WATCH Newsletter Summer/Fall 2011

Summer and Fall 2011
COMMUNITY NEWS
517 Moody Street, Waltham, MA 02453
781-891-6689
www.watchcdc.org
Marc leads his team weatherizing doors at
the Barnraising on July 17th.
Learn more about Healthy Homes on Page 4
CONGRATULATIONS to Edna for reaching English Proficiency
and Graduation from Breaking Barriers!
Learn more about our adult education program on Page 2
- ALSO IN THIS ISSUE - Meet a Tutor Pair: Page 2
- Great Annual Meeting: Page 3
- English Conversation Group: Page 2
- Organizing Opportunities: Page 6
- Learn about MWCD: Page 6
- Traducción en español: Página 7
Come join us at the weekly Outreach
Market!
Learn more on Page 5
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BREAKING BARRIERS NEWS:
Empowering the Community through Education
Speak Up! Conversation Club
Begins at WATCH
This summer, WATCH’s Breaking Barriers program is
launching an exciting new program: Speak Up! Conversation
Club. Every week, the group, comprised of learners in the
tutor program, meets to practice their advanced conversation
skills in a casual, fun way. Speak Up! is possible because of
two fantastic volunteers, Shayna and Belinda, who are
leading the group. Shayna has been a tutor in one-on-one
tutoring program since May 2010 and recently joined
WATCH’s Board of Directors. Belinda brings years of
experience teaching English language learners both in the
U.S. and abroad.
Meet Mouna and Giovanni!
Speak Up! gives participants a chance to improve their skills
in an unstructured environment that focuses on their
interests. Shayna describes it as “quite a lively group”. In
one recent meeting, they spent their time talking about
Independence Day in different countries and then the
conversation naturally turned to cooking and food customs
around the world. Given the relaxed nature of the group,
they spend a lot of time laughing. Shayna says of two
participants “they should probably start a comedy show
together . . . they had everyone cracking up!”.
Mouna and Giovanni have been working together in WATCH’s
Serve and Learn Volunteer Tutoring Program since March of this
year and have made a great connection. They meet every week
and spend their time focusing on conversation, pronunciation, and
writing in English. Their tutoring sessions are relaxed and
unstructured, so they each really enjoy their time together.
Giovanni says, “I like that we talk about everything. We talk about
family, work, and what we are doing that week”. Mouna agrees,
“I enjoy sharing about our families…It feels good to work with
someone who is so motivated”.
Speak Up! Conversation Club allows these
participants to make new friends, continue to
improve their English, and have fun.
Giovanni and Mouna are a great example of one goal of the
Breaking Barriers program: connecting people who might not
otherwise have a chance to know each other. Mouna says, “our
personalities are a good match and that is so important… I’m
happy to be working with Giovanni”. Mouna got involved because
she was looking for a volunteer opportunity that got her outside of
her typical social circle. Mouna explains that she was initially
interested because “I like people and I can talk to different people
so I wanted to try tutoring”.
The current session of Speak Up! Conversation Club will run
until August 9 and then will start again in September. If you
are interested in volunteering with this or any of WATCH’s
programs for English learners, contact Alex Siegrist,
Breaking Barriers Program Manager at 781-891-6689 x202
or [email protected].
Giovanni signed up to participate because he had previously taken
English classes at WATCH and wanted a chance to continue
practicing his conversation skills. In the future, he hopes to take
the GED and become a licensed plumber. For now, he works in a
restaurant where he has opportunities to speak English with his coworkers. He is getting married next year and he and his fiancé plan
to stay permanently in the United States. Improving his already
advanced English is Giovanni’s first step toward reaching these
other goals. Participating in this program connects both Giovanni
and Mouna more strongly to their community here in Waltham.
If you are interested in participating in this unique program, either
as a volunteer tutor or as an English learner, contact Alex Siegrist,
Breaking Barriers Program Manager at [email protected]
or 781-891-6689 x202.
Breaking Barriers at WATCH is supported by Rockland Trust Charitable Foundation, The Foundation for MetroWest, TD Bank Charitable Foundation, and the City of Waltham
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Action and A wards at W ATC H’s Annua l Mee ting
Nearly 80 of you, our members, turned out for WATCH’s Annual Meeting, celebrating our 23rd year. As usual, the night
started with some delicious food – roasted chicken, plantains, beans, salad…and, of course, cookies!
The WATCH staff was there: Director Erica Schwarz, Program Manager Alex Siegrist, Community Organizer Anne
Schweitzer, and Office Administrator Rhonda Lechten, as well as former WATCH staff Steve Laferriere, who is now the
Senior Project Manager for WATCH’s new housing development arm, Metro West Collaborative Developers (learn more on
page 5). You elected the board of directors, including 3 new members who have already become vital and active contributors
to board activities.
WATCH Board President Annette Reynolds and Erica kicked off the event by welcoming everyone and asking who was in the
room by asking guests to wave purple streamers at the tables. Wave if you rent your apartment! Wave if you have lived in
Waltham for more than 30 years! Wave if you can speak a language other than English! Wave if you want to work with your
neighbors to make your community as strong as possible! The room was a sea of waving purple streamers!
2011 – 2012 WATCH Board
Brenda Capello
Connee Counts
Shayna Cummings
Felipe Lopez
Cecilia Matos
Virginia Monroe
Annette Reynolds
Marc Rudnick
Cynthia Salamanis
Noam Shore
Soledad Valenciano
John Walters
After honoring three awardees (see below), we were all treated to a
special presentation about a potential site for affordable housing
development. A team of MIT and Harvard graduate students in
architecture, finance and urban planning created a development plan for
Cooper Lane – a 3-acre contaminated site along along the Charles River
in downtown Waltham. The site is ideal for a mixed use development
that would focus on affordable housing because of its location to the
public transit and other downtown amenities, because nonprofits who
develop affordable housing can access special funds to clean up
contaminated sites such as this one, and because we know that so many
community members would like to see more top quality homes created
in our City that the average Waltham family can afford. If you’d like to
get a copy of the team’s project proposal, contact Rhonda at WATCH at
781-891-6689 x0.
The room then split up for discussion groups – and some action came
out of that. Because of the conversation about the “Secure
Communities” act, several WATCH members attended a town hall style
meeting held by Governor Patrick’s office to discuss this law that would
link local law enforcement directly to the federal immigration agency.
Thankfully, the Governor ultimately decided not to support this discriminatory law, that would actually make our community
less safe, by instilling fear into local immigrants and reducing their likelihood of going to the police at key moments such as in
the case of domestic violence.
Every year, the annual meeting is a great way for a diverse mix of community members to celebrate what we’ve done so far
and become inspired to keep working towards our goals. If you’ve been meaning to get more involved with WATCH, please
get in touch with WATCH staff to think about what you might like to do. 781-891-6689 or [email protected]. We look
forward to seeing you soon!
2011 ANNUAL MEETING AWARDS – presented to WATCH members who
have gone above and beyond for WATCH or for our mission in the last year
1) Dick Scobie (pictured right): Long-time WATCH member, Dick Scobie, started
coming in weekly to volunteer, helping with everything from vacuuming to stuffing
mailings, to calling donors during our winter mail campaign to organizing real estate
files.
2) John Walters: Introduced to WATCH when we conducted an energy efficiency
barnraising at his home, John then became a barnraising volunteer and an English
tutor and started participating in our work to build support for affordable housing
development!
3) Shayna Cummings: Shayna started with WATCH as a tutor, but quickly became a
leader in helping to shape the tutoring program and in starting a conversation class in
order to give WATCH English learners more time practicing the language –
something they have requested.
3
Healthy Homes:
Barnraisings and
A New Do-It-Yourself Guide
Thanks to your participation, WATCH has completed 5 Energy Efficiency
Barnraisings! Volunteers have installed spray foam in basements, weather-stripped
doors, caulked around windows, changed light bulbs and done so much more!
Each barnraising is different; there is always a new skill to learn and a new problem
to fix. Volunteer Jacqui Steinberg says, “I've benefited by learning some new skills
but more importantly by being a part of a program that is actually making a
difference.”
Volunteer at a Barnraising!
Be a part of the action and make a
tangible difference in your
community and world!
This summer WATCH added a new component to your Energy Efficiency
Barnarisings: the Healthy Home Guidebook! The guidebook includes
information on potential toxins in your home, air quality and how to test and
improve it, recipes for healthy cleaning supplies, information on how to recycle
problem items and much more! Pick yours up at the next barnraising or from
the WATCH office.
For information on Healthy Homes and Barnraisings, please contact Anne at
781.891.6689 x 206 or at [email protected]
5 Houses weatherized
x average of $750 energy saved
$3750
saved so far by Waltham families
PER YEAR!
5 Houses weatherized
x at least 5664.8 lbs of carbon cut
28324 lbs of carbon cut!
Contact Anne at 781-891-6689 x 206
or [email protected]
“When I leave barnraisings, I always feel like I have gained more than I’ve spent. Most of the time, I
work alone and so being a part of a community while working feels pretty good.”
– Dan Reedy, Volunteer Team Leader
18 Myrtle Street
Made possible through Mass Service
Alliance grant honoring Martin Luther
King Jr., this barnraising took place at the
2-family home of tenants Wanda Sanchez
and Clodine Ostane on MLK weekend.
Many volunteers, including LISC
Americorps members, joined the effort to
weatherize this Waltham home, which
WATCH owns and rents as affordable
housing.
194 Brown Street
21 Fiske Street
Jesus Martinez, the longtime nanny of the
children of WATCH board members Felipe
Lopez and Cecilia Matos, hosted a barnraising
at her multi-unit home on Brown Street. As
Jesus is a native Spanish speaker, this
barnraising was bilingual! When asked about
Jesus, Felipe says “I am so proud of Jesus for
all she has accomplished since she immigrated
to the US. She has worked so hard, not only to
become a homeowner, but to enrich the lives of
many along her path.” (Pictured above)
David Grinstein and Christina
Camacho, President of the Waltham
League of Women voters, opened their
home to barnraising volunteers on
Saturday, July 16th. At their 3 floor,
2-family home on Fiske Street,
volunteers benefited by an intensive
caulking seminar led by caulking
expert and HEET (Home Energy
Efficiency Team) member, Jason
Taylor.
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Meet the WATCH Summer Interns!
Originally from Harrisburg, PA, Andrew Mandel is a recent graduate from
Brandeis University, where he majored in International and Global studies and
minored in Environmental studies. Andrew has been involved with the Housing
Advocacy Clinic since the summer of 2009: “Working at the housing clinic has
taught me so much about Waltham, and I am thankful that working at WATCH has
allowed me to feel like I am a part of the community.”
Andrew really enjoys getting people involved in helping others, which is one of
the reasons why he wanted to be a community organizer with WATCH this
summer.
Yeiri Roberts is a rising senior at Brandeis University. Originally from the
Dominican Republic, she has lived in New York City for most of her life. Yeiri is
majoring in Health: Science, Society and Policy, International and Global Studies,
and Latin American and Latino Studies. She intends on becoming a human rights
lawyer with a focus on economic justice.
Yeiri volunteered as an interpreter for WATCH’s Housing Advocacy Clinic during
her junior year. Yeiri’s interest in the Latino population in Waltham brought her to
apply to the WATCH summer internship. Yeiri says “WATCH is amazing in that
it works to empower its clients so that they can feel better about themselves and
know their rights without them having to depend on others to help them. I have
learned so much in the past many weeks and I owe it to the work that WATCH
does.”
WATCH Partners with Waltham Fields Community Farm to Provide Fresh
Vegetables to Local Families
On Tuesday July 19th Waltham Fields Community Farm kicked
off the 3rd season of their Outreach Market at WATCH’s Moody
Street property. The goal of the market, which the Farm started in
the summer of 2008, is to provide organically grown produce at a
price that is affordable for everyone. Many of Waltham’s
residents cannot afford Waltham Fields’ CSA (community
supported agriculture) program, so the outreach market presents a
great alternative for them.
The outreach market is held
every Tuesday from 4:30-6:30,
and will run through October
11th. It is held in the WATCH
parking lot at 517 Moody Street,
and anyone is welcome!
“I love my community, and prefer to support
the Waltham farm than a local supermarket.”
Waltham Fields Community Farm supplies the produce, and
partners with several organizations in Waltham (including
WATCH, of course) to distribute vouchers for a free bag of
vegetables. Even without a voucher, vegetables only cost five
dollars a bag, which is a great price! The outreach market has
many other advantages as well. Michele Richard, one of the
many customers at the market, notes: “I like to bring my kids
because they are not big vegetable people, and when I bring them
here they get to talk to the [farm] workers and learn recipes. I also
love my community, and prefer to support the Waltham farm than
a local supermarket.” Michele’s daughter, who is twelve, has
been learning about healthy foods at her summer camp across the
street. “I like coming here because I do not want to eat food with
pesticides,” she said.
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Thanks so much to our Recent Funders for
their Generous Support!
Bank of America Charitable Foundation
Massachusetts Service Alliance
TD Bank Charitable Foundation
Unitarian Universalist Funding Program
128 Innovation Capital Group
We also deeply appreciate the recent donations from so
many of our individual members. If you didn't
contribute during our spring appeal, it's not too late!
Visit www.watchcdc.org/donate or send your check to
517 Moody Street, Waltham, MA 02453. Thanks!
Meet Your Waltham City
Councillors!
WATCH Members (like you!) are now regularly meeting
with Waltham City Councillors. A shared initiative of
WATCH’s Planning and Development and Affordable
Housing Committees, these meetings not only allow you to
get to know City Councillors, but help City Councillors get
to know you!
A ne w wa y for H ou sin g D e velo pm en t
Creating affordable housing takes a lot of time and a lot of
money, much of it from public sources. So if the national housing
market implodes in the middle of the process to develop that
housing, the entire deal is at risk! WATCH's project on Jackson
Street fell victim to complications from the housing market and
recession, making it impossible for us to proceed. This turn of
events clarified for WATCH that we are too small to take on
affordable housing development alone. So, in 2010, after a lot of
planning with our partners, WATCH formed the Metro West
Collaborative Developers (MWCD) with Watertown Community
Housing, Belmont Housing Trust and Lexington Housing
Partnership. MWCD’s sole mission is to create high quality,
financially sustainable, “green” affordable housing developments
in the four communities represented, in collaboration with
residents of those communities. WATCH's seats on MWCD’s
board allows us to maintain our priority of creating affordable
housing in Waltham while focusing on what we do best:
community organizing around housing issues, adult education
and leadership development.
By pooling resources and sharing staff WATCH has eliminated
the risk inherent in new real estate development projects from our
organization -- but we still get to work towards a City where all
families have a decent home they can afford. WATCH will
continue to identify potential sites and raise awareness and
support among local residents, City officials and state funders.
We will be an active partner with MWCD on any affordable
housing development it carries out in Waltham in order and make
sure that Waltham residents get the housing they want and need.
In 2010 MWCD secured a $50,000 start-up grant from The
Boston Foundation to support staffing and housing
predevelopment costs. In 2011, MWCD has an accepted offer on
a 25-unit property in Watertown being sold by nuns who want to
be sure it is renovated, but remains affordable. We hope to see
an offer on a site in Waltham by 2012. Want to get more
involved with this work? Contact Anne at 781-891-6689 x206.
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So far, WATCH members have met with Councillors
Rourke, Logan, and Stanley (pictured left, with WATCH
members Soledad Valenciano, Virginia Monroe, and Dick
Scobie) and are in the process of scheduling meetings with
the rest of the Council. John Walters, a WATCH board
member and resident of Ward 8, met with his Ward
Councillor, Stephen Rourke, in June : “I liked the fact that
we were able to sit down, quite casually, and chat about
the going ons with the WATCH organization. I feel like
many people in the community, even councillors, need
reminders about what kinds of things non-profits are doing
to better support the people in their city,” John says. The
meetings are fun and informal and focus around what the
community members want to discuss with their
councillors.
If you live in Waltham, these meetings are for you – will
we see you at the next one? It doesn’t matter which part of
WATCH you are involved in or if it has been a while since
your last WATCH event, Your councillors need to hear
what you care about in your community in order to better
serve you. You have a part in improving the community
you live in, and as John says, “At the heart of the
discussion was the idea of communication within a
community and how that can better support the overall
welfare of the population.” And what is better to talk
about with a councillor than that?
To get involved and meet your councillor, please contact
Anne at 781.891.6689 x 206 or [email protected].
Did you know that, on average, more
than 5 families a week use our Housing
Clinic? If you are a tenant, you can
help!
Come to the Tenant Action Group meetings where you
can use your housing experience to help other tenants!
Cases may range from a tenant whose landlord is
notorious for keeping his tenants’ security deposits to a
landlord refusing to take care of a bedbug infestation.
We are looking for teanants who are outraged by
situations such as these and want to share some of their
knowledge to collaborate in helping someone else.
To learn more, contact Community Organizer Anne
Schweitzer at 781-891-6689 x206
Supported in part by Bank of America Charitable
Foundation
Mercado Comunitario
¡Gracias por Una Reunión Anual Magníifica!
WATCH continúa su asociación con la Waltham Fields Community
Farm para proveer productos alimenticios locales a bajo costo a la
comunidad de Waltham en nuestra reunión semanal del Mercado
Comunitario. El Mercado se ofrece cada martes de 4:30 a 6:30
hasta el 11 de octubre. Michele Richard, una de las compradoras
del Mercado dice “Me gusta traer a mis hijos porque no favorecen a
las vegetales, y cuando vienen aquí pueden hablar con los
trabajadores y aprender recetas. También quiero a mi comunidad y
prefiero apoyar a la finca de Waltham en vez del supermercado.”
¡Venga a probar! Solo $5 dólares por chuspa, estas vegetales son a
buen precio.
Nuestra reunión anual # 23 fue un gran éxito, con la asistencia de
casi 80 miembros y todo el staff de WATCH. Fueron elegidos
tres miembros nuevos a la junta y ya son contribuyentes activos y
vitales en las actividades de la junta.
Después de honrar a tres personas, todos escuchamos a una
presentación sobre un sitio posible para el desarrollo de la
vivienda asequible. Un equipo de estudiantes de post-grado de la
arquitectura, finanzas, y la planeación urbana de las
universidades MIT y Harvard crearon un plan de desarrollo para
Cooper Lane, un sitio contaminado de 3 acres, en la ribera del río
Charles en el centro de Waltham. Si quiere una copia del
proyecto, llame a Rhonda en WATCH al 781-891-6689 x0.
Bio de Andrew y Yeiri
Originalmente de Harrisburg, PA, Andrew Mandel se graduó
recientemente de la Universidad de Brandeis. Andrew viene
ayudando con la Clínica de la Vivienda desde el verano de 2009, y
goza mucho facilitando la ayuda mutua entre las personas, que es
una de las razones que quiere ser organizador de la comunidad con
WATCH este verano.
Speak Up! Conversation Club
Este verano, el programa de WATCH Breaking Barriers (Romper
Barreras) inicia un programa nuevo: Speak Up! Conversation
Club. Cada semana el grupo se reúne para practicar la
conversación avanzada en un ambiente casual y divertido. La
mayoría de los alumnos ya están matriculados en el programa
Breaking Barriers, el programa de WATCH que ofrece tutores
individuales. Los alumnos son de sitios diversos, como
Guatemala, Haití, Morocco, y El Salvador. La sesión actual de
Speak Up! Conversation Club termina el 9 de agosto y una nueva
sesión comienza en septiembre. Si quiere ayudar con cualquier
programa de WATCH para los estudiantes de ingles, contacte a
Alex Siegrist, Directora del programa Breaking Barriers al 781891-6689 x202 o [email protected].
Yeiri Roberts entra en su último año en la Universidad de Brandeis.
De origen dominicana, su meta es ser abogado concentrada en los
derechos humanos y la justicia social. Yeiri fue traductora
voluntaria para la Clínica de la Vivienda de WATCH durante el año
pasado, y debido a su interés en la población latina de Waltham
aplicó para el puesto en el internado del verano con WATCH.
Una Nueva Vía para el Desarrollo de la Vivienda Asequible
Así que en 2010, WATCH formó la organización Metro West
Collaborative Developers (MWCD) con otros organizaciones. La
misión de MWCD es crear proyectos de viviendas “verdes” de alta
calidad y sostenibles económicamente, en estas comunidades
miembros. Al juntar los recursos y el staff, WATCH ha eliminado
el riesgo inherente en desarrollar los bienes raíces nuevos.
Esperamos tener un terreno en Waltham en 2012. Si quiere
participar en este trabajo, llame a Anne al 781-891-6689 x206.
Presentamos a Mouna y Giovanni!
Mouna y Giovanni vienen trabajando juntos en el programa de
WATCH Servir y Aprender con Tutores Voluntarios desde marzo
2011 y han hecho una buena conexión. Se reúnen cada semana
para charlar y enfocarse en la pronunciación y la escritura en
ingles. Son un gran ejemplo para la meta del programa Romper
Barreras, conectando a gente que de otro modo no se conocerían.
Giovanni quería seguir mejorando su inglés después de tomar las
clases en WATCH y Mouna quería una oportunidad voluntaria
distinta de su círculo social regular. Participando en este
programa también los enlaza a los dos mas fuertemente a su
comunidad en Waltham.
Hogares Saludables
Este verano WATCH sumó un nuevo componente a este proceso, el
Guía para un Hogar Saludable. El guía incluye información sobre
sustancias tóxicas, la calidad del aire, como probar y arreglarlo,
recetas para productos de limpieza saludables, información sobre el
reciclamiento de cosas problemáticas,¡ y mas! Para mas
información sobre este programa, favor de contactar a Anne al
781.891.6689 x 206 o al [email protected]
Si le interesa participar en este programa como tutor voluntario o
alumno de ingles, contacte a Alex Siegrist, a
[email protected] o 781-891-6689 x202.
Reuniones con los Concejales
Necesitamos su ayuda! Con un grupo de Acción de
Inquilinos, donde podrá discutir sus experiencias con la
vivienda para ayudar a otros inquilinos. Casos pueden tratarse de
los dueños que son conocidos por no devolver el pago de la
seguridad, o por no arreglar los problemas con insectos. Estamos
buscando a los que han sufrido y están furiosos con estas
situaciones y quieran colaborar para ayudar a otros, venga a las
reuniones del Grupo de Acción de Inquilinos Para aprender mas,
llame a Anne Schweitzer al 781-891-6689 x206
Miembros de WATCH ahora reunimos regularmente con los
Concejales de la ciudad de Waltham. Hemos reunido con los
Concejales Rourke, Logan, y Stanley y vamos a reunir con los
demás Concejales. Las reuniones son informales y divertidas. Sus
Concejales deben oír lo que les importa para servirles mejor. Si
quiere participar en las reuniones y aprender mas, favor de
contactar a Anne al 781.891.6689 x 206 o
[email protected].
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WATCH Community News: Summer-Fall 2011
WATCH works towards a more just community
in the Waltham area by:
Creating and promoting affordable housing
Providing adult education and leadership
development
Empowering underrepresented residents
through civic engagement
WATCH is about you! Our work is underscored
and strengthened by community organizing
and community building.
Rhonda, Alex, Erica, and Anne are always here to help, give us a call!
Traducción en español esta adentro: Página 7
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517 Moody Street, Waltham, MA 02453
(781) 891 - 6689
www.watchcdc.org