Creating an Inclusive Community & What Does Positive Change Look Like? 29 Palms Town Hall, Part 3 of 3
On making a city young people want to live in and the value of just showing up
Note: This is the third of three articles in which Desert Trumpet writers recap the discussions held on Saturday, June 29, during Envisioning Our City’s Future: A Twentynine Palms Town Hall, hosted by the Desert Trumpet.
On Saturday, June 29, more than 50 residents attended the town hall held at the community center in Freedom Plaza. The Town Hall was hosted by the Desert Trumpet and supported by the Desert Trail. The open discussion among residents was facilitated by moderator and Desert Trumpet Editor-in-Chief Cindy Bernard and prompted by our guests: Chris Clarke, Host, 90 Miles from Needles, the Desert Protection Podcast, Paul Razo, Business owner, Member, Public Art Advisory Committee (PAAC) and Carrie Williams, Co-owner, Jeanine Beauty Supply, CEO Women of Color Global 29.
Two members of the new Twentynine Palms Youth Council volunteered as microphone runners: Viviana Hermosillo and William Sumption. Jackson Sumption also volunteered.
Wide-ranging conversations between the panelists and the audience included issues of concern to Twentynine Palms such as education and opportunities for young people, housing, balancing tourism and livable conditions for residents, and support for local businesses. It was a lively get-together, and we are grateful to everyone who took part.
WHAT DOES AN INCLUSIVE COMMUNITY LOOK LIKE?
Speaker Carrie Williams describes an inclusive community as one that welcomes everyone, from the “young to the old, to the disabled to the homebound.” It’s a community that gives opportunities to its young people and supports them in their aspirations and dreams.
Williams’ vision for Twentynine Palms inspired Twentynine Palms Youth Council member Viviana Hermosillo to speak up. “I feel that one thing we could do to make the youth more passionate about staying in this community…is to make some internships. All these small community owners…should get together…so they have a place to teach the youth all these entrepreneurship mentalities.”
Paul Razo agreed and said, “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.” (This got a big laugh from the audience.) “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.”
It Looks Like Intergenerational Relationships
The theme of intergenerational outreach stimulated others to speak up. Supinda Siri suggested there is a lot that adults can learn from young people when they create more more intergenerational relationships—and not just ask for help with smartphone upgrades (laughter).
Cindy Bernard is looking forward to the Youth Council influencing city policy and offering proactive ideas to the City Council and other city commissions and committees. She also suggested the Desert Trumpet could offer assistance with a youth newspaper, “because right now, I know that the high school doesn't have a high school newspaper.”
It Looks Like a Place with Opportunities for Youth
Carrie Williams suggested creating a list of local organizations seeking volunteers, “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 and business owners look to the school and see what the school has for students that can come and work your stores.”
William Sumption, another Youth Council member, said, “at our school, there's a lot of people who would love to help, they just don't know how.” He also pointed out “that if we're looking for youth to join the community, the military base nearby has 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 mentioned that high school students volunteer at election polls—she said how valuable the four youth volunteers were with whom she worked with in the spring primary election.
Rhonda Coleman of Groundwork Arts asked where a volunteer list could live; she said that the City of Twentynine Palms’ website is difficult to use and not inviting to young people. She also expressed appreciation for new business owners and their spirit of collaboration with and engagement in the city and said how important it is to show up and make connections.
A Call to Action
Coleman said,
“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).
Cindy Bernard offered to host the list at the Desert Trumpet site; “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.”
Just Show Up
Carrie Williams echoed how important it is to show up. “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. 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.”
Haydee Hermosillo, Viviana’s mother, noted youth need a place where they can show up. They “also seek a local place where they can hang out, where they can meet and come together for games, mentorship, where homeschoolers learn from other home schoolers, and so forth—a communal place where youth and mentors meet for summer, an air conditioned place….Because we can ask people to work communally that will, you know—if I know you need help, you need something, I'm there.”
WHAT DOES POSITIVE CHANGE LOOK LIKE?
Carrie Williams kicked off this section of the town hall by saying, “…the positive change that I would really like to see is the small businesses that are in Twentynine Palms that are family owned —I'd like for them to hold on.…we need to support the local businesses, the mom and pop stores that we have, so that they'll know that they’re part of the change that's coming.”
She advocated for the area’s rural character:
“We're not looking for it to be a big city. I don't want the big city feeling, because I am the city. Okay, what I need now is what we got now, a nice quiet knit community, where I can see the stars when I go outside—I mean, it's so quiet out here. Excuse me, but I can actually hear a fly piss on cotton. That's how quiet okay? So we don't want to change that.”
Positive Change Starts with Investment in Our Community
Councilmember Octavious Scott thanked Ms. Williams for her work advocating for a City resiliency center (reported here) with her nonprofit Women of Color 29. Her proposal was met with skepticism from some City staff and council members. “The city is still reviewing it and seeing if it's something that we want to move forward. It's something certainly that I want to move forward on. Because I believe it's going to help build that infrastructure, those buildings that are needed….I think that positive change actually has to start with investment in our community.”
Lt. Col. William Sumption introduced himself as an active duty Marine who had moved here from northern Virginia, where there were no independent businesses. “You have this unique value here in Twentynine Palms….And part of that I think too, is holding accountable whatever decision makers are out there and and whether its the city counsel or if it's a zoning board or whatever, communicating what you guys define your value to be to them so that they make those decisions on your behalf so you don't lose that.”
“Business dries up for us in the summer,” Janice Kodesh, owner of Ace Hardware, said. “Well, it's really busy around swamp cooler maintenance (laughter). So one idea would be, those of us in the business community could work to do some sort of event to help locals patronize the local stores.” Tourism drives the local economy, she said, but also
“we need contractors of all kinds, electricians, plumbers, carpenters. I know Copper Mountain College now has a program. Brian Benton started for folks who are interested in the construction trades.There is a lot of funding statewide for what's called career partnerships where you help identify, starting in high school, a career, that the local business community, along with community leaders, identify that is needed in that community in terms of jobs. And then you partner with the high schools and the community college to help create a career path for young people so that they do stay here and they have a real job.”
Sara Lyons of Scorpion Lollipop brought up Rediscover 29 and the Downtown Business Association, which is hosting events, and invited everyone to take part in their meetings the first Monday of each month at 10 am at GRND SQRL.
Paul Razo wrapped the session up by saying, the Downtown Business Association seeks to “ bring everybody into the fold and make sure everybody's voices are heard. And then as that develops more, there’s a perfect opportunity for the Youth Council to come and talk to these businesses directly.”
The Desert Trumpet thanks our speakers, Chris Clarke, Paul Razo, and Carrie Williams. And much appreciation to those who spoke up, including:
Rhonda Coleman
Talulah Coleman
Lori Cosgriff
Haydee Hermosillo
Bea Koch
Janet Kodesh
Sara Lyons
Ashton Ramsey
Robin Schlosser
Octavious Scott
Mary Kay Sherry
Supinda Siri
Lieutenant Colonel William Sumption
John Talley-Jones
Mike Usher
Kimberly Zzyzx
Finally, we are grateful to volunteer Jackson Sumption and Youth Council members Viviana Hermosillo and William Sumption, who not only showed up but spoke out.
One avenue of positive change is voting—and running for office. We’ll be running a guide next week to all the local offices with open seats; City Council candidates will be pulling their nomination papers on Monday, July 15. And be sure to add our September 14 City Council Candidate Forum to your calendar.
Want more? Read the complete transcripts of Part Three, Creating an Inclusive Community, and Part 4, What Does Positive Change Look Like?
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If we would all sit down and make a wish list in terms of how to improve life and opportunities in the Morongo Basin for young people, imagine the creation of such an amazing list.
My short list would include a hostile. A place where young people could come to learn, study, involved in recreational activities, engaged in the internships with paid stipends or pursue art endeavors (et cetera).
The list would also include many internships with paid stipends. There are resources around that could support stipends, such as a huge opportunities on base, the local publishing company, Copper Mountain college, Mojave Desert Land Trust, there is three or four acting opportunities in theater playhouses, JTNP, the local women's shelter in Joshua and the many non-profit organizations that continue to do outstanding work.
There was a talk for a place where young people could gather, communicate and socialize. The structures located in Project Phoenix's Freedom Plaza should or can make accommodations exclusively for young people. [Wasn't that one of its purposes for its creation, to serve the community?]
All of this is stalled because of the lack of funding. So my wish list would include a hugely wealthy benefactor, or a billionaire philanthropist serving the young people in the Morongo Basin.
It's okay to dream... .
Great reporting as always. Just want to add that the community college board of directors will have some open seats and we need younger people, people of color, business people to sit on the board! The college needs people who actually look like the community and actually are part of the community experiencing the hardships. Please report on these open spots and encourage these wonderful people to run.