Think you know your South Bend history? Show it off while having a fun night out and supporting our work in South Bend neighborhoods!

Get your friends and neighbors together and join us Feb. 25, 2017 at the Hall at St. Peter’s, 915 N. Ironwood Drive. Doors open at 6:00 p.m. with trivia rounds starting at 7 p.m. There will be both a cash snack bar and wine/beer cash bar PLUS a few other fun activities, a cash prize for the winning team and a raffle for a tree of gift cards. Plus a little friendly competition among friends and neighbors.

Only $10 per person to participate. We encourage you to register a team table of up to 8 indivfiduals but also welcome individual and couples to register. We will add you to tables with fewer than 8 individuals and/or combine you into a new table.

We have two ways to register:

Online: Sign your team up at this EventBrite link. We will follow up with you to confirm your team name (optional) and number of participants.

Check: Mail your check to NRC, PO Box 1693, South Bend, 46601 along with registration form.

Space is limited to 15 team tables, so register now! We’d love to see friendly competition between our neighborhood associations, but everyone is welcome to fill the 15 tables so please share with your neighbors and friends.

If your business would like to sponsor a trivia round or table, or donate a gift card, please call the NRC office at 574.287.0425 or email Diana at nrcneighbors@gmail.com for sponsor details. That’s the same contact for more information, so feel free to connect.

Hope to see you then!

The Engaging Youth, Engaging Neighborhoods program is offered by NRC and University of Notre Dame. Groups meet after school on Wednesdays, during the season or semester, at Notre Dame Center for Arts and Culture, 1045 W. Washington. This program is free for South Bend youth in grades 6-12, and focuses on civic engagement and personal growth through art, photography, writing and research on community improvement ideas in our neighborhoods. See the links below for online EYEN registration and additional information!

The 2017 session is ready to start in January, so sign up now!

Application in English

Application in Spanish

Flyer in English

Flyer in Spanish

Online registration form

If you would like to know more about the program, please contact Diana at 574.287.0425 or nrcneighbors@gmail.com.

 FAQs About the EYEN Program

What is it?

“Engaging Youth, Engaging Neighborhoods” is a collaborative project between researchers at the University of Notre Dame and the Neighborhood Resources Connection. We value and welcome participation from other community partners.

The Engaging Youth, Engaging Neighborhoods (EYEN) project gives voice to neighborhood youth, grades 6-12, and allows the community to see South Bend neighborhoods through their eyes. Using a disposable camera, students explore their neighborhoods and communicate both what they like, and what they would like to see changed, about where they live. They then meet in small groups to explore literature, art, writing and discussion with Notre Dame professors to talk about why they selected the subjects they did, and to ultimately develop and propose a realistic plan to solve one of the things they identified as needing to be changed.

The EYEN goal is to provide an opportunity for youth to learn how to engage in civic life and to develop a new generation of community leaders.  “Key points of EYEN are creating a sense of community, creating a sense of voice, and creating a sense of democratic space,” says program partner Stuart Greene, a University of Notre Dame professor.

Who benefits?

Since the program began in fall 2011, EYEN teams have represented and explored three distinct neighborhoods: Monroe Park, the Northeast Neighborhood, and the Near Northwest Neighborhood.  They now meet in citywide groups at the Notre Dame Center for Arts and Culture in an expanded version of the program.

The first team recruited by the Monroe Park Neighborhood Association wrote “I am” poems and drew neighborhood maps. A key concern for them was that they had no place to play and they were worried about safety and trash. The identified project was to get a short stretch of broken sidewalk replaced.  The Monroe Park team was also able to engage as co-presenters with the professors at a national outreach conference held at the University of Alabama.  “To be on campus made them realize they could be there someday,” said Kevin Burke of Notre Dame.

Students from the Photoformers Club at the Robinson Community Learning Center (RCLC) made up the second EYEN team.  They explored the Northeast Neighborhood in which the RCLC is located, and decided they wanted to improve Kelly Park on Howard Street, just a couple blocks west of the center. They did their research, developed their plan and presented it first to the Northeast Neighborhood Council and then to South Bend Mayor Pete Buttigieg, who said the city would help with their plan.

The Northeast Neighborhood Council and neighbors are now engaging with the youth to look for funding sources and realize this goal.  “The physical magnification of project was unbelievable to watch,” Professor Maria McKenna said. “They discovered their capacity to engage and inspire others, and know it’s safe to talk about what needs changing.”

The third team was recruited by a Northwest Neighborhood resident.  That team determined that they wanted to see a mural in their neighborhood and plan a talent show planned by and featuring youth. Their plan is still in process.

They, along with the Robinson Community Learning Center youth, were recently honored during an NRC Youth Neighborhood Leadership Summit at the Civil Rights Heritage Center where selected framed photographs taken by the Northwest Neighborhood youth were prominently displayed.  It was a day full of interaction and inspiration, fun and food.

Another important feature of the EYEN program is its emphasis on post-secondary education. Students who continue studies beyond high school can have a long-term positive impact on the community.

What happens next?

Some of the youth shared that they would like to see a youth leadership group in the community – and the EYEN program listened!  The next step for the EYEN youth was an opportunity to participate in leadership development sessions starting in Fall 2013, to prepare them to form the first Neighborhood Youth Leadership Council. EYEN continues to explore opportunity for civic engagement and provides a voice that has been missing from the discussion surrounding neighborhood and community development.

The Far Northwest Neighborhood Association shows off their 2016 achievements.

Do you want to become more involved in your South Bend neighborhood? Find out how, and learn how NRC programs like Neighborhood Leadership Academy can help provide you with tools to help you be successful.

The NLA, which is open to all South Bend residents, is an interactive course on neighborhood community building offered in collaboration with South Bend Heritage.

In fall 2017, the public Neighborhood Leadership Academy (NLA) will return but with some changes designed to improve both the experience and the outcomes for the participating residents and neighborhood groups.

Neighbors interested in learning more about the 2017 NLA and the process for applying should contact Diana at NRC at 574.287.0425 or nrcneighbors@gmail.com And watch this space for details!

At NRC, we believe there are many leaders in South Bend waiting to be identified and given the tools to create positive change in their neighborhoods. Empowered residents join neighborhood associations, create community gardens, volunteer in the community, plan block parties, and appreciate the value of a connected community, and help foster the skills and talents in others.

In 2016, we ran a pilot program which took the NLA directly to two neighborhood associations: the Far Northwest Neighborhood Association and the Southeast Organized Area Residents (SOAR).  By targeting specific neighborhoods and assembling a group with shared interests around a common project, each association grew together and was empowered to take action in their neighborhood.  The projects provided a specific and tangible way for participants to apply knowledge gained from the NLA classroom sessions, and to assist them with the engagement and recruitment of additional neighbors to help grow their neighborhood associations.

The NLA was able to provide some seed money for their projects thanks to a grant from the Pokagon Foundation.  NRC also provided continued and intensified coaching and other resource support for the groups during the six months following the conclusion of the formal training program.

The classroom sessions provided training in running good meetings, recruiting members, group dynamics, project planning, and more.  We also introduced a method called Photovoice, which provides each participant with the use of a camera so they can take pictures of both what they like and what they would like to see changed in their neighborhoods. Then they share as a group and use the photos to analyze and reflect on their neighborhood’s strengths and challenges.

The resulting large and small group discussions around the photographs taken by the NLA participants promote critical dialogue and knowledge about both personal and community issues. Photovoice was made possible through a University of Notre Dame Ganey Seed Grant awarded in 2013 and the participation of graduate students from the Notre Dame Eck Institute of Global Health.

In addition to the Pokagon Fund and the Ganey grant, support for this program came through CDBG funds awarded by the City of South Bend and through the South Bend Brew Werks Community Partners program.

Please consider supporting NRC with your own contributions, or corporate sponsorship. Our mission in South Bend’s residential neighborhoods is closely tied to the overall health and vitality of our city and its future. Please contact NRC at 574.287.0425 to discuss with Executive Director Diana Hess how you and your organization might help to build our community.

This year, when the gnome pops up around town and we post the photos on Facebook, we’ll collect the correct guesses for a weekly winner drawing. Prizes include gnome T-shirts and other goodies.

So find the gnome near your home as he wanders South Bend neighborhoods!

Like us on Facebook, and get all the NRC Gnome news and more.

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Stop into Granite City Food & Brewery on August 18 and help support NRC! Just present this flyer to your server and 10 percent of your total tab will be donated to NRC. If you can’t dine in, Granite City will apply your donation to takeout orders too. It’s good all day at Granite City, 6501 Grape Road.

Vendors, artists, individuals, businesses and organizations who’d like to be included in the ALL-IN event  should contact Diana Hess, NRC, at (574) 287-0425 or nrcneighbors@gmail.com. Download the All-IN flyer here.

The NRC initiated the application that resulted in Indiana Humanities’ selection of South Bend as one of 17 communities throughout the state to host an ALL-IN Block Party. The celebration is designed to gather Hoosiers to celebrate the 200^th anniversary of Indiana through a series of challenges that encourage participants to try new experiences, learn more about Indiana, and imagine ways to make Indiana even better.

First Lady Karen Pence serves as official Bicentennial Ambassador. Indiana’s Bicentennial celebration aims to honor Indiana’s 200-year history in a way that engages all 6.5 million Hoosiers and leaves a lasting legacy for future generations. County Commissioner Deborah A. Fleming, DMD, is heading up the St. Joseph County Bicentennial Committee.

Donate here to support students in grades 6 through 12 who participated in the NRC “Engaging Youth Engaging Neighborhoods” project, which emphasizes civic engagement and neighborhood leadership, in collaboration with the University of Notre Dame Center for Social Concerns. Their Kelly Park Project has grown beyond the original program work to emerge as a comprehensive neighborhood improvement effort, and the students and their mentors now are working with the City of South Bend Parks and Recreation Department, WSBT-TV, the Northeast Neighborhood Council and architect Thomas Stroka to make their shared vision for a safe community park become a reality. Many local businesses have donated materials and funding, but we need your help to purchase the new playground equipment for the site.

Please consider one of the donation options below. For further information about “Engaging Youth, Engaging Neighborhoods,” or the Kelly Park Project, contact Neighborhood Resources Connection Executive Director Diana Hess at 574.287.0425.

Commemorative Paver:

Commemorative Brick:

Elected officials are available during Mayor’s Night Out, the City of South Bend initiative designed to bring Pete Buttigieg, SBPD officers and others to your location, instead of the other way around. City department heads and Common Council members are frequent guests at the monthly meetings of about 20 different neighborhood associations across the city. Nearly all of them are active on social media, with Twitter accounts, Facebook pages and conversation groups for concerned South Bend citizens.

So there’s plenty of access to them. But action and access aren’t the same thing, and knowing how to talk with elected officials sometimes means the difference between dialogue and disconnect. When we asked local officials about their more difficult encounters, here are some of the things they said they wished that constituents knew about:

First of all, elected officials understand you may be upset about an issue. Most want to be empathetic and listen to you, but they don’t want to be victims of abusive or inappropriate communications. It won’t help your case, or the interests of those you represent, if the tenor of your conversation is adversarial and hostile. This may be a time for a thoughtful letter instead! Other tips include:

• Do your homework. Speak about facts. Elected officials find it harder to interact with their constituents when they are unprepared, clearly uninformed, and don’t have a shared language for the discussion at hand. You may not agree on what the facts mean, but investing some time so that you can accurately and clearly dialogue creates a connection point for both of you.
• Not all failed communication involves anger. Elected officials may be annoyed, just like anyone else, when a constituent just assumes how they vote, or what their relationships are – and they rightly wonder if they’ll be heard in the dialogue since you’ve already made up your mind. Be open to new information or more nuanced approaches, and not that conversation in your head!
• Remember that your elected officials do serve you, but they are also accountable to others. Most of them hear from other residents and stakeholders, and see the same problem from a multiplicity of perspectives. They are charged with a responsibility to all constituents, and they care more than you might think! But most of them are deliberative thinkers who seek a good consensus.
• After contacting your official, respect that you have been heard and understood. Your passion may power your need to persuade, but quality is better than quantity. Repeating your position or appeal over and over – as if they still don’t get it, or just don’t care – won’t help change their minds but it is likely to make you seem unreasonable, and disrespectful of their commitment.

Guide to Talking with Elected Officials

How to Hold a Meeting with Your Elected Officials

The Top Ten Things Elected Officials and Their Staff Hate to Hear