Spring 2016

Front Feature

SRI Working with UNP

By Jewel Morgan

Kara Byrne's is one of the newest faces you'll see at the UNP House. You may know her from her time as a doctoral student at the UNP Hartland Partnership Center, but we are excited to have her working with us. She is a Senior Research Analyst for the Social Research Institute (SRI) at the University of Utah's College of Social Work.

Together we are working to rethink the way we measure success, collect our data, and the type of data we collect, This lays the groundwork and opens opportunities for the University and students to do further research, because in many ways the type of work we are doing in the community is very cutting edge.

Kara has been meeting with staff, partners, and UNP board members for open dialogue, focus groups, and surveys to get a deeper understanding of existing partnerships and long-term goals. Watch for more details as this exciting work develops.

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Backman Students See Their Way Past Barriers

Written by Tiana McCall

In November 2015, Backman Elementary identified almost 100 children in the school who needed glasses through a routine vision test conducted by the school district. We recognized that although the parents knew about their children's vision needs. they might face various barriers such as low income, no insurance, no transportation, and no time to get their kids to a clinic to be seen.

We sent a short questionnaire out to the parents asking them questions to determine their eligibility for a school-district voucher. From the ones returned to us, 14 children would qualify for the voucher. From the other questionnaires returned to us, we found 14 more students who would possibly need help getting their hands on glasses. In order to help these kids get the vision help they needed, we organized a second vision screening through Utah Partners for Health. They deployed a mobile vision van to the elementary school on a Tuesday morning. They screened all 14 children in a matter of a few hours and determined that 12 of them would need glasses. The last barrier we eliminated was the cost of glasses. Through a contact with a member of the Rose Park Lions Club, they graciously donated the funds to pay for glasses for each of the children in need. The photo shows some of the children that were a part of the Rose Park Lions Club donation. They are so excited to be wearing their glasses. Some of the kids said to me, "I can actually see the whiteboard in class now!" and "I really love my new glasses!" Thanks to the generous donation of time, services, and funding from Utah Partners for Health, The Rose Park Lions Club, and the Salt Lake School District, 26 elementary kids were able to get glasses freе of cost.

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Let Your Voice Be Heard

Let Your Voice Be Heard is a series of workshops aimed at educating and empowering naturalized citizens of refugee/immigrant background on issues related to voting. Developed through the work of UNP social work intern Tiana McCall, Hartland Resident Committee member Abdirizak Ibrahim, volunteer Ahmed AI Qaraghuli, and other volunteers, these free workshops will run throughout the year, educating participants on the voting process, polling locations, candidates, and other important issues. Workshops will also involve politicians and decision makers in panels.

These workshops will encourage participants to become civically engaged and prepared to participate in their local, state, and federal elections. The program is funded through a grant and donations that cover costs of materials, snacks, waters, and to support volunteers contributing in areas such as child care, transportation, and interpreting.

The organizers have made efforts to address barriers such as language, transportation and childcare, and to engage a diverse group of people reaching out through flyers, social media, word of mouth, and sharing information on the KRCL radio station. Flyers have been distributed in Swahili, French, Arabic, Somali, Spanish, and English.

Workshops will be held at Glendale Library and announced ahead of each event. They will continue through the year with a goal of encouraging participants to register to vote and participate in elections this year.

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Partners to Bring Mobile Food Market to Hartland and West Side Locations

By Erin Olschewski, Real Food Risking

Salt Lake City (SLCgreen), in partnership with Real Food Rising (a program of Salt Lake Community Action Program), Utahns Against Hunger, and Green Urban Lunchbox was recently awarded a U.S. Department of Agriculture grant through the Farmers Market Promotion Program. This grant will allow the organizations to establish farm stands and a mobile market in the Poplar Grove and Glendale neighborhoods.

The Food Oases' Role to Advance and Generate Economies project (FORAGE) aims to expand opportunities for local farmers to sell their fresh produce, to increase the amount of locally produced agricultural products available to low-income communities in food deserts, and to address transportation and financial barriers to healthy, affordable, and local produce.

The funds will be used to coordinate and operate five markets and three farm stands through the summer (June-October 2016) at the following locations:

• Sorenson Unity Center
• Neighborhood House
• UNP-Hartland Partnership Center
• Sherwood Park
• Glendale-Mountain View CLC

Each location will accept SNAР/EBT benefits and Double Up Food Bucks The project is planned to launch in June of 2016. Email SLCgreen@slcgov.com for alerts and updates.

Project Timeline

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Case Management Class Reaches Beyond West Side Communities

By Rosey Hunter

The Case Management Certificate program (CMCP) is currently in its 3rd year. This partnership is a collective of university and community partners, including UNP, the College of Social Work, Salt Lake Education Foundation, and non-profit and community based organizations focused on supporting communities of immigrant and refugee background.

The CMCP is the outcome of a yearlong community based research project engaging stakeholders in identification of community needs and strengths, as well as participation in the development of the curriculum. Delivered weekly over 9 months, the program is intended to support and prepare individuals who are already working as, or who intend to work as case workers, community advocates, family support workers, social change agents and similar positions, at an agency setting, schools, grassroots organization, and/or community association.

The certificate program has an emphasis on a community practice, family focused and strengths based approach. The CMCP makes use of an applied curriculum in which students are actively engaged in their communities. In this way, the СМСР may serve as a catalyst for social change in the communities where students live. With a current cohort of 35 students, the program has over 50 graduates.

Last year, the certificate program was also offered as an online pilot to students living in Kakuma Refugee Camp, Kenya and Dzeleka Refugee Camp, Malawi. Learn more about Refugee Camp Grads.

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Staff Spotlight

Sonia Davila

Sonia is a new youth center assistant the UNP-Hartland Partnership Center. She was introduced to UNP years ago by her son, who was a Youth Community Advocate Leader volunteering at Partners in the Park. Sonia continued to connect, becoming a Community Advocate and volunteering as a child care coordinator at classes and events parents attend. She was approached to assist the Clemente Course in the Humanities taught at East High. She interprets for students, which means she needs to learn the materials right alongside them. She's enthusiastic about that. and is looking forward to joining them at a camp that will be at Westminster College this year.

Since working here she has developed greater insight into the vast amount of cultures and languages represented on the west side and an appreciation for the amount of services and resources here. Sonia loves spending time enjoying nature. She enjoys camping, hiking, and loves visiting the National Parks.

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Community Corner

Chubby's Mexican Restaurant

This long time local restaurant brings more to the west side than just delicious Mexican food. Chubby's Restaurant is also celebrated as being a supporter of their local community.

From their Wall of Honor where they recognize local student athletes for their achievements, to their support of school functions, and other community events—including UNP partnership work, Chubby's is invested in community.

In addition to their community involvement, they serve up delicious favorites like flautas, smothered burritos, and fried ice cream. Their combination plates are a must-have.

Be sure to drop by when you're in the area. Chubby's is located near the Salt Lake School for Science Education (SLCSE) in Rose Park, at 955 North and 1400 West.

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Upcoming Events

UNP-Hartland Spring Festival

April 23—Join us at the UNP-Hartland Partnership Center, 1578 W 1700 S. There will be food, music, games, dancе, and information/resources.

Partners in the Park

The 2016 schedule for Partners in the Park is the following Tuesday evenings from 6-8 p.m.

• 6/21 - Jordan Park
• 6/28 - Sherwood Park
• 7/12 - Poplar Grove Park
• 7/26 - Rose Park Elementary School
• 8/8 - Northwest Recreation Center