Library
E-Bulletins
2008 E-Bulletin Archives: Click Here
2007 E-Bulletin Archives: Click Here
2006 E-Bulletin Archives: Click Here
Newsletters (PDF)
Summer 2008
Fall 2007
Spring 2007
2007 Initiatives Chart
Winter 2006–2007
Summer 2006
Winter 2005
Spring 2004
Fall 2003
Summer 2003
Spring 2003
Spring 2002
Media Lending Library
Making Connections Des Moines has a collection of over 50 programs on DVD and videotape that community groups can borrow to learn more about initiatives for change, explore a particular issue in greater depth, and help mobilize neighbors and friends for action. The collection includes both nationally and locally-produced productions. Programs cover topics such as:
- Aging out of the foster care system
- EITC
- Economic self-sufficiency
- Faith community and social change
- Fatherhood
- Incarceration and reentry
- Neighborhood transformation
- Racism
- Social networks
- Study circles
To learn more or to borrow a program, contact Tony Wilson, Neighborhood Health Initiative, 309-4797, wilsonar@ihs.org.
Other
Data Trends and Influence in Polk County
The following PowerPoint presentation materials and summaries of presenters’ remarks and potential next steps are from the September 11, 2007, report to the community about the state of families and children in Making Connections neighborhoods as compared to the surrounding community. The meeting was sponsored by United Way of Central Iowa and Making Connections Des Moines.
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Iowa Employment Solutions Focus Group Report
In September 2007, Iowa Employment Solutions hosted a series of focus groups to gain insight into the strengths and weakness of services provided in the Des Moines area from those who use the services. The focus groups, funded in part by Making Connections Des Moines and conducted by the State Public Policy group, included 52 youth, adult and dislocated workers who received services funded by the Workforce Investment Act between January 1, 2006 and June 30, 2007.
Topics covered in the focus groups included workforce center process, Iowa Employment Solutions (IES) services, job preparedness and on the-job supports, employer and community knowledge and recognition, and round robin – identifying a single priority.
The Diarist Project.
The Diarist Project is a new approach being used by Making Connections sites across the country, including in Des Moines, to learn from its work to strengthen families and transform struggling neighborhoods. Part of this work involves publishing stories of communities in action so other communities can apply that learning to their own situations. For reflections on Des Moines activity, see:
Diarist Project publications from all locations are available online and through Making Connections Des Moines, info@makingconnectionsdm.org, 282-3561.
Making Connections Des Moines Facts, 2005. 36-page booklet. Provides demographic information about the Making Connections neighborhoods and details where gaps exist in education, employment, housing and health between these neighborhoods and the rest of Polk County. Contact info@makingconnectionsdm.org, 282-3561
Re-enter: the Social Cost of Incarceration. 40-page booklet. Explores the issues surrounding prisoner re-entry in Iowa, with special focus on the Des Moines community and the impact on children and families. Contact info@makingconnectionsdm.org, 282-3561
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Through the Family's Eyes For approximately six months, 10 inner-city Des Moines families recorded their experiences in working to get ahead. They noted when and where they had sought help and became involved with public systems and what help they had received. They shared their experiences in trying to get what they needed to maintain their family economically and to raise their children successfully. Their stories reflect real-life experiences of how public systems function and help or fail to help families, as viewed through the family's eyes rather through the system's. Their stories were developed to offer a new picture of public services for Polk County policy makers and administrators, one based not on whether a particular service or program performed its responsibilities but whether the array of services and programs collectively helped meet the needs of those they served. En Espanol
United Way - Research, Evaluation, Social Reporting. Reports are available on the following topics:
- Family Economic Self Sufficiency
- Housing
- Youth
- Health
- Other Topics
See also Resources elsewhere in this site:
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