August Meeting Minutes

No Place for Hate meeting minutes, August 15, 2007

Co-Chair for the NPFH committee was announced. Jayne Severens, Case Manager from Our Fathers House was appointed the position by Yvette Cooks.
Yvette spoke about the Watertown incident and ADL’s stand on the issue. Yvette spoke with Myriam Zuber, Project Director for NPFH New England. Myriam gave a statement, from the ADL that was read to the committee.

Yvette also stated that a member of our group has withdrawn from the committee because of the Watertown issue. A conversation with Jennifer Smith from ADL is in process to address the topic. Ward Councilor Stephan Hay spoke about educating ourselves and the community about being partners with the ADL. Mr. Hay commented that the NPFH doesn’t need ADL to exist. Mark Gilbert stated that the NPFH is a registered trade mark of the ADL, and can’t separate. Yvette states her concern that others will withdraw because of the issue.

Yvette responded to the article in the Sentinel and Enterprise about the anti-Semitic behavior at Ryan Joubert Skate Park at Park Hill. Yvette spoke with Sgt. Fossa who states the individual was caught and has no affiliation with any groups or organizations and did the acts out of ignorance with out knowledge of the full meaning of the symbols he used, not out of hate. Stephan Hay told the committee that cameras are being installed at the park and that we need to use this incident as an opportunity to educate people on what NPFH means. Mark Gilbert makes note that we need to promote the fact that it’s not only anti-Semitic it’s anti everything. The individual should be punished according to law not by us. All attending members agreed that this needs to be brought up at another time on another agenda.

Nathan Glenny is having an out door benefit concert at the Ryan Joubert Park this weekend. Setting up a NPFH booth was discussed but was tabled. Mark Gilbert and Yvette Cooks will be at the park to hand out flyers for the NPFH. Latino and Hmong festivals, respectively, are also planned for the same weekend. NPFH hopes to attend both and also pass out flyers. Ellen DiGeronimo was called by Yvette but no call back was received. Yvette will continue to try to contact her in regards to the mural project.

Mission Statement:
Should have theme around education of tolerance, how we operate, who we are. A. Goss to facilitate how we get to a theme. How can kids visualize home with out hate. All committee members brain stormed together to build a mission statement.

Remedial or preventative? – building, connection, connect to resources that support our goal.
Hate crime solution-Visualize country without hate or that promotes harmony

Remedial
Restorative justice, a circle where all persons involved have a chance to talk about the harm the act caused.
Educating – kindness, respect, integrity, awareness
Tolerance/inclusive
Dedicated to change attitude and social behavior
Promoting civil discourse and civil engagement
Supporting

Preventative
Celebrating diversity – murals
Educating / creating awareness
Kindness, awareness
Harmony, find the similarities, respect the differences

In the end the committee decided on:
“NPFH celebrates and supports harmonious diversity among Fitchburg residents and is dedicated to promoting such harmony through education, community involvement and collaboration. “

The vision statement is:
“The NPFH committee seeks to educate all residents to cultivate diversity, let it flourish and encourage growth. We welcome others to join us in this mission.”

Gail Bloom provided the application for the Local Cultural Council Program which Co-Chair Jayne Severens will fill out. The deadline for doing such is October 15. A grant through the ADL will also be looked into.

Yvette will look into using the Fitchburg Senior Center for our next meeting. If not, she’ll check with FSC and/or GreenAcres. The next meeting will be held on September 19th from 6-7:30.
An invitation was sent to all 6 Ward Councilors and 5 Councilor-at-large. Norman Boisvert and David Clark did respond stating previous engagements. Stephan Hay was the only one to show up.

(Minutes submitted by Jane Severens.)

Next Meeting August 15

The next meeting of the Fitchburg No Place For Hate® committee will be held on Wednesday, August 15, from 6:00 to 7:30 p.m. at the Cleghorn Neighborhood Center (2-18 Fairmount Street). We will be discussing our upcoming mural project as well as the overall mission of the group. New members continue to be welcome - we hope to see many new faces as well as many familiar ones there!

July Meeting Date

The next meeting of the No Place For Hate® advisory committee is scheduled for Tuesday, July 17th, from 6:00 to 7:30 p.m.. The meeting will be held at Three Pyramids, 66 Day Street, in the first floor conference room. (Please note that there will be no meeting on Wednesday, July 18th, as had been previously discussed). We will be discussing the group's structural organization as well as plans for our mural project. I hope to see many people there!

Reminder - Next Meeting June 20th

The next meeting of the Fitchburg No Place For Hate® advisory committee will take place Wednesday, June 20th, from 6:00 to 7:30 p.m.. The meeting will be held in the dining room of the Fitchburg Senior Center, which is located at 14 Wallace Avenue. The front door will be open, as will the back door with a handicap accessible ramp. We hope to see both new and familiar faces there!

May 2007 Meeting Minutes

No Place for Hate® (NPFH) Advisory Committee
Meeting Notes
May 16, 2007

The May NPFH Advisory Committee met jointly with the Ward 5B Neighborhood Association at Three Pyramids, Inc. Chairperson Yvette C. began the meeting at 6:15P.M. Thank you to Leona S. and Adrian F. for providing a wonderful meal.

No Place for Hate® Program
Yvette described the origins of Fitchburg’s No Place for Hate campaign, which began in June of 2006. Yvette and HRC staff attended the Anti-Defamation League’s Annual NPFH Community Conference. It was at this meeting that ADL explained that cities can be certified as “No Place for Hate”® if they accomplish 3 activities in a year which address bias, hate incidents and/or hate crimes. It was noted by guest speakers at the 2006 Conference that the police are being granted more rights when it comes to civil injunctions in this area of law enforcement.

Yvette mentioned that Fitchburg’s No Place for Hate® Committee wants to bring their meetings to as many city neighborhoods as possible, therefore the committee will be rotating its meeting locations. This will enable more Fitchburg residents to attend the NPFH meetings.

Erica T. created a Web Blog for NPFH. The address is: http://www.noplaceforhate.blogspot.com/ The Web Blog contains recent NPFH meeting notes and other events of interest that relate to the work of the NPFH Advisory Committee.

Yvette mentioned that the Fitchburg Human Rights Commission has two vacancies. If anyone is interested in joining the board they should call: 978.345.9565. A board member must live in the City of Fitchburg. Appointments to the board are made by the Mayor and approved by City Council.

Ward 5B Report
Councilor Steve Hay introduced himself and explained what he, as the Ward 5B Councilor, can do for his constituents. If neighborhood residents have concerns, i.e., drug activity, installment of berms, lot permits, etc. Councilor Hay can look into these matters and report back to the neighborhood association.

Adrian F. asked if the owner of JR’s owns the parking lot adjacent to his building, or did the owner pay for the new paving in exchange for using the parking lot anytime.? Can other people, who are not patrons of JR’s, use the adjacent parking lot? Why is this business able to shut down an entire street each week? Councilor Hay will look into these matters and report back to the group.

Wanda A. told the committee that she followed through with the License Commission about the activities at Hooligan’s bar. She addressed the issue of inappropriate behavior by the bar’s patrons. Wanda’s follow-through paid off in that the bar is taking more responsibility for the actions of its patrons.

Family Day – Health Fair
Adrian F. said this activity will be held on June 9th from 12 noon to 5:00P.M. between Cherry Street and Union Street. The street will be closed off for this event. Besides Three Pyramids and NPFH Committee, other participants include: Fitchburg Community Connections, Neighborhoods and You Coalition, Ward 5B/College Neighborhood Association, neighborhood centers and social service agencies. There will be entertainment for children, ethnic foods and health screenings. Mike A.’s band will be playing at the event. Adrian said three youth have joined Three Pyramids board of directors. The youth will have a table of their own.

Mike B. said that Police Athletic League (PALS) will be meeting at Green Street neighborhood park at the same time as the Health Fair. Those registering for PALS will be encouraged to walk down to the Health Fair.

The No Place for Hate Committee will have its own table on June 9th. Ethnic foods will be available and NPFH literature will be distributed. The volunteer list is as follows:

STAFFING THE TABLE TO DISSEMINATE “NO PLACE FOR HATE®” LITERATURE AND OFFER FOOD TO THE PUBLIC ARE THE FOLLOWING PEOPLE:

1. 11:30a.m. to 1:30p.m. – Haywood H. and Carlos C. (help setting up tables)
2. 1:30P.M. to 3:30P.M. – Mark G. and Kao H. (banner)
3. 3:30P.M. to 5:30P.M. – Erica T. and Matthew D. (help taking down tables)

FOOD: EACH DISH SHOULD SERVE APPROX. 50 PEOPLE:

Egg Rolls – Kao H.
Meatballs and Sauce – Mary M.
Rice and Beans – Adrian F. and youth

Mary L. said she would make a dessert.

FITCHBURG CIVIC DAYS
The No Place for Hate Committee decided that it would like have an information booth only at the International Food Court on July 3rd. This event will be held from 5:00P.M. to 11:00P.M. on Main Street. We will discuss a volunteer schedule at the June 20th committee meeting.

Erica T. said she and Matt would look into getting NPFH buttons or other promotional items that could be distributed at the Civic Days booth.

OTHER BUSINESS
Yvette will ask Jennifer J. from the School Department to attend the June 20th meeting. The committee can begin to discuss having a mural designed and painted by Fitchburg school students. In this way, youth can participate in the No Place for Hate Program.

Yvette will contact Glenn F. to see if he can use the June 9th event for public service announcements on FATV.

The Anti-Defamation League’s 2007 NPFH® Conference and Award Ceremony will be held on Wednesday, June 6th starting at 12:30P.M. This year’s event will cover Immigration Issues. If you need more information or would like to register, please call Myriam Zuber (617) 406.6368.

The next NPFH Advisory Committee meeting will be held on Wednesday, June 20th from 6:00P.M. to 7:30P.M. at the Fitchburg Senior Center. The front door will be open and the back door with a handicap accessible ramp will be open. The meeting will be held in the dining room.

The meeting ended at 7:30P.M.

Submitted by,

Mary McCaffrey
HRC Staff Liaison

June 9: Family Day - Health Fair

The Fitchburg chapter of No Place For Hate® will be taking part in a free citywide Family Day/Health Fair event on Saturday, June 9th, from 12:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m. on Day Street (between Cherry Street and Union Street). We are partnering with the Fitchburg Community Connections Coalition, Montachusett Opportunity Council, Neighborhoods and You Coalition, Three Pyramids, and the Ward5B/college Neighborhood Association for the event. The day will feature entertainment for children and adults, a barbeque, a variety of ethnic foods, and a mobile health information clinic. We hope that you will join us to get to know your neighbors, enjoy ethnic food, share culture, and increase access to health services for all!

Landlord Fair Housing Training

A Fair Housing Workshop for Landlords will be held on Tuesday, June 12th from 6:30P.M. to 8:00P.M. in the lower conference room of the North Street Fire Station (at 33 North Street). The workshop will be conducted by the Mass. Fair Housing Center, Inc. Topics include: lead inspections and lead laws, tenant selection, fair housing laws, and exemptions. The workshop is free and open to the public. (A workshop was previously held for tenants in May.) Call Erica for more information: (978) 235-3246

*Interpretación en Español Disponible* Para información llame a Nathalie: (800) 675-7309 X 101

Reminder: Meeting Tonight

This month's NPFH® meeting takes place tonight from 6:00 to 7:30 p.m. at Three Pyramids, 66 Day Street, in the first floor conference room. Refreshments will be provided. The agenda is as follows:

I. Overview of Fitchburg’s No Place for Hate® Program

II. Neighborhood Family Day- Health Fair, June 9th from 12:00P.M. to 5:00P.M.
Items for consideration (number of volunteers needed throughout the day, set up tables/staff tables/clean up, 2 ethnic dishes to serve approx. 50 people each, volunteers needed to pass out NPFH literature, etc.

III. Civic Day Event, July 3rd from 5:00P.M. to 11:00P.M.
Committee should decide if they want to do an information booth or a food booth at the International Food Court.

IV. Other Business (communications, mural)

I look forward to seeing you all there!

Save the Dates!

1. The next Advisory Committee meeting will be held on Wednesday, May 16th from 6:00 to 7:30P.M. The location is not yet determined, but the committee came up with a few suggestions which are being looked into. (We will try to make sure that every meeting location either is street level or has an elevator.) Thursday seems to be a difficult day for people, so the committee decided to try the 3rd Wednesday of the month.

ADDENDUM: The Next Meeting of the No Place for Hate Advisory Committee will be held on Wed. May 16th from 6:00P.M. to 7:30P.M. at Three Pyramids, 66 Day Street.

2. In place of holding a pot luck dinner, the advisory committee decided to join an existing citywide event taking place on Saturday, June 9th from 12:30P.M. to 5:00P.M. The event is called "Family Day-Health Fair". It is held each year and sponsored by several agencies. It is an outdoor event on Day Street. The street will be blocked off for this afternoon function. The NPFH Committee can set up its own table, offer ethnic food to the public, and distribute information about the NPFH program. There will be more information to follow about this event.
(The committee thought it was best to join and collaborate with existing entities doing similar work.)

3. Fitchburg Civic Days are held from July 1 through July 4. The NPFH Committee has a booth reserved on July 1 from 5:00P.M. to 11P.M. at the International Food Court, which is held on Main Street. The committee can do a food booth or an information booth. For items 2 and 3, perhaps the committee could have members pair up and serve at a booth for a 1 or 2 hour period of time, depending upon the number of members available on those days.

Fair Housing Workshop

For Your Information:

The City of Fitchburg is sponsoring a Fair Housing Workshop on Monday, April 9th, from 6:00 to 8:00 p.m. in the lower conference room of the North Street fire station (located at 33 North Street). The information session is for tenants - a meeting for landlords is planned at a later date. The workshop will be conducted by the Massachusetts Fair Housing Center. You can reach the center by calling 1-800-675-7309 if you have experienced illegal housing discrimination or if you have any questions regarding your rights.

March Meeting Minutes

No Place for Hate® (NPFH) Advisory Committee
Meeting Notes
March 15, 2007

Chairperson Yvette C. began the meeting at 6:15.P.M.

I. Diversify Board Membership: Mary M. mentioned some of the “protected class” categories (race, religion, marital status, disability, gender, etc.) that the committee might want to include in their membership. As a way to increase membership, the committee suggested using the Yellow Pages to develop a list of clubs and organizations to send meeting notices to. Staff will follow up on this and include other organizations on the mailing list. Haywood Hunter suggested asking the North Central Mass. Minority Coalition and other organizations to talk about the NPFH® Program at their regularly scheduled meetings.

Mary said the Neighborhood and You Coalition would like to attend the NPFH® meetings, but can not do it on the third Thursday of the month. The Advisory Committee said they are willing to meet on the fourth Thursday in April, which is April 26th.

II. Select the first of three Fitchburg NPFH® activities: Yvette Cooks suggested that the committee begin with a pot luck dinner. The committee said they would like it to be a community multicultural pot luck dinner. Mike A. said he will talk to his contact at Hotel Raymond to see if a dinner can be held there and Yvette C. said she will speak to her contact at the St. Joseph’s Club for the same reason. Matt D. suggested holding the activity on a Saturday in June, so it would be close to the Civic Days event planned in July. Members thought this was a good idea.

Mike A. said the Montachusett Opportunity Council can donate the necessary paper goods for the dinner. Mark G. said he will call everyone on the membership list and ask if he/she can bring food and a friend. (Mark will call people when a date and location have been selected.) Mark G. will contact the chairperson of the Pot Luck Committee, Vasco G., and fill him in on the plans. Mark will also contact businesses to see if they want to donate food. The committee would like to have the June Advisory Council meeting separate from the pot luck dinner. Matt D. said he will develop a flyer for distribution once the date, location, etc. have been approved by the committee. Mark G., Erica T., Mike A., Haywood H. and Yvette C. said they will help with the distribution of flyers for the pot luck dinner.

III. Subcommittee Membership: (If subcommittees want to meet on their own and report back at the full Advisory Committee meetings, they can do so.)

Erica T. said she would join Glenn F. on the Communications/Media Subcommittee. Glenn is the chairperson of this subcommittee. Erica has developed a NPFH® Web Blog (http://noplaceforhate.blogspot.com). Committee members were asked to review the Web Blog site before the April meeting. The committee needs to approve the format, contents, etc. of the Blog before it can be publicized to the general public. Once approved, it will be made a link to the City’s web page, and meeting notes and agendas will be placed on the Web Blog.

Mike B. said he would help Patrick M. on the Civic Days Subcommittee. Patrick M. is the Chairperson. Glenn F. previously agreed to sit on this subcommittee, also.

David T. previously agreed to sit on the Graffiti Subcommittee. This subcommittee needs a chairperson. This subcommittee will look at ways to eliminate graffiti, create murals and find legal places to do so. Mike B. said he will contact Jennifer J. at the School Department. She is in charge of the Arts Program. Mike will speak to her about possible themes for murals. Glenn F. said he will talk to Chief Cronin about the legalities associated with painting murals.

IV. Fitchburg State College: Jane C. could not make the meeting, so Mary M. reported on the discussion that took place with Fitchburg State College, the ADL, the Worcester Human Rights Commission and Holy Cross College.

(From the Notes):The Worcester NPFH® Committee was established a couple of years ago. Holy Cross College became involved shortly afterwards as a result of student interest. The college selects separate NPFH® activities from the City of Worcester, but works collaboratively with city representatives when it is appropriate to do so. Holy Cross College calls its anti-bias initiative, “Hate: Not Here!”. The college has placed this logo on flyers, posters, pins (in school colors), etc. as a way to get the word out. The “Hate:Not Here!” Program is part of Orientation for incoming freshman students and as part of Employee orientation. The school’s Department of MultiCultural Education spearheads this initiative, but all departments are involved, as well as the College President, upper level Administration, the Student Government Association and the Board of Trustees.

Holy Cross College had a Campus Kick-Off, developed marketing tools to get the word out about the “Hate:Not Here!” Program, promoted the initiative in their campus newsletter and on their website.

The City of Worcester’s NPFH® Campaign included developing a City Manager’s Community Task Force on Bias and Hate Crimes. The task force has worked on a public arts program, sponsored a Bias and Hate Crimes Training for the Worcester Police Department, worked with the public schools in developing a Poster Contest, held the 2nd Annual NPFH® Film Festival and displayed a billboard advertising the city’s NPFH® Program. (A billboard can be donated and run for 3mos.-6mos. )

V. Other Business: Patrick M. can report on the July Civic Days event at the April meeting. Patrick has reserved a booth for the NPFH® Committee. Suzanne B. can report on the Non-Profit Institute at the next meeting. Suzanne attended the Institute’s monthly meeting and spoke about Fitchburg’s NPFH® Program.

Glenn F. said the police department’s new show called, “Our City” airs tonight (3/15/07) at 8:30P.M. Glenn said he could talk about the city’s NPFH® Program on future programs.

Members said they would like Yvette C. to continue as the chairperson of the Advisory Committee. Mike A. has agreed to be the Vice Chair.

The next meeting of the Fitchburg NPFH® Advisory Committee will be held on Thursday, April 26th from 6:00P.M. to 7:30P.M. at Memorial Middle School Library.

Submitted by,


Mary M.HRC Staff Liaison

Save the Date - Next Meeting April 26th

The next meeting of the NPFH® Advisory Committee will be held on Thursday, April 26th from 6:00P.M. to 7:30P.M. in the Memorial Middle School Library. We'll be focusing on planning efforts for a community potluck dinner to be held later this spring/early summer. New members continue to be very welcome!

Reminder: Meeting Tonight

The second meeting of the Fitchburg No Place for Hate® committee will take place tonight (Thursday, March 15th) from 6:00 to 7:30 p.m. in the library room of Memorial Middle School. The school is located at 615 Rollstone Street. Agenda is as follows:

I. Diversify board membership
II. Select the first of three Fitchburg NPFH® activities
III. Subcommittee membership
IV. Report by Fitchburg State College
V. Confirm blog and possible links, select Chair of Advisory Committee and Chair of Graffiti Subcommittee
VI. Other business

As mentioned previously, new members are strongly encouraged to attend. I hope to see many new and familiar faces tonight!

Article in Fitchburg Pride

This week's issue of Fitchburg Pride includes an article outlining our city's involvement with the No Place For Hate® program. Be sure to check it out!

To Readers From Other Communities...

For those of you reading this blog who do not live in Fitchburg or another New England city or town currently participating in the No Place For Hate® program, please consider getting involved! To learn more about NPFH® and how to start up the program in your community, you can contact Myriam Zuber, New England Project Director at the Anti-Defamation League (ADL), at 617-406-6300.

Fitchburg's First NPFH Committee Meeting

Welcome to the newly-established blog for Fitchburg's participation in the No Place for Hate Program® (NPFH®)! I wanted to start by posting a re-cap of last night's meeting. Formal meeting minutes will follow in the coming days.

NPFH® is a nationwide effort created by the Anti-Defamation League to foster inclusive community environments. There are approximately sixty cities and towns in Massachusetts participating in the program, including Acton, Leominster, Lexington, Melrose, New Bedford, Northampton, Peabody, Watertown, Wellesley, and Worcester.

Yesterday's meeting was facilitated by Myriam Zuber of the Anti-Defamation League, who is the Project Director for the NPFH® program. Meeting attendees included city residents, a youth sports coach, several religious leaders, a city councilor, and representatives from the Human Rights Commission, the Fitchburg Police Department, Fitchburg State College, Neighborhoods and You, Cleghorn Neighborhood Center, and the Fitchburg School Board. (My apologies to anyone I inadvertently missed on this list...I hope that you will send me an email or post a comment if I failed to include you!)

Fitchburg has declared its intentions to participate in the NPFH® program, and the next step is to begin organizing community activities related to the theme of understanding diversity. The group reviewed existing NPFH® programming suggestions and brainstormed an array of events that would be appropriate to arrange in our city. The decision was made to focus on developing a partnership with the school system to encourage students to interview members of different cultures, a graffiti “paint out” program, diversity-related parade floats and activities in association with Fitchburg’s July Civic Days celebration, and a “pot-luck” ethnic food dinner. At the next meeting, it will be determined to which of these events initial planning priority will be directed.

In addition to discussing future events, the group spoke of the importance of cataloging existing activities within the city that fit within the principles of the NPFH® program. There was also talk regarding options for publicizing NPFH® and related activities. The value of establishing relationships with local media outlets, such as Fitchburg Pride and FATV, was highlighted by many at the meeting. Efforts will also be made to create other communication outlets, such as a newsletter and this blog.

Ultimately, last night’s meeting provided an outstanding glimpse of what our community can accomplish under the auspices of the NPFH® program. However, success is dependent upon the involvement of as many people as possible, and all present agreed that we would love to have additional members of the community attend future meetings. So to anyone out there reading this, I would strongly encourage you to join us at the next meeting, which has been scheduled for Thursday, March 15, at 6:00 p.m. in the library at Memorial Middle School (615 Rollstone Street). Feel free to send me an email (address available in my profile) if you have any questions. I hope to meet many more participants next month!

Anyone who is interested in learning more about the Fitchburg NPFH® program can contact Yvette Cooks at 978-345-8664 or Mary McCaffrey at 978-345-9565.