When dialogue becomes change

Posted 8/21/12

BETHEL, NY — Sometimes we may forget that Sullivan County is a diverse county. It’s so easy to stay in your town, your community, your corner of the county, and not break barriers and venture …

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When dialogue becomes change

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BETHEL, NY — Sometimes we may forget that Sullivan County is a diverse county. It’s so easy to stay in your town, your community, your corner of the county, and not break barriers and venture out. However, that’s not to say that such barrier-breaking is impossible. Proof of that was visible at Bethel Woods Center for the Arts on Saturday, when the most diverse crowd in Sullivan County came together as part of Dialogue2Change, an initiative of the Sullivan County Human Rights Commission and Everyday Democracy.

They were assembled there to talk about change. Change to end poverty, to make Sullivan County a better place to live. What can they do; what can you do? Over 100 people attended, including local government employees, legislators current and past, teachers, and health and not-for-profit organizations.

The Dialogue2Change program had invited the formation of interested groups from all nine legislative districts in the county, and representatives of every group were there to make a presentation on what they had discussed over the course of four meetings. Isaac Green Diebboll of the Human Rights Commission said in his opening remarks, “Not only is this about building a connection between people, but also about a connection between systems and communities.”

From these talks, common themes emerged: youth, education, health, transportation and jobs.

Youth and Education

The presenter from the Forestburgh group said, “Education is the key to escaping poverty.” Their idea is to create a program that tracks kids on their journey through school from Kindergarten to high school, and also create day-care and after-school programs. They suggested picking one school district to initiate the program. The Fallsburg group said everyone needs basic education, and outlined the resources that already exist: schools, BOCES, libraries, literacy volunteers, community college, houses of worship, retired senior volunteers, job corps and youth programs. The Liberty group also said youth education is important, and recommended schools bring in youth mentors for students and also offer vocational training.

Transportation

Almost every group mentioned a lack of transportation in Sullivan County as a major problem that hinders people from getting to and from jobs and other basic needs like healthcare or youth programs, thus perpetuating poverty. The Liberty and Livingston Manor groups suggested the concept of time banking. For instance, if someone gives a ride to someone, the person who receives the ride, instead of paying in cash, will offer their skill, be it baking cookies or auto repair, etc. This is a transfer, or exchange, of skills where time is used as money. Other people recommended more taxi service, or using school buses for activities outside of school. They urged the legislature to solve the transportation problem.

Jobs

Almost every group brought up the lack of jobs in the county. The Mamakating group said there are limited jobs, limited high-paying jobs, lack of transportation, no Internet, no temporary help, and that jobs are too low-wage and people are afraid to ask for the salary they need to live. A representative from Fallsburg said their community is driven by summer business, and “stores are closed eight months out of the year.” She said there is an influx of people during the summer, but, “What happens when Labor Day comes? There are no jobs. We’re keeping up Sullivan County year round.”

Other topics that were talked about were substance abuse, police relations, affordable housing and mentorship.

Before and after the presentations, singer Kim Harris performed inspirational songs, including “This Little Light of Mine,” “My Rainbow Race” by Pete Seeger, and “Lean on Me,” during which she encouraged audience participation. Before singing she said, “This is an amazing time in our country, in our county, in our towns. Every time you turn on the radio you hear the kind of dialogue you don’t want to be hearing.”

After the presentations, the audience was abuzz with ideas, inspiration and the willingness to connect with each and every person in the room to further the dialogue and bring about change. Many in the audience spoke about making sure to keep the conversation going, and not only the conversation, but to create concrete plans and action steps and actually follow through on them. One person commented on the importance of “participation, communication and follow-up.”

Ariana Gonzalez of Long Eddy said during her speech, “I’m only 26 years old, and I’ve buried so many people,” speaking of friends who have died from drug overdose or alcohol abuse. The River Reporter spoke to Gonzalez after the Dialogue2Change event. “The forum allowed individuals to have conversations with people who shared common interests of wanting to create change with people they might never have had the opportunity to speak with otherwise.”

Green Diebboll feels the same way. He said the initiative is all about outreach, “the kind of outreach that is personal and one-to-one, that takes us beyond our comfort zones in an attempt to build earnest relationships with people who are necessarily different from us, and finding, organically, ways to collaborate on projects that come from common interests or needs.”

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