By Daily Press staff
The City of Santa Monica will host a Community Voices Gathering — the culmination of a community-wide human services planning process — on Saturday, Jan. 11, at John Adams Middle School, 2425 16th St. from 9 a.m. to 12 p.m. Registration will begin at 8:30 a.m. In 1999-2000, the city’s Human Services Division engaged in an exhaustive planning process called Community Voices. Through the program, the city partnered with the RAND Corporation to develop a profile of the Santa Monica community and, with the participation of residents, service providers and the business community, determined the priorities for the city’s $ 8-million grant program, which supports over 62 different non-profits.
This year’s Community Voices project takes a special look at the needs of older youth (11-23 years) and updates — via the RAND Corporation — the 1999 community profile, and identifies through surveys, 50 different discussion groups and public hearings new human service needs and trends. Today, with an economic decline and shrinking resources, determining the city’s funding priorities for the next three years requires thoughtful choices.
Participants will be offered a light breakfast and have the opportunity to meet with more than 25 community organizations to learn about the resources available. Workshops, led by a professional artist-facilitator, will also be held to creatively explore important social problems and strategies to address them.
Parking, child-care (ages 3 and above), information booths, Spanish and sign language interpretation and special activities for youth will be provided.
During these challenging economic times, it’s especially important that the City of Santa Monica hear from the community. Teens are especially encouraged to participate.
For more information on Community Voices, call Human Services Division at (310) 458-8701, TTY 458-8696, or e-mail: For disability-related accommodation requests (such as sign language interpreter), please contact Janet Hand at 458-8701, TTY 458-8696, or via least three working days in advance. Big Blue Bus lines 7 and 8 serve this location.
Originally published in the Santa Monica Daily Press print edition on January 6, 2003. Read the original PDF.