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Midtown Phillips Festival

Written by editor on 28 June 2011

by Shirley Heyer

Midtown Phillips Neighborhood Association, Inc. (MPNAI) invites you to enjoy music, food and community at its first annual “Midtown Phillips Festival,” an all-ages family event, Sat., July 23, at Stewart Park, 12th Ave. S. and E. 26th St. This is rain or shine, noon to 8 p.m. The park”'s gym will be available in case of rain.

Co-sponsors with the Minneapolis Parks and Recreation Board, MPNAI also presents this event in association with the city”'s annual Aquatennial Celebration that celebrates Minneapolis”' famous lakes, rivers and parks. This neighborhood does not have lakes or rivers but it does have parks and the Midtown Greenway!

In celebrating its diversity, the neighborhood showcases numerous athletic contests for all ages throughout the day at the Ben Casey baseball diamond and new soccer field ”“ both funded through contributions from the Minnesota Twins.

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Somali Women”'s Proposal Approved by Commission on Health

Written by editor on 27 June 2011

By Janice Barbee, Cultural Wellness Center

The Backyard Initiative”'s Community Commission on Health approved a proposal of the Somali Women”'s Health Support CHAT (Citizen Health Action Team) on June 2, 2011 to promote communication, understanding, and support among women of the Somali community who have children in the justice system. Their project will educate Somali families about how the justice system works, help to connect women together who have children in the system in order to reduce isolation and social stigma, and help to prevent other children in the community from entering the justice system.

The Somali women who presented at the Commission meeting spoke of the difficulty of supporting their children throughout the trial process and incarceration. They also spoke of how their cultural systems of authority, personal accountability, and discipline have been undermined and displaced in the move to the U.S. Understanding the justice system is a crucial first step to rebuilding those systems of authority and supporting their youth. The women plan to create a buddy system where each woman will be linked with another woman when they visit their children in prison and will help each other with transportation. This will create a support system for the women who are now feeling isolated and feel that the legal system is inaccessible and foreign.… Read the rest “Somali Women”'s Proposal Approved by Commission on Health”