This article was written by Kathleen Hustad
Although North Minneapolis is a vibrant, creative, caring and authentic community, one of the drawbacks is that our community experiences a disproportionate share of crime when compared to other parts of the city.
The North Minneapolis Rotary Club is committed to shifting the narrative and bringing real solutions to bring more peace and conflict resolution to the Northside. Northsiders deserve to live in a community where they feel safe and Rotary is committed to being part of a patchwork of neighbors, nonprofits, schools, places of worship and businesses coming together to make this happen.
To design an effective solution, the Rotary Club acknowledges a large proportion of crime in Minneapolis is concentrated in North Minneapolis due to a variety of factors in which underinvestment, structural inequalities as well as socio-economic and racial disparities play a factor.
For over 12 years, the North Minneapolis Rotary Club has been partnering with the community to increase peace through education on managing conflict; the core of many crimes. The community service club is intentionally and organically creating a strategy for residents to come together and work toward crime reduction. Positive activity often displaces negative activity as we unite to be a more peaceful community for everyone.
“The strategic vision of this multi-year initiative is to strengthen skills for conflict resolution in our community by expanding positive relationships and promoting peaceful interactions in times of crisis,” said Kelley Eubanks who chairs the Club’s Peace and Conflict Resolution Committee. “To accomplish this goal, the organization plans to create safer communities by raising awareness about the effects that peace can have on a community, decreasing violence through providing resources on how to address conflict constructively, and building partnerships with other Rotary clubs in District 5950 in order to maximize their impact.”
Essentially, it takes building conflict resolution skills one person at a time to bring peace.
A primary focus of the Club’s strategy is to create community-based initiatives that create a space for peaceful education, reflection and interaction. Examples include hosting an International Peace Day Celebration at North Commons Park; collecting pledges from community members for non-violence; hosting conflict resolution workshops; sponsoring a youth essay contest about peace and resolution; creating a Peace Garden in the highland neighborhood; cleaning up trash on West Broadway; co-sponsoring a Gun Buyback Program; and hosting an artistic celebration of Northside Love in collaboration with artist seangarrison.
In addition, the Club plans to focus on its partnership with Charles Caine, founder of Brothers EMPowered.
Brothers EMPowered started nine years ago and is a community-based organization that supports and empowers BIPOC men, women, youth and families. Through their focus on Health and Wellness, Youth EMpowerment and Community Outreach, their mission is to enable, strengthen and equip men/boys of color to connect with their true purpose and reach their full potential.
The North Minneapolis Rotary Club plans to partner with Brothers EMpowered by: leveraging existing community leaders, business owners and organizations to implement change, utilizing community outreach to meet and engage with residents; providing connections to community resources; working with neighborhood associations and their crime and safety committees; mobilizing residents and community members toward being proactive in their safety and the safety of others; and by becoming active in community engagements, organizing and becoming involved in their neighborhood association.
“As a club, we are bringing about change by investing in our own community and engaging neighbors of all ages about resolving conflicts,” said Eubanks. “The Rotary Club of North Minneapolis encourages anyone interested in working towards these objectives to join them in combatting crime and striving for peace.”
Eubanks encourages professionals and businesspeople interested in learning more about the club and how they can support bringing peace to the community to meet us at an upcoming event or attend a meeting as a guest.
Save the date! The North Minneapolis Rotary Club will be hosting its third annual “Northside Ramble” on August 5. This fun community event will celebrate what makes the Northside great and connect neighbors and individuals from other parts of the metro to experience. Stay tuned to the Camden News and to the North Minneapolis Rotary Club’s Facebook page for more info.
The Club meets online every Tuesday by Zoom from 7:35-8:35 a.m. and welcomes Northside community members and professionals to get involved. It is always looking for guest speakers who are making a difference in our community. Contact northmplsrotary@gmail.com to request the link.