Author Archive
Little Earth Partnership Redefines Research
By SARAH McVICAR Reprinted with permission from Metropolitan State University”™s Institute for Community Engagement and Scholarship https://littleearth.org/scout In 2015, Metropolitan State Human Services Professor Roberta Gibbons and residents of the Little Earth community embarked on a rare, shared project that would impact them both in fundamental and enduring ways. Like Little Earth itself ”“ the only Native-preference Section 8 housing community in the nation ”“ the initiative was unique from the start. It began with a proposal for a small research grant from the U.S. Department of Justice to gather data about the drivers and causes of violence at Little Earth ”“ and potentially secure a subsequent larger grant to fund community programming. At the heart of the project was the unique way in which it embodied its model of Community-Based Participatory Action Research (CBPAR) ”“ what the Healthy City program defines as a [...]
Neighbors Rally for Environmental Justice in East Phillips
By STEVE SANDBERG AND KAREN CLARK, EAST PHILLIPS NEIGHBORHOOD INSTITUTE BOARD MEMBERS (Photo By: MICAH SPIELER-SANDBERG) On Sunday March 7, supporters of the East Phillips Indoor Urban Farm Project gathered atop the Greenway bike path”˜s Martin Olav Sabo Bridge in East Phillips Neighborhood. Organized with the help of the local chapter of Global Shapers, an estimated 200+ socially distanced supporters rallied at 1PM to display protest banners over Hwy 55 and to hear speakers. On this unseasonably warm 58 degree Sunday afternoon, the bridge was filled with many neighbors -- from babies to elders; East Phillips Neighborhood Institute (EPNI) organizers; Little Earth of United Tribes drummers and singers; American Indian Movement carriers of the AIM Flag; numerous racial and environmental justice organizational allies; four candidates for Minneapolis”™ 9th Ward City Council”™s 2021 election race; all welcomed by the rousing sound of local [...]
Tips from a COVID-19 Case Investigator: I”™m Vaccinated. Now What?
By LINDSEY FENNER As more neighbors and loved ones are getting vaccinated, we”™re entering a hopeful yet complicated time of the pandemic. If you”™re like me, only some people in your household or social group are fully vaccinated (I”™ll probably be last on the list!). This means while there are some things fully vaccinated people can do with other fully vaccinated people, they should be careful when they”™re around folks who haven”™t been vaccinated yet. First a definition: “Fully vaccinated” means someone who has completed their full vaccine series (2 shots for a 2-dose series like Moderna/Pfizer, and 1 shot for the Johnson & Johnson/Janssen vaccine) and it has been at least 2 weeks since they had their final dose. Had one shot of a two-dose vaccine? Nope, not fully vaccinated. Had your last shot yesterday? Still not fully vaccinated. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) came out with new [...]
