Listening Campaign Responses
The GNUUC listeners conducted 44 interviews of GNUUC members and friends in March and April. That’s 54% of members and friends interviewed. GNUUC expressed a wide range of concerns and there were four groups of concerns that top of the list:
Affordable Housing/Gentrification/Neighborhood Development - Concerns include equitable housing, mixed income housing, access to mortgages, gentrification, the need for more neighborhood development, healthy local economies, one stop neighborhoods, mixed income neighborhoods.
Schools and Education - Concerns include improving quality, overcrowding/need for smaller classrooms, improving public schools, no vouchers, charters, resources, advocates for students, high rates of anxiety among students, school leadership, funding of education, teacher pay, type of teaching, too much emphasis on testing, teacher diversity, school to prison pipeline, universal preschools, ESL, and education of immigrants.
Medical/Health Care – concerns include accessibility, affordability, medications, addictions (opiates), insurance, healthcare resources and personnel outside urban areas. Also, mental health particularly for young people, financial issues, assistance with navigating the system, intersection of mental illness, criminal justice and homelessness.
Economic/Income Inequality and Jobs - concerns include equity, disparity, fairness in opportunity, fair wages, employment for those on margins: ex-prisoners, disabled and migrant worker rights & labor conditions.
Other concerns mentioned just slightly less often are Transportation - concern for the infrastructure, highways, roads, bridges, potholes, public transportation, and sidewalks. And, Criminal Justice reform and Policing - criminal justice reform: re-entry, prison abolition. Police – COB, police training, building relationships with community, diversity among police force.
Thank you for your input!
Issues Convention Sign Up
Now is the time to sign up to participate in the NOAH Issues Convention. All NOAH organizations have conducted their own listening campaigns and sent their top issues to NOAH. One June 2nd, members of the organizations have an opportunity to vote on which of the issues will guide NOAH’s future work. The more GNUUC people who show up at the convention, the more votes we will have and therefore, the more influence GNUUC will have on NOAH's future work. GNUUC has a maximum of 25 votes, but we only get 25 votes if 25 GNUUCers show up (fewer people = fewer votes for our issues). In 2014, we had over 25 from GNUUC show up, let’s have 25 again this year.
What: NOAH Issues Convention
When: Sunday, June 2, from 3:00pm to 5:00pm
Plan to arrive by 2:30 pm
Carpools to leave GNUUC by 2:00 pm
Where: Greater Bethel AME Church, 1300 South Street, Nashville, TN 37212.
Who: You!
Questions or to sign up, contact Sandy Blanz or Rev. Dr. Michelle Pederson.