A recent posting said that few to none of the participants in the NRP program have come from the ranks of minorities.
The writer of these comments must not know about the North Minneapolis Southeast Asian Initiative, which has gotten hundreds of Hmong involved in their neighborhoods and developed the Hmong Emergency Translation Card. The initative is cosponsored by the Jordan, Hawthorne and Cleveland neighborhoods along with the Southeast Asian Community Council. This Initiative could never have happened without NRP. The first step the Initiative took was to interview 150 Hmong families in their homes. A top problem voiced by many Hmong was that they had trouble communicating with the police. Many Hmong speak little or no English. When they get pulled over by the police for a traffice violation, or when they are involved in a fender bender, the police cannot talk with the driver. Many Hmong believe they are wrongly given tickets because the police do not hear their side of the story. This communications problem can be life-threatening in the case of firefighters fighting a blaze, paramedics rushing someone to the hospital, or police responding to a violent situation. Scores of Hmong and non-Hmong neighbors discussed what could be done to deal with this communications problem. After months of research, they developed the Hmong Emergency Translation Card. About the size of a business card, it has three numbers of people who are bilingual and can provide real-time translation between the police and the Hmong driver. The Hmong family puts the card in the glove compartment, and when they are pulled over, the present the card to the police officer. The card says "I would like to talk with you, but I do not speak English, I speak Hmong." The police officer can then use her cell phone to call one of the bilingual people, who can then translate between the police officer and the driver. The Initiative has gotten hundreds of these cards out to Hmong families, and now Hmong in St. Paul are beginning to ask for them. But the work is not done. Many more families want the cards. There have been problems with the police ignoring the cards. And other immigrant groups in Minneapolis need to hear about these cards. Potentially, translation cards such as this could be used in cities across the country. And the card was developed by some Hmong resident volunteers working to improve the quality of life in their neighborhoods. It is one of those ideas that when people hear about it, they say "Why didn't anybody ever think of this before." But in fact nobody in the United States ever did anything like this before. The Initiative has also done bilingual meetings on topics ranging from using 911 to rights of U.S. citizens to protecting yourself from dogs to choosing a school. Several of these meetings have pulled in over 100 people, and one has pulled in over 200 people. The meetings are 90% Hmong. These are the biggest neighborhood meetings in north Minneapolis. To get political support for the card, the Initiative sponsored a 3rd ward Hmong candidates forum this past Saturday, with 70 people participating. This Initiative would not have happened without NRP. NRP provided the capacity of the neighborhood organizations to take on this project. In turn, hundreds of Hmong residents took the initiative to identify community concerns and then do something about it. Jay Clark Cooper P.S. 4th precinct inspector Tim Dolan has been incredibly supportive and helpful in the development of this card. Has has spent many long hours in meetings, working with Hmong residents, and then getting the word out on the card to police and to other jurisdictions. P.P.S. Re. Highway 55 speed limits. I said that residents at local meetings had identified problems for pedestrians getting across Hiawatha as a top concern. The 46th St. meeting took place before the speed limit question came up. We intend to ask people their opinion on speed limits at an upcoming Lake St. LRT meeting. P.P.P.S. I wish to report that rumors to the contrary, Matt Thoren really does exist, he really does live in Jordan, and he really has been involved in the Jordan Area Community Council. When I worked at JACC he hosted block meetings and went doorknocking with me. _______________________________________ Minneapolis Issues Forum - A City-focused Civic Discussion - Mn E-Democracy Post messages to: mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] Subscribe, Unsubscribe, Digest, and more: http://e-democracy.org/mpls
