Envisioning Our City’s Future: Creating an Inclusive Community
Envisioning Our City’s Future: Creating an Inclusive Community
Carrie Williams: Right? Testing. Oh, I'm good. Maybe I can do. Okay, creating an inclusive community. As I sit here, and I look around at the people that are here, we got diversity here. We got mostly older people and I'm in that group, okay. There are a few young ones here. What we need is more young people. Creating an inclusive community, for me, means that we cannot be biased. It has to be fought, it has to be open to everybody from the young to the old to disabled, the homebound. That's what an inclusive community means to me.
We look around at the schools. The schools shouldn't be able to tell this disabled child, they can't attend this school – but they got to go to Yucca and they can't go to the one in 29. We shouldn't have it where jobs because you don't have training – we can’t teach you here, you got to go there and teach. That's why we don't have the young people in the community now. Because some of us need open minds to bring the young people back to the community. And in order to get them back in the community, we got to give them a job. We got to make them want to be here. Even if we just start them out as volunteers…but we got to get them back into the community up here.
I see all the young folks that are walking around talking about there's no jobs in this community. This is a very fine community, took me years to realize that because I got that city in me and the city still in me. It's gonna take a while for me to get the city out of me. But I know what we got up here. I know a lot of you in here personally, Mike Usher, I've been to his spot. Love the salad Mike, love the salad (laughter). The lady was speaking about the hardware store. You know what? They already told you? You did a fine job. I've always shopped at Ace. Why? Because you got what I'm looking for.
And that's what we have to do with these young people, we got to be positive and tell them that they are important. And they are needed up here. You know, I got some nephews that are up here, we got property up here. Guess what they tell us. I'm going to college. And when I come back, and if you're not around, we're going to sell it. That's not why we bought the property. We bought the property so that they can have something and they'll always have a place to stay.
But that is what an inclusive community is. It's all ages. We need to look around. Just looking right here now! We can see we have all ages here. I heard somebody say 1955 – that's older than me. You know. It sounds crazy. But yes, we are getting older now. So I can really appreciate the desert. But I would like for somebody that when I get ready to retire, retire. I’m a retiree that is still working – doesn't make sense. Why? Because we haven't trained our children or instilled into our children why they should be in Twentynine Palms. Twentynine Palms can be booming like Yucca, Palm Springs. We just gotta get…we got to find something to get the young kids back up here
Come on and talk to me. Yeah. Hello.
Viviana Hermosillo: My name is Viviana Hermosillo, I'm a part of the Youth council here in 29.
I feel that one thing we could do to make the youth more passionate about staying in this community…And honestly, I personally, I love this community. It's so close knitted, and stuff you see in movies. Like everyone knows everyone around here – you turn around, and hey, I know you from the Dollar Tree! I just saw you – you're my neighbor. Stuff like that you don't see the big cities. These things are what make this community special. And I feel that we have to salvage that, we have to make an effort to preserve that.
An idea I have is we should make some internships, we should make there be opportunities for mentors for all these…all these owners, small community owners, the mom and pop stores. They should get together, they should be able to have a place so they can teach the youth all these entrepreneurship mentalities, because kids think they have to go to college, they have to get an internship somewhere out of state. And I don't think we need that. Of course, we need an education. But that shouldn't mean necessarily that we have to leave. Like, a lot of these people here have said, we used to have everything here. And I say we should bring that back.
Paul Razo: There are great volunteer opportunities out there. I know, probably 29 Palms Art Gallery is looking for volunteers, they're struggling. Reach out to local organizations and volunteer. And then in terms of internships, I mean, I don't know if you guys have tried to find a contractor in the desert to get anything done. But it's one of the more impossible tasks. So by all means, if there's any way that we can incentivize these businesses to do some intern programs, and get these people in and start them working to where they already have a job lined up for them when they're done with the internship – keep them in town. I mean, it would just all be for the better. I love that, I glad you spoke up.
Supinda Siri: I also think that we have a lot to learn from the young people as well. I think that it would be wonderful. I did seek a volunteer opportunity at the senior center a couple of years ago – it was during the pandemic, so nothing happened. But it would be great to try to create more intergenerational relationships going on so that they can share skills and knowledge with each other. Yeah, and I think that us grown folks also need to be humble to learn that this world is changing. Like every time I need to change my iPhone, I'm just like, Oh my God. But young people, now they pick up things really quickly. And they're very nimble. And I think that they're kind of representative of Twentynine Palms. We are nimble, but we also have to honor what came before us, and try to lay a nice pathway for the young people as well.
Robin Schlosser: I am Robin Schlosser and I'm the Director for the Reach Out Morongo Basin. And I'm also the programming director for the 29 Palms Senior Center. And I remember Supinda when you wanted to do yoga classes. And unfortunately, at that time, during COVID, we were shut down so we weren’t doing it. I agree with you that we do need more intergenerational activities. One of the things that we were very excited about with the formation of the Youth Council is the possibility of having them come and do activities with our seniors. We're exploring technology classes. I know that for most of us who are older, computers are not our friends in any way, shape, or form. (laughter) Our youth can look at them and then everything works. We're looking to have them do some new activities, art classes with the PAAC, you know, different things like that. Just show them that there are benefits to having these relationships with the elders, who can in their own way mentor them, can speak about what their what their lives were like, what knowledge that they have, as far as job skills, life skills, and help pass that on to generations to help keep them here too.
Cindy Bernard: I just want to say something about the internship – the idea of internships. And also about the Youth Council, speaking to the couple of Councilmembers that are here, I think it's fantastic that you were there and that you're available to fulfill some of the volunteer opportunities that exist within the community. But I also think that some of what the Youth Council could do is policy – influence policy. Maybe there's two different pulls that are happening with regard to the development of this group of 13 or 14 young people that are interested in being involved in their community, the pull towards all of the volunteer opportunities from which the Youth Council can learn, but also the proactive ideas that they might have with regards to the future of our community and talking with Council about policy issues that they feel would be beneficial to their futures. So I would hope that we're looking at them in both respects, in a broader way.
And I know that the Desert Trumpet and its approach to the Youth Council to ask them to write for the Desert Trumpet with regards to the kinds of things that are happening within the Youth Council. And we're hoping that we can develop that into perhaps something that's a newspaper for the youth. Because right now, I know that the high school doesn't have a high school newspaper, I had a high school newspaper when I grew up and it's something that's really, really important for the kids to have – that kind of outlet. And we're gonna see what we can do.
Carrie Williams: I think what we also need from what I'm hearing is to come up with a volunteer list, find out what organizations have areas for volunteers, where the youth council can come. And find out what ages and if some of the store owners, business owners, look to the school and see what the school got for students that can come and work your stores. Because the school does have students that want to work. And like I said, for an inclusive community, we cannot be biased. We have to be open to everybody. So Maybe we should start with, let's come up with a list of volunteers of the different areas of volunteering.
Why don't you have a mic? Why don't you start and then we'll come around this corner to the folks in the front row that also want to talk.
William Sumption I love what you've said about that. Because I think at our school, there's a lot of people who would love to help, they just don't know how. I don't know where to find out about them. So I think creating a list would definitely help about that. I also want to point out that if we're looking for youth to join the community, the military base nearby, continuously, generates a lot of youth that come in and come out. And so we could find a way to connect them to the community here and give them a reason to stay or come back later. It would be a good way to make sure that we have youth that want to stay in the community.
Bea Koch Hi I’m Bea Koch. I've lived here about five years now with my husband, I just wanted to say that I'm a poll worker, and I was a supervisor this year. And they have a fantastic program where the high school students get credit for volunteering as poll workers. And we had I think, four –
John Talley-Jones: I think four, yeah.
Bea Koch John was the technical clerk. It was such a great way for us to get to know them, them to get to know committee members. And they seemed to have been trained wonderfully. And I think that might be something we could look at as a model. Because they seem to be very plugged in to the school, they were getting credit for it. So I thought it was just a great way to get them involved in something like that.
Rhonda Coleman: I 100% agree about the list. The challenge about the list is where's the list go? I know, Talulah, she may not want to talk…Talulah is on the Youth City Council (If you don't mind.) One of the things that she had suggested is how do all of the youth know what's actually happening? Right? I mean, we have a little bit of information on the city of Twentynine Palms. But it's even hard as a parent or student to figure out what the heck is happening at the individual schools and which of the five Facebook Places or Instagrams do you go to to find the information. So one of the things that Talulah identified was, where it is the central place where we can all communicate this information and share it. I just want to say a few positive things. I just want to say to our new business owners, new as of the last five years. I am so appreciative of them, not just because of their businesses, but because of their collaboration.
I know Amy and Sara –– and Carrie, I have seen at a number of events. And so I think the big thing is, like, show up. If we start showing up one at a time, because here's what happened. I started showing up. “I don't know you, but I've seen you many times.” And when I drive and like, I think I need to go to the beauty shop. I haven't done it yet, but I want to. And then here's a funny thing. We are at Whitewater on Father's Day soaking in the water. And I looked over and I see Terence and he's like, I know you. I know you. And I think we've had a few conversations about collaboration.
So I would like to offer myself as a conduit between any of the businesses or organizations to our schools, because there's such great opportunity to connect, and I 100% agree with you bringing the youth in. They need to know what's happening. You need to know what's happening. I have a few ideas…so I think showing up, collaboration, definitely a central place where this information can be communicated. I know I brought this up many times in different places. And I think it's like “well who's gonna oversee it,” “who's gonna edit it” but it needs to happen. So maybe these youth people can figure it out. (laughter and applause).
Carrie Williams: The main interest is that all y'all out here y'all are not here because y'all have nothing to do. Y'all are here because you'll have input. We all need to hear what everybody has to say. You might not think it's important but it is important because what you say might affect me and make me move a little faster, where I'm working a little slower, you know. And for those that are working slower, maybe now you'll move a little fast. But that's all it takes is for us to show up. And in order for us to show up, we have to show up in numbers.
And this is a nice group for the first time. So you can pat yourself on the back for just showing up. And as far as the list, I'm looking at Lori, because I know, she could probably use some volunteers as well. You know, there's a few places, few organizations in here that can use volunteers – maybe they got a website, put it out there that you're looking for volunteers, that might be a start. You know, I don't know how to get started. But we could work this out.
Cindy Bernard: If someone can coordinate a volunteer list, we (the Desert Trumpet) can easily put it someplace. We found the city website to be so difficult to navigate, at Desert Trumpet that we just made a Twentynine Palms resources list so that I can easily find an agenda without having to navigate the city website. And certainly we have the capability to post a list. We don't have the infrastructure right now to make it. But we do have the ability to host the distribute it.
Rhonda Coleman: But that's the issue. Infrastructure and I have faith in our Youth City Council, we have some techies on there. And Viviana, I love what you had to say about entrepreneurship and connecting. I think that you all can together, find a way to automate or create some sort of automated system or create a list where the information can be input and easily posted. I have faith.
Talulah Coleman: Well, my name is Talulah Coleman, when I try and search up on the town website, to go do something or around the community where you're able to do and talk about…and places to go. It's very complicated and trying to figure out what there is available. Because, yes, we can make lists. But where are we supposed to find them? Like, there's so many different websites that you can do, but it's not shown to the community, so they don't exactly know where to go.
Carrie Williams: Hey, let's give our young folks a hand. (applause)
Rhonda Coleman: Can I say one more thing. I just need to give an example of something that's happened at the high school recently. I don't know about you all. But one of the things we used to be able to do…when there was a dance, everyone showed up at the dance. This year, they couldn't even get 20 kids to sign up, and then they canceled the dance. So there is an example of – there's not even this community happening within the school itself. So the place where you think these things are happening, where the kids get to join together and bond and have fun. It's not happening. And part of that is because they need more support. And some of that is family support. But I know within our community, if we could pull together and help with some of those things. I think that would be important to encourage crossover.
Cindy Bernard: Yeah, that's, that's an amazing thing. I'm sorry to hear that. That astounds me. So it does sound like even the school really needs that support as well. I see a hand in the back.
Haydee Hermosillo: Hello, I'm Haydee Hermosillo – my daughter is Viviana. And I'm also voicing for her and the youth here. I'm also new to this community – to Twentynine Palms. And I have observed that not only children that go to local schools, but I am observing there's a lot of homeschoolers and they need a place that they need to seek among you.
And what someone hasn't mentioned, there's a lack of marketing and technical people who know media, and so forth. These are the mentorships that we need for our youth. My daughter is one of the ones stepping up to…there's a metrics of help work – she’ll be more than happy to learn…and collaborate with what we're asking for. Who's gonna be on the list, who's seeking out ,who's going to deliver through our internet.
We see people all the time on the phone, but everybody's separated. So we need to find that common ground where our city can come together and show our youth direction. And the entrepreneurs also have that direction to have volunteers because some, some businesses, they can't afford to hire. So guess what? They could mentor business and have volunteers – our youth lacks it, our youth, this is totally in for this. At least my daughter, she's, she's hungry to learn and, and wants more mentorship and everything that we're mentioning.
One more thing I wanted to mention. The youth also seeks a local place where they can hang out, where they can meet and come together for games, mentorship, homeschoolers learn from other home schoolers, and so forth. We've been told that it's too expensive to build a building. So I have an idea –– I think I mentioned this to Cindy. There's some casinos and there's many locations where they have those very sturdy tents, they're no more than $5,000. And in summer, everybody's home and the kids can go out – many children do not have good air conditioning in their homes – they can, come to a communal place where youth and mentors meet for summer, within an air conditioned place. I don't think it's going to cost that much. Because we can ask people to work communally that will, you know – if I know something you need help, you need something, I'm there. Let's find these people that are willing to donate their time to donate a screw or a tool to build this for our Youth. You're asking, why is our youth leaving? Because they don't have this – this is common ground for them to come together with different ages and gap that mentorship.
Viviana Hermosillo: Um, and also another thing I could solve this is many of the small owners…you know what I mean. You guys could host all these events, instead of buying a specific building – from this time to this time. “Hey, everyone, come here. I'm sponsoring this event for you guys to have air conditioning and to have a spot to be able to come together.” And I don't know about you guys, but I think that's doable. I mean, seeing everyone here, you all care. You all care about this community. And I'm sure many others are unrepresented here that also care about this community. And I'm sure many will stand up for it.
Carrie Williams: I can hang out with you! (laughter)
Cindy Bernard: There is actually a building that I think is underutilized – that was a Boys and Girls Club. They now call it Patriotic Hall. It's the building that's down in Lucky Park, where occasionally we’ve had a meeting. Anybody who's been at any of the meetings that Indian Cove Neighbors has organized – that all happened in that building. And I'm not really sure how often it's getting rented. It has air conditioning, it has some couches. That's a conversation with Parks and Rec. I don't even know the history of it as to how it went from Boys and Girls Club to basically mostly an empty building that is occasionally used for meetings. So maybe that's also an avenue worth exploring. If there if there's a desire for a central place. I think some classes are held there sometimes too.
Paul Razo: Yeah. And the PAAC is currently trying to get an after school program going over there. Hopefully next fall. They're working on a grant application to get some funding, but hopefully it will be utilized to have more teens go there after school and have it be sort of a meeting place.
Viviana Hermosillo: A problem with I think, the Patriotic Hall…we did mention this in our previous meeting and they told us that it’s being utilized so much that there's no time for the summer to book it. So hearing very different things here.
Sarah Lyons: It's just for the summer.
Octavious Scott: They have what?
Sarah Lyons: They have a day camp in the summer. That utilizes it a lot during the summer but for the most of the year it is underused
Octavious Scott: And the location is not really that central.
Kimberly ZZYZX: At the Institute of Inquiry, we have a small space, it's a residential area, it's very near to the 49 Palms Canyon Oasis Trail. And we were able to get this building built with a loan. We're off grid and we have air conditioning. And we have the program I mentioned earlier today – The Creative Fields mentorship program. I forgot where I was going with that because everyone's just looking at me. I would love to host, it's not huge, but we have comfortable space, we have games, we have internet. So if there was going to be, like, a weekly Wednesday night hangout, we have space. It would probably not be comfortable for more than 15. But yeah, a cornerstone of what we're doing with Creative Fields is empowering youth. And so at the very least, we can share space.
Index
Next: What Does Positive Change Look Like?
Previous: Balancing Development with Maintenance of Our Desert Ecosystem
Leave us your thoughts in the comments below. Please note that we do not allow anonymous comments. Please be sure your first and last name is on your profile prior to commenting. Anonymous comments will be deleted.