Our nation is facing an epidemic - young people are losing their lives to violence at unprecedented rates. Children are living in broken homes and learning in broken school systems. They live in a world that is short on love and long on empty promises. As a result, they are turning to gangs to provide the shelter, sense of belonging and opportunity that our community does not offer. This horrific national trend is being felt in our own backyards with the recent murders of two young men. The tragedy is that two lives were lost, the reality is that even more have been destroyed - as two coffins were made, two jail cells were prepared.
The challenges that our children are facing must be dealt with at a national level. Systemic overhaul is needed to ensure that every child - regardless of their background - has equal access to educational and economic opportunities. President Obama must take on this fight if we are to see large-scale change. However, local government is not powerless. We can take the necessary steps to save our children and the future of this City.
I have proposed that the Council spearhead an initiative to sponsor a Youth Master Plan (YMP). This has been done in communities across the Country and is considered a best practice. The YMP will bring together stakeholders at all levels - government, schools, non-profits, Churches, parents and youth - to set a vision for our City's young people. It will provide an evaluation of our current resources and set a strategy for how the City can best address the needs of our children going forward. In addition, it will arm community organizers and local officials with information on state and national legislation that best addresses those challenges unique to Plainfield. I will be working with the City Council and all of Plainfield's elected officials to pull together a strong team of community members who will lead this effort. In order for this to be successful, the entire community must work together - devoting time and talent for a shared goal. All stakeholders must unite for a worthy cause and invest in our most precious resource - our children.
Several years ago, my mother wrote a song entitled, "The Child Belongs to Me". This title is so timely and I had to share the song here. The words remind me that we can only help our young people if we take responsibility and take action:
Details and deadlines for the YMP will be spelled out soon.
HAPPY THANKSGIVING!!
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13 comments:
Annie, And a happy Thanksgiving to you. Your YMP is an initiative that must be pursued to fulfillment. If you may recall I have noted in my blog in the past that a coordination of programs by all parties you refer to is an important cog for a successful "Recreational program" that will offer an alternative to our youth from gang affiliation.
Council President McWilliams youth master plan, what youth will you be targeting, oh yeah second ward. Why dont you take your plans and hel out with the incumbator prodject. You are a big dissapointment. We the residents should have known. The incumbator prodject have reached far and beyoung the second ward and have helped many residents. Thanks to you we almost lost the program. Just to think I voted for you, never again.
Annie, this group should be an asset for your plan:
http://projecthopeplainfield.org/index.html
When is your term up? It is very important for a city council member to care about the entire city of plainfield. We the residents provided information on the incumbator program and the the great outcome but you still chose to block it. I guess the residents that poured their heart out to you were not good enough. I can't wait to campaign against you.
To anon at 2:57 and 10:01 - I assume you are speaking about the resolution authorizing a new funding source for the Incubator. You seem to be misinformed - I voted yes for that. There is no reason to take just my word for it. You can call the City Clerk's office and ask for the record. As I recall the vote was 4-2-1 with 4 in favor, 2 opposed and 1 abstaining. As Council President I vote last, meaning the fourth vote needed to secure the funding source was mine. If I had not voted in favor of that resolution then there would not have been a necessary majority and the resolution would have failed.
I hope this clarifies this matter for you. Please don't hesitate to reach out directly with any comments or questions. I can be reached at annie.mcwilliams@plainfield.com or at (908) 458-7336. I admire your passion regarding this matter.
Additionally, my term is up at the end of 2012. I encourage all residents to get out and vote or campaign for whoever they believe will serve the community best - whether or not I am their candidate of choice. However, it's very important that residents are informed. Unfortunately Plainfielders have a history of voting out qualified elected officials in place of incompetent ones largely because of convenient political rumors.
I was just informed that you tried to table the the item. Will that information be on the record. Plainfield have a history of voting out qualified canidates as you say and voting in incompetent ones. What you really want to say is that plainfield have gotten smarter over the years and standing up for what they believe in even if it's not just in the second ward.
To anon at 1:56 - Yes, all votes are recorded and the voting record is available in the Clerk's Office. A vote to table a resolution or ordinance will cause the vote to be postponed, but it is not a vote against an item. Information requested of the Administration and provided by Mr. Dunn was never received by the Council. It seemed responsible to postpone the vote until Monday's special meeting when all information could be reviewed by the Council and an affirmative vote could be assured. If that had happened, the Incubator would have received payment without delay. That was the more responsible route as one additional vote against the resolution would have caused it to fail.
Ultimately, the resolution received the bare minimum number of votes needed to move it forward. Again, I hope this clarifies.
If the city had taken care to seeing that a job training program came about that reached to all corners of the eligible population and gave them the greatest opportunity for advancement upon completion, it never would have come as far as the Incubator contract.
The rules, regulations, and guidance are in place for a purpose. As a member of the Workforce Investment Board, Mr. Dunn should be aware of them, in fact is mandated to support them. Whatever one may think of the Incubator program as it came to be, the outcomes would have been broader and better had we not chosen to drive on the back roads at night, without lights, registration, or license.
For the Youth Master Plan to succeed we have to use our resources effectively and on the up-and-up. Kids know when they're being b-s'd. Any plan will fail if there's too much of it.
I am extremely grateful for your leadership in our community. Yours is a voice of hope, sorely needed.
A "master plan" comes from residents. Not politicians.
The Annie haters sound like the same kind of people who are duped into coming out to council meetings to support recreation when the superintendent does not comply with Council requests for information and then he tells his minions that the Council is trying to hurt the programs. The Incubator is run by an intellegent man who should know how to read the requirements when receiving a grant that there HAS to be written backup and justifications. After all aren't they the ones trying to school people in how do be successful. The only other thought for not providing documentation is because there is something to hide just like recreation. So please don't blame Annie for trying to hold those in charge accountable for their responsibilities.
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