On August 5, 2021, the lead agency partners for the Near Eastside Quality of Life plan hosted a successful in-person summit for the first time since the start of COVID-19 at Purdue Polytechnic High School Englewood. Nearly 37 neighbors and partners were in attendance, in person or via Zoom, and enjoyed snacks provided by the Near Eastside Innovation School Corporation. The Summit started with a welcome from PPHS Principal Shatoya Ward. Notable items on the agenda were a presentation about the journey of the PR Mallory building from Joe Bowling of Englewood Community Development Corporation and presentations from the leadership of the Arts & Culture, Safety, and Sustainability Community Action Teams on the work they have been doing in the community. Similar to past summits, in-person attendees were able to participate in break-out sessions to discuss important topics. The questions were:

  1. Do you feel that the Community Action Teams are effective for QOL plan implementation? Why or why not? How can they be improved?
  2. Are there different ways in which we can effectively implement the QOL plan OTHER THAN by using the Community Action Teams while encouraging resident engagement?
  3. If you are NOT a member of a CAT, what would attract you to be more engaged in the QOL plan?

Break-out groups were able to share their input with other groups. Community Builder Rainie Grant collected feedback from this session and looks forward to implementing that feedback.

The summit ended with a celebration of neighbor “wins” and a tour of the building for interested neighbors.

Due to audio issues we are unable to post the summit recording, and we apologize for the inconvenience to our Zoom attendees as well. If you are interested in getting involved with the Near Eastside Quality of Life plan as a resident or partner on the Near Eastside please contact the Community Builder, Rainie Grant, at rgrant@jbncenters.org. Keep an eye out on our social media and Near Eastside News newsletter for updates on future events and upcoming quarterly summits!

Special thanks to:
Purdue Polytechnic High School Englewood, Near Eastside Innovation School Corporation, lead agency partners from John Boner Neighborhood Centers, Englewood Community Development Corporation, NEAR Indy, Westminster Neighborhood Services, and Thomas Gregg Neighborhood School, Abigail Lane (ECDC), Eric Stewart, AmeriCorps VISTAs Kalie Klein, Danielle Buresh and Emily Benner