Hey Neighbors, We had a great crowd at the November 11 PPNA Meeting. Many thanks to the guest speakers, and small business owners featured in the Holiday Gift Guide for coming out to connect in our area.
Announcements
Memberships: PPNA is membership-oriented organization. Become a member or renew your membership today! Contact Daniel with any questions/concerns: treasurer@pattersonparkneighborhood.org.
The Commodore John Rodgers School: Maryland Legal Aid is providing free legal services to CJR families and community members. You can meet one-on-one with an attorney to help with a wide range of civil legal issues (bankruptcy, child support, custody, visitation, criminal record expungement, debt collection, divorce, employment, foreclosure, government benefits, landlord-tenant issues, tax sales, water bills, etc.). The clinic is held at The Commodore John Rodgers School on the following dates: November 15 from 2pm - 5pm, December 5 from 9am - 12pm, and December 19 from 2pm - 5pm. Contact Hannah Wallace with questions/concerns: wallace@thecjrschool.org.
Maryland WIC: Now seeking stories from ‘WIC babies,’ people who were on WIC as infants or children and are now adults. Help spread the word in your network to reach more adults who may have been WIC babies. Contact Ernest Le, ernest.le@maryland.gov, to share your story.
Committee Happenings
Board announcement: PPNA has a new website! Suggestions? Needs? What would you like to see from the new site? Contact Taylor, secretary@pattersonparkneighborhood.org
Board announcement: PPNA elections forthcoming in January. Interested in running? Happy to talk about neighbor engagement, goodness of fit for your interests, open positions, etc. Contact info@pattersonparkneighborhood.org to start the conversation.
Safety Committee: Props to the Safety Committee on the Baltimore Sun Article highlighting our local camera network which assists in solving crimes. Contact Arch for more information, safety@pattersonparkneighborhood.org.
Greening Committee: Many trees have been planted in our area in the past several years. We have a google form to help us keep track of our tree pit maintenance. Are there trees on your sidewalk? Please fill out the google form, or contact Michelle for more information, greening@pattersonparkneighborhood.org.
Economic Development Committee: ANNOUNCING THE FIRST EVER HYPER-LOCAL HOLIDAY GIFT GUIDE! Congratulations to all the business owners local entrepreneurs who are featured in the PPNA Hyper-Local Holiday Gift Guide; we look forward to supporting you this holiday season. Shop local! Contact Megan for more information, econdev@pattersonparkneighborhood.org.
NOVEMBER GUESTS
Paris Bienert, Candidate for City Council District 1
District 1 is bordered by the water (Canton Waterfront) on the south, city/county line (Dundalk) on the east, PPNA bounds (approximately Fayette Street) on the north, and President Street on the west (near Harbor East and Little Italy).
Paris is Baltimore born-and-bread, and trained as a social worker. Paris served as the Chair of the State Central Committee in the 46th District.
Paris is interested in supporting neighbors with their most immediate concerns: safety, citizen accountability for our police force, diversifying our police department.
Paris plans to establish a public health task force: expand access to medication-assisted treatment options, grow the number of substance use disorder providers, working with neighborhoods collaboratively with area drug treatment facilities.
Paris plans to establish an Office of Returning Citizens’ Affairs: provide social supports for Baltimore’s returning citizens population: unifying non-profits offering mental or physical healthcare, job placement/job training, housing, parenting skills, etc.
Paris plans to make the City Council Office of District 1 accessible and responsive for the neighbors, including constituent services, local City Council office within District 1 bounds, bi-weekly e-communications.
Learn more about Paris and her plan: www.parisbienert.com
Contact Paris: paris@parisbienert.com
Jenelle Harvey, Thread
Thread was founded in Baltimore City in 2004.
Thread utilizes the power of building relationships to create change in Baltimore City.
Thread supports Baltimore City students in the bottom 25% of their class, with a 1.0 GPA.
Historically in Baltimore City, students with a 1.0 GPA have a 6% change of graduating from high school. Thread students had 85% of students graduate high school within 6 years, and 83% of that group went on to complete additional education degrees or vocational certifications.
Thread creates a supportive cohort of volunteers around a young person, known as the ‘Thread Family.’
Thread comes together to build a network, building relationships across lines of difference.
This year, Thread is expanding to welcome a new cohort of students from Patterson High School! This new cohort of high school freshmen will start with Thread in January 2020. Seeking volunteers in the area!
New York Times article from 2018 featuring Thread
Learn more about Thread: www.thread.org
Contact Jenelle: Jenelle.harvey@thread.org
Scott Richmond, Friends of Patterson Park
Patterson Park Master Plan was published in 2015. Currently, there is not enough funding in place to implement the strategic design of the master plan for the park.
Examples of items included in the Master Plan: Park entrances, park maintenance personnel, etc.
In 2017, Baltimore City spent $7,800 on parks and recreational operations. By comparison, other high-density cities spent $25,427 in that year.
Within 1,000 feet of Patterson Park, there are 5,000+ rowhomes. The park maintenance will have a direct effect on livability of the neighborhood.
80% of people in Baltimore City live within a 10-minute walk of a park. Park maintenance will be critical for the well-being of Baltimore City residents.
Sign a petition to support park funding: baltimorecityparks.com
Support the FOPP Capital Campaign: click here to donate
Needs from community members: Contact your elected officials, and encourage them to allocate more funds for park maintenance and recreational operations.
Contact Scott: srichmond5@verizon.net
Daniel Ehrenpreis, Chief Coordinator for the District 1 Community Action Network (D1CAN)
D1CAN is looking for community members willing to engage in community health and housing initiatives throughout District 1.
Dr. David Bishai recognized that JHSPH community efforts are not being translated to the area surrounding the building. D1CAN started with listening to neighbors and community associations in February 2019, and has morphed into community networks and actionable subcommittees for health and housing.
Barriers to Service for healthcare, housing, green space, and employment were the most salient issues for stakeholders in the area.
Learn more information: https://d1can.weebly.com/
Follow on Facebook
Contact Daniel: d1canbmore@gmail.com