Meetings

October 2018 WeROC Meeting of the Whole

October WeROC Meeting of the Whole, Thursday, October 4, 5:30-7:30, Community Church of God, 565 Jefferson, Ypsilanti. Light dinner provided.

Even while most of us are participating in this hugely important election season, our local action campaigns are are still moving, and we’re hoping you will join us. We hope you’ll organize your life to be with us next Thursday.

Come hear updates and opportunities to participate from our Action Teams:

  • Mental Health Equity Action Team — bringing more community involvement into the critical decisions about how last year’s millage dollars will be prioritized.
  • Education — How WeROC can leverage Countywide resources toward better access by students and young people to professional mental health, trauma, and social services, and toward fewer suspensions and expulsions.
  • Veterans Issues — Veterans joining with supporters to lead the way toward real solutions and services that veterans.
  • Rising for Economic Democracy in Ypsi — Our allies who created REDY just last year will help us all learn from their example…how they won the major victory last week as Ypsi City Council passed one of the country’s first Community Benefits Ordinances.
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Ypsilanti City Council Meeting Tues Aug 14

WeROC Members and Supporters —

We are looking for our fellow community members (both Ypsilanti City residents and other interested and affected community members) to speak out in support of maximizing critical funding for mental health and public safety services. Join WeROC leaders seeking commitments from City officials on Tuesday, August 14, 2018 at 7pm at the next Ypsilanti City Council meeting, at City Hall (Michigan Ave and Huron St.). More below about the Moral Values Agenda that has grown out of the past year’s collective work of local congregational leaders and allies to creatively address the major county-wide crisis in mental health services.

— Tad Wysor on behalf of WeROC’s Mental Health Equity Action Team

Ypsilanti Moral Values Agenda

WeROC Statement: Support for Mental Health and Public Safety Services:

WeROC is calling on members of the Ypsilanti City Council, the City Manager, and the Police Chief to commit to a meeting with WeROC members to discuss an amendment to the City Budget that would re-direct a significant portion of new funds the City is receiving from the Nov 2017 Mental Health/Public Safety millage toward the urgent County-wide community needs of crisis mental health services and mental health-related public safety services, including at a minimum funding for community policing and training in community policing and mental health response for all Ypsilanti police officers.

August WeROC Meeting of the Whole

August WeROC Meeting of the Whole, Thursday, August 2, 5:30-7:30, Community Church of God, 565 Jefferson St, Ypsilanti. Light dinner provided.

We’ll hear updates and opportunities to participate from our Action Team leaders:

  • Mental Health Equity — continuing to push for crisis and stabilization services as a priority for last year’s millage dollars and other resources. We’ll discuss the draft WeROC Statement and point toward how you can help this team push for these priorities as the County Community Mental Health Board and the County Commission prepare to act on the 2019 mental health budget.
  • Education — How WeROC can leverage countywide resources toward better access by students and young people to professional mental health, trauma, and social services, and toward fewer suspensions and expulsions — all issues that we all know have an ugly racial component.
  • Veterans Issues: Veterans, especially veterans of color, are are often among the most marginalized of our neighbors and members of our congregations and communities.
  • Rising for Economic Democracy in Ypsi: Working with WeROC, grassroots citizens have come together to develop over many months an excellent draft Community Benefits Ordinance to ensure those most affected by big developments are at the table, making sure that the developers AND the community benefit from our investments as taxpayers. Moving the draft CBO into reality with a strong City Council vote is next.

Contact this week: Jeremy at jwaechter@mosesmi.org

July WeROC Meeting

July WeROC Meeting of the Whole, TUESDAY JULY 10 (Delayed this month due to holiday), 5:30-7:30, Strong Tower Ministries, 134 Spencer Ln, Ypsi Twp (Annex at south end of lot).  Light dinner provided.

None of us spend all our time on things WeROC.  But we all know that the more of us that DO spend some time and energy on our collective local social justice work, and do it in significant numbers and side by side with those most affected daily by racism and poverty in our area, the sooner we’ll shift how power is distributed around us — and seriously address the severe moral crises that we’re confronting in our (overall) wealthy County.
With our successful major May 20 Public Meeting in Ypsilanti (here’s the video if you missed it! ), we learned once again that the bottom-up voices from our congregations and organizations can be seriously heard by our local public officials and decision-makers.  Now it’s time to make sure they also act on what they heard and what they agreed to do.  Next Tuesday is for making that real…please plan to be a part of it!

WeROC Meeting June 2018 and Public Meeting Follow-Up

WeROC June Meeting of the Whole — Thursday June 7, 5:30-7:30, First Congregational UCC (new location), 111 S. Wallace Blvd, Ypsi (best to park around back of the old school, off Jones St).

So, whether or not you were able to attend our May 20 WeROC Public Meeting, we hope you’ll share in a sense of accomplishment! With the help of so many of you and your congregations and organizations, we made a great showing of our numbers and unity to several key community decision-makers as we rolled out WeROC’s Moral Values Agenda (See Below). And, we’re so pleased that they, in turn, said a clear YES to every one of important “asks” that members of our Mental Health Equity Action Team and our Education Action Team had prepared and presented to them that afternoon.
VIDEO: Consider giving yourself a much-needed 90-minute break, and watch (or at least sample) the professionally-made video of the Public Meeting, to appreciate (or appreciate again if you were there) what healthy community-led work with our public officials can look like.

In our evaluation immediately after the Meeting, the WeROC committee of about 30 people who organized and participated in the Public Meeting were clearly proud of what we accomplished together, by blending the voices of neighbors most affected by the immoral failures of our governments at all levels with the voices of more privileged allies to creatively push for a more positive future for all of us. AND there was universal appreciation for the attendance and public commitments of our public officials on a busy weekend afternoon — those growing two-way relationships are a great sign of future successes.

In addition to Thursday’s important collective follow-up meeting, leaders of our Action Teams will be announcing smaller Team meetings to plan next steps. Consider supporting their leadership by asking to be kept informed about ongoing actions by one or more of our Action Teams (contact Tad Wysor ):
Mental Health Equity Action Team (Cindy Bodewes)
Education Action Team (Pastor Jeff Harrold)
Veterans Action Team (Jim Anderson)
REDY (Rising for Economic Democracy in Ypsi — working on real community involvement in major economic development decisions) (Erica Moody)

NOTE also: Poor People’s Campaign: A National Call for Moral Revival — WeROC members and supporters have participated in the first 3 weekly PPC actions in Lansing as we explore how this growing new national and statewide voice by and for “the least of these” can help us leverage our local WeROC Moral Values Agenda — while reviving Dr. King’s “unsettling” vision from the 1968 Poor People’s Campaign.
Follow and register to participate at michiganppc.org and facebook.com/michigansppc

WeROC Public Meeting – Sunday May 20, 2018

WeROC Public Meeting:
3 PM Sunday May 20
Ekkliesia Fellowship Ministries
123 N Adams St, Ypsilanti MI

“For such a time as this…” (Esther: 4:14)

Do you want:

  • Equitable access to mental health treatment?
  • School districts to respond better to studen trauma?
  • Fair wages for mental health workers?

Join us at the WeROC Public Meeting as we seek answers from key local decision makers.

 

WeROC May Meetings

  • THIS Thursday April 26 6:30-7:30pm –Ypsilanti “Community Conversation”,Brown Chapel AME Church, 1043 W Michigan Av, Ypsilanti put on by the Community Mental Health Advisory Committee,
    Support WeROC Action Team members speaking on priorities for Mental Health Millage dollars.
  • Also, the Chelsea CMHAC Community Conversation is Monday, April 30th from 5-6pm at Chelsea Hospital (Atrium A and B conference rooms). Other Community Conversations in May.
  • Next Thursday May 3 — WeROC Meeting of the Whole, 5:30-7:30, Strong Tower Ministries, 134 Spencer Lane, Ypsi Township (Annex just north of Michigan Ave, Light dinner provided.). Chance to compare notes and learn about ongoing campaigns and new actions, including upcoming Public Meeting and our new coalition work around the upcoming elections.
  • Sunday 3 PM, May 20, Ekklesia Fellowship Ministries, 123 N Adams. All out for WeROC Public Meeting! Major action with key decisionmakers on mental health funding and other priority WeROC issues. More information coming — in the meantime, please consider making this a priority for your congregation or organization — it’ll all add up to an impressive turnout and a powerful positive civic experience for everyone!

One more thing…WeROC has been supporting the local organizing for the Poor People’s Campaign: A National Call for Moral Revival. Recently, the national AFL-CIO endorsed the Campaign. It’s getting real now…More than a year of statewide planning and organizing is leading to the next major phase of the Campaign, on Monday May 14, and the six weeks following.

  • The voices of those most affected will be prominent in massive actions at our State Capitol in Lansing (and simultaneously in 40+ other states) — supported by allies who share a moral agenda and vision for our country — hopefully including folks from your congregation or organization.
  • Many of us believe this powerful first step is exactly the kind of thing we need at this historic moment, to show the kind of unity, seriousness, and persistence it will take really shift the national moral narrative about poverty, racism, the war economy, and environmental devastation.
  • Contact, sign the Pledge Card, or get more information: http://www.poorpeoplescampaign.org, facebook.com/michigansppc, and facebook.com/ppcwc.)