill out an application and turn it into Margo Fritz at margo@thealliancetc.org no later that 5 p.m. on Monday, December 11. The Alliance is looking forward to putting together a delegation of over 100 Equity Summit attendees who represent a cross section of the movement to advance equity in the Twin Cities region: community leaders and staff who are currently sitting at an active campaign table focused on equity issues, public sector staff or officials who are implementing equitable policies and practices within their institution, and private sector leaders who are interested in leading with an equity lens. The Alliance is also looking for a mix of applicants who have both attended and have not attended Equity Summits in the past.
Questions? Please contact Russ Adams (612-332-4471; russ@thealliancetc.org) or Margo Fritz (612-332-4471; margo@thealliancetc.org).
Application
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Register Now for GARE MN Racial Equity Speaker Series: Celebrating our Success, Facing New Challenges
When: December 6, 2017 - 5:30-8 p.m.
Where: Silverwood Park (Great Hall), 2500 County Road E, St. Anthony, MN 55421
This event is free! Please register by 10 a.m. on December 6.
The GARE MN Racial Equity speaker series is an opportunity to deepen our understanding of racial equity by learning from the work of others in the field. On December 6, from 5:30-8 p.m., the topic is "Celebrating our Success, Facing New Challenges." The final GARE MN event of 2017 will feature a "pre"ception, a stirring presentation from a renowned guest speaker, and an acknowledgment of the 2017 GARE MN Introductory Cohort Teams.
More information and registration
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About ReCAST Minneapolis
The Resilience in Communities After Stress & Trauma (ReCAST) Minneapolis Program is funded through a multi-year grant from the Department of Health and Human Services' Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA). ReCAST Minneapolis is intended to assist high-risk youth and families, and promote resilience and equity in communities that have recently faced civil unrest through the implementation of evidence-based violence prevention and community youth engagement programs, as well as linkages to trauma-informed behavioral health services. SAMHSA created the ReCAST Program to support communities that have lived through demonstrations of mass protest in response to police-involved shootings of unarmed African-American males.
For more information, please email ReCASTMinneapolisInfo@minneapolismn.gov.
This update was developed [in part] under grant number 1H79SM063520-01 from the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA), U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS). The views, policies, and opinions expressed are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect those of SAMHSA or HHS.
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