North End Matters

On September 25, we launched the first session of the AALI Journey: Finding Your Voice Amidst the Changing Demands of Our Communities. The guests of the first session, Leona Smith of NECIC, Victor Coleman Jr. of FirstEnergy Corp, and Deanna West-Torr

We're closing at noon, on October 9 as we head to the Ohio CDC Association Conference in Columbus. We'll be closed all day October 9-11.

“The first thing is to be honest with yourself. You can never have an impact on society if you have not changed yourself.”

After months of preparation, we are happy to present the revamped version of The AALI Journey!

On the second Wednesday of every month at 5 p.m., members of the community come together for Neighbor Up Night (NUN), where they share a meal and discuss ways to improve their neighborhoods. While the conversations are focused on problem solving and planning, NUN feels less like a board meeting and more like a friendly gathering. The chairs are arranged in a big circle so everyone has an equal opportunity to be seen and heard. Community Organizer Kay Smith always begins meetings by asking everyone in the room to share something positive happening in their lives. She’ll then open up the floor with questions like, “What have you noticed happening in your neighborhood? What can we do?”

“I first got connected with NECIC when I began volunteering as a receptionist for them. I quickly learned that this is the place to be if you want to know what’s going on in Mansfield. If you don’t know how to do something or if you want to know who your contacts are or if you want to help make things happen in the North End, NECIC can help.”

“People are so closely linked in the North End, that once one person achieves something, they want to help their neighbors do it, too. It’s the most beautiful chain reaction you’ve ever seen.”I have an incredible relationship with this town. My family lived in an apartment building in the North End until I was five years old. My grandmother was a bartender and many of my afternoons as a kid were spent sitting at the bar, drinking Pepsi and eating Jones potato chips. Life in the North End was full of family and friends, sharing and bartering. People who don’t have a lot of money are incredibly resourceful. You learn to value relationships and appreciate so many different ways of living. It was such a vibrant and beautiful neighborhood then, and it still is now.I moved away from Mansfield for two years, but once I found out I was pregnant with my daughter, I came right back. I wanted to raise her here. This area will always be home to me. No matter where I move or where I live, this is home.

Are you thinking of STARTING A BUSINESS? Are you making and selling products from your home or small business but need an injection of capital to take you to the next level? The North End Community Improvement Collaborative is recruiting participants for its next round off business plan writing classes...

SOCIAL JUSTICE BOOK CLUB's previous meeting was Tuesday May 21, as we discussed the book was "Enlightenment Now: The Case for Reason, Science, Humanism, and Progress" by Canadian-American cognitive scientist Steven Pinker. Stay tuned for our next book club meeting in June!

“I’ve heard “you can’t do it” my whole life, and I just got tired of hearing it….”

"Mansfield is made of good and hardworking people....But we still have a long ways to go."

The free, 12-week course is taught by trained NAMI members ....