| Now in its thirty-fifth year, Little Earth has experienced its ups and downs as a community and as an organization.
When President/CEO Mr. Bill Ziegler first arrived in 2004, crime, drugs, gang activity, high drop-out rates, poverty, domestic violence, and a sense of hopelessness had taken a stubborn hold over the development, impacting the wider urban Indian community as a whole.
However, in the past two years, crime is down at Little Earth—as measured by decreased assaults, auto theft, narcotic-related crime, and theft, as well as by increased resident involvement in pro-active safety activities, like the new Court Watch program, in which residents’ testimony is now used in Hennepin County Courts to secure stronger sentences for chronic offenders. In the wake of the increased safety, children, parents and grandparents have opened their doors—literally—to opportunities available to them as residents of the community.
At the same time, the number of new services and level of residents accessing services are rising dramatically—from expanded academic enrichment activities for youth, to a new Success by 6 early childhood education partnership.
To build on these positive changes, Little Earth conducted an intensive planning process in 2006 and 2007. The board wrote a strategic plan, which incorporates the voice and the vision expressed by 98% of the residents in a community-wide survey. Self-determination and expectation for success are the two key elements of the board and resident plans.
Little Earth Community Partnership then voted to implement this Capacity-Building and Program Development Initiative and launch a campaign to secure necessary funds to implement a 10-year action plan.
Projected outcomes of this capacity-building and program development project at Little Earth are:
- Increased parent involvement in their children’s education.
- Increased percentage of children enrolled in pre-school education.
- Increased school attendance in grades K-12.
- Increased graduation rates.
- Increased levels of employment among adults.
- New opportunities for home ownership at Little Earth.
- Increased level of resident leadership and volunteerism in the community.
- Sustained levels of decreasing crime and increasing resident safety.
- New models for local, regional, and national American Indian community self-determination.
In sum, Little Earth will realize self-determination at all levels of the community. |
