What our partners are up to

Yesterday evening, we had a great and informative Partners Council meeting. The meeting cleared up some of the confusion surrounding Macon Promise Neighborhood recently, but more importantly featured the impact that a few of our pilot solutions have experienced. Two of the partners gave their experiences along with one of our neighborhood advocates explaining what the neighborhood advocates have been up to.

Katherine McCleod, executive director of First Choice Primary Care, a health care center in downtown Macon, described how the $500,000 received for the construction of a school based health center will be used. "There is a pediatrician on staff but they don't see a lot of action because not many children use our facility." Part of this is due to children and their families not being able to come downtown due to lack of adequate transportation. Unfortunately, this is a reality for many families across the nation. A school based health center at Ingram-Pye Elementary School will make healthcare more accessible to the residents of the MPN due to it being located within the MPN. In turn, this will help make the neighborhood a much healthier place.

Taryn Collinsword, the executive director of Communities in Schools of Middle Ga, spoke about the work done inside of the target schools by Communities in Schools. Last year, 70 Mercer students worked in after-school programs in the target schools of the MPN. All but one student that received this tutoring were promoted to the next grade. Also, site coordinators have been placed at Ingram-Pye Elementary and Ballard Hudson Middle to provide services to about 350 children that have been determined to be in the most need.

Lastly, Joel Chambliss, a neighborhood advocate, described the impact that the neighborhood advocates have had so far on the neighborhood. Because the people in the neighborhood don't have clear connections with each other, neighborhood advocates often hold living room chats inside of resident's homes. The purpose of these chats aren't only to keep an ear to the neighborhood but also to develop and facilitate relationships between neighbors. This has allowed the dynamic of the neighborhood to begin to change and many relationships in the neighborhood are being cultivated and made stronger.

The above examples are only a tip of the iceberg of the work that has MPN has been doing inside of the neighborhood. The work is gaining momentum and with continued support from the community, partners, and Macon, tangible progress in the neighborhood and target schools will be seen.

*picture courtesy of 13 WMAZ