Questions and Answers About Vision Council
(Model for the Vision Council)
The Vision Council is unique.
There are few programs now in existence which could
operate as a complete model to work from. Generally, the
issues of social revitalization and the use of technology
by the community are not often discussed in the same
arena. However, there are some projects which may add
reinforcement to the Vision Council's potential value,
function and purpose. For example, there is a program
well underway in Newark, New Jersey which is successfully
utilizing a telecommunications network as a tool for
social resurgence. The Newton Street Elementary School is
located in the middle of the central ward of Newark. This
is an area which gained national attention in the summer
of 1967 when both Detroit and Newark suffered racial
riots(Tindall & Shi p.1355). Much of the housing in
the area was destroyed. The New Community Corporation,
which was formed in the late 1970's, provided needed
social services including new low income housing. As a
result the New Community Housing now completely
encompasses the Newton Street School community(Morgan).
"Another unique feature about the location of the
Newton Street School is that the University of Medicine
and Dentistry of New Jersey's Newark campus is directly
across the street"(Morgan). This location proved to
be ideal for a project not unlike the Vision Council.
In the spring of 1994 the Office
of Computer Education and Technology of the Newark Public
Schools, under the directorship of Angela Caruso, applied
for and subsequently received a Telecommunications
Information Infrastructure Assistance Program (TIAP)
grant from the National telecommunications Information
Agency (NTIA) of the U.S. Department of Commerce(Morgan).
The grant funds were provided to enable the installation
of a community computer network. The main objective of
the Newark Public School system was to "raise
student achievement by helping to improve the delivery of
primary health care and to improve the quality of life
for community residents"(Morgan).
Just as the Vision Council
purposes to insure equal access to all its members, the
Newton Street School project, or the "Making Healthy
Music" (MHM) program as it was then named, has a
multitude of service locations. The network is comprised
of computers placed in homes, social service offices, the
public library, Newton Street School, Newark Public
Schools central office, an area church, and at the
University of Medicine and Dentistry(Morgan).
Another similarity between the
MHM and the Vision council is the capacity to communicate
in many different ways. The MHM project uses software
which allows users to communicate in one of four ways:
"real-time chats, e-mail, general postings, or by
threaded discussion groups"(Morgan). This will allow
users to build relationships and connections with a
variety of people and service providers on many different
levels. The participants of MHM have access to doctors at
the University of Medicine and Dentistry who have pledged
their support. However, the participation of the
physicians is not meant to provide curative support,
rather they provide educational and preventative
information for the users(Morgan). The desired effect of
MHM program is similar to the Vision Councils' goal of
improving relationships within the community. Where the
Vision Council wants to increase constructive
communication between the community and public officials,
the MHM program wants to connect the community to medical
personnel. The MHM program is trying to develop healthy
lifestyles and urge the community to seek medical help in
the times of illness, rather than using the emergency
room as the source of primary care(Morgan).
Quite possibly the most
essential part of each of these exciting vehicles of
community empowerment is a strong collaborative force
behind the development and continuous growth of the
programs. For the MHM program, a strong relationship was
formed between "the Newton St. School
administration, the Office of Computer Education and
Technology of the Newark Public Schools, the New
Community Corporation and the office of the dean at the
New Jersey Medical School"(Morgan). The list goes on
and includes a myriad of advisors, committee members,
interested residents and many more community groups and
organizations which have brought their rich resources to
the MHM program. For the Vision Council to be successful,
the same types of intense collaborative relationships
must be formed.
Though the focus of these two
programs may be different, the capacity for change and
transition with the needs of the community is quite the
same. The MHM program is not strictly interested in
connecting the community to medical personnel. An
important goal for both programs is to work with the
changing needs of the community and to come up with the
answers to the changing problems. Problems and needs come
with varying intensity. The MHM program has successfully
created activities to meet some of the different needs.
On-line activities for the MHM program have ranged from
organizing community talent shows to the development of a
crime watch program. "A security watch program is
developing where participants are working in conjunction
with the Newark Police department and the New Community
Security force to develop strategies to combat crime in
the community"(Morgan). The list of activities
initiated by the MHM program goes on and includes
discussion groups on AIDS and other venereal diseases,
parenting, community based photography classes, and the
process of refining the scholastic content of education.
The basic conclusion to be drawn
from an analysis of both the Vision Council project and
the MHM program is simply that we as a society are faced
with many problems, and programs like the Vision Council
may prove to be effective tools to help solve them. These
programs are attempting to use technology as a way to
enable us to combat the problems facing our communities,
and improve the quality of life for urban residents.
The Vision Council has a long
road ahead. Representatives from the Council are aware of
the difficulties that may arise as the project develops,
but they continue to reach toward their goal of
increasing "the power of the people," and the
momentum of community development.
