Doña  Ana Communities United
August  2017 Newsletter

Summer is coming to a close, but things at DACU are as busy as ever! Since our last newsletter Kari started a radio show, community mappers attended meetings at City Hall, and we held a caminata in Chaparral. 

At the end of July we said goodbye to Outreach Coordinator Parisa Shirazi. This month we welcome new Outreach Coordinator Meredith Severtson, who will be with DACU through July 2018. We are so excited to continue our work with you in the next year and beyond! 

Warmly, 
Kari and Meredith

DACU Director 
Kari Bachman 
575-496-4330

DACU Outreach Coordinator 
Meredith Severtson
575-323-0730

Upcoming DACU Events

DACU Team Meeting 
September 21 | 11am - 1pm 
DACU office


Timebank Potluck
September 23 |12 - 2pm
DACU office

Timebank Orientation 
September 24| 12:30 - 2pm
Center for Spiritual Living
575 N. Main Street

Timebank Orientation
October 16 | 5:30 - 7:30pm
DACU office

Our office is located at 151 S Walnut Street, Unit B13. You'll find directions at the  bottom of this newsletter.

DACU Welcomes New Outreach Coordinator
Late this month Meredith Severtson started as Outreach Coordinator at DACU, taking over for Parisa. Like Parisa, Meredith is participating in the Border Servant Corps program and will be living and working in Las Cruces through July 2018. Her work at DACU will focus on the timebank project. 

Meredith is from St. Anthony, Minnesota, and graduated this May from Macalester College in St. Paul where she studied International Studies and Religious Studies. She is very excited to spend the next year with DACU in Las Cruces, and looks forward to meeting you all!

Kari and Meredith at the timebank potluck
 
Radio Show
In late July, Kari began hosting "Just Community", a radio program on our city's new community radio station. The one-hour program airs each  Thursday at  8 AM on KTAL-LP 101.5 FM. So far, Kari has interviewed guests about the timebank, The Beloved Community, and St. Luke's Health Care Clinic. Tune in this week to hear Richard Wright and James Sassak discuss their work housing chronically homeless residents through the Housing, Health, and Recovery for Homeless Individuals program at St. Luke's.

Would you like to be a guest on the show? Or perhaps you could suggest someone who would provide an interesting perspective on equity in our community? Please let Kari know! We particularly seek to feature voices who are not often heard in the media, in Spanish and English. Lived experience is more important that academic preparation, so please don't be shy!

 
Kari interviews David Uribe and Parisa about the timebank
Involvement with City Government
On August 2, several DACU members met with the City Manager and other upper level administrators to follow up on our  July 10  presentation to City Council. Administrators agreed to work in partnership with DACU to further explore three areas: participatory budgeting, resident involvement in complete streets initiatives, and community engagement. If you would like to get involved with any of these areas, please contact Kari: we can always use more hands aboard!

Community mappers Kevin Moose and Michael Seamster at City Hall
 
Building Community! 
Our timebank has become a beautiful source of community for people from all walks of life. At this month's timebank potluck , w e made new connections and welcomed new Outreach Coordinator Meredith Severtson.

Time bank members and friends mingling
Our office was full with 28 attendees!  
Attendees had fun getting to know one another


Caminata in Chapparal 
On July 29, the DACU social equity mappers held a caminata (walk) in Chaparral to hear residents' suggestions for the proposed multi-use trail that will be constructed there next fall. Approximately 50 people of all ages walked the site of the proposed trail and shared their perspectives on amenities that would make the trail the most useful to them. We will be following up with the many community members who expressed interest in being involved in the project and plan to hold another caminata in late fall. Many thanks to DACU mappers Perla Diaz and Lizette Estrada for organizing the event and to Sam Paz from the County Community Development Department for being there to answer residents' questions. 

One of four groups who participated in the caminata
Directions to Our Office: 
151 South Walnut Street, Unit B13  map
We are located at the corner of Walnut and Griggs in the Walnut Business Park. Our  office is w alking distance from Roadrunner bus routes 6 and 7. Please give us a call before you come by, as we are often out and about in the community!
 
Doña Ana Communities United (DACU) builds the capacity of communities to develop and implement policies and community-based solutions that improve social, economic, and environmental conditions that shape health and life opportunities. We work to advance health equity in Doña Ana County by addressing institutional inequities related to geography, class, gender, and race. 

We are conducting two main projects. Through the social equity mapping project, undervalued community members explore their neighborhoods and work with local decision makers to develop policies that advance health equity. Participants in the hOurTime timebank build social cohesion and practice an equitable form of alternative economics as they exchange services with each other.