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III.2. West Metro Collaborative; Westmoreland-LaTondresse CITY OF HOPKINS Memorandum To: Honorable Mayor and Council Members Mike Mornson, City Manager From: Ari Lenz, Assistant City Manager Date: March 14, 2023 Subject: West Metro Collaborative Update _____________________________________________________________________ PURPOSE Jen Westmoreland, Hopkins School Board Chair and Chris LaTondresse, Hennepin County Commissioner will be present to give an update on the West Metro Collaborative. INFORMATION Council allocated up to $20,000 of ARPA funds to the West Metro Youth Collaborative in 2022 and 2023. The funds were matched by Hennepin County and Hopkins Public Schools did the administrative work for the program. The goal of the program is to support the need to establish a multijurisdictional collaborative led by and with youth to build positive mentorship and social opportunities for youth in the West Metro. This collaborative will invite nonprofit organizations, government agencies, schools, and youth leaders to an advisory council in order to share knowledge, eliminate service silos, and identify gaps in youth programming. The proposal was for two phases, each phase had an allocation of $10,000. In phase one, the first portion of the funds ($10,000 for the City) was to do a research related to community needs and to hire eight consultants ages 15-21 to interview and survey community members, organize an informational event. The Generation Enhanced Network (GEN) grew out of some of the early exploratory work jointly funded and coordinated by the county, city and school district to generate insights and recommendations to inform the creation of the Collaborative. GEN has now continued as a promising example of the kind of youth-led initiative that could be further developed and scaled through the work of the Collaborative once chartered. Chair Westmoreland is currently working with Hennepin County Commissioner Chris LaTondresse to create the organizational structure for the collaborative. The second phase (an additional $10,000), is to use the research and discussions to establish and launch the West Metro Youth Collaborative. Administration FUTURE ACTION The group will continue working in 2023 on establishing the West Metro Collaborative. Attachments: West Metro Collaborative Summary Generation Enhanced Network Update DRAFTOfficeofHennepinCounty Commissioner Chris LaTondresse West Metro Youth Collaborative Updated:March 6,2023 OVERVIEW Hennepin County seeks local government partners (cities and school districts across the West Metro)to help launch and lead the West Metro Youth Collaborative,a new organization formed via joint-powers agreement to strengthen youth voice,opportunity,and social connection. Modeled on the successful Brooklyn Bridge Alliance for Youth,this new organization will pilot and scale initiatives by-and-for youth,enhance the quality of existing programming,attract funding for youth-focused initiatives and increase coordination among its members and with the community. While the mission,vision,goals,and strategies of the West Metro Youth Collaborative will be co-created by its founding members,potential areas of focus for this initiative include:mentoring, career pathways,after-school programming,mental health and wellness,and community safety. GOALS 1.Strengthen youth voice,opportunity,and social connection in west suburban Hennepin 2.Increase coordination between Hennepin County,cities,and schools to support youth 3.Attract new funding for youth-focused initiatives in west suburban Hennepin 4.Scale promising youth-focused initiatives and launch new evidence-based pilots BACKGROUND Suburban Hennepin County is home to many young people (ages 15-24)who face significant challenges accessing resources and opportunities that can help them thrive,especially outside of traditional school hours and during the summer months.The need for expanded coordination, programming,and funding for youth-led and youth-focused initiatives is clear and urgent. In the spring of 2022,in the aftermath of several high-profile public safety incidents involving youth,Commissioner LaTondresse’s office convened listening sessions and one-on-one meetings to explore this topic with students,mayors and school board members,city and school district DRAFTstaff,police chiefs,community organizations,and other leaders.The goal of these conversations was to better understand the challenges facing youth and to identify forward-looking solutions. In the summer of 2022,Hennepin County partnered with Hopkins Public Schools and the City of Hopkins,tapping a group of 8 young leaders (ages 15-22)as consultants to engage their peers and the community,gather insights that could help inform this work moving forward and offer potential solutions.The insights yielded from their field-research inform the goals found in this memo,including the recommendation to establish the West Metro Youth Collaborative formally. Their activities also led to the creation of Generation Enhanced Network (GEN).This youth-led initiative is already serving youth in the Hopkins School District and represents a promising early example of the type of programming that could be scaled regionally with greater coordination and resources. On December 15,2022,the Hennepin County Board approved a budget amendment authored by Commissioner LaTondresse,establishing a contingency fund of $57,500 for this work.This amount represents Hennepin County’s annual commitment to this organization,contingent on execution of a Joint Powers Agreement between the County and other member jurisdictions. MODEL We will model this new West Metro Youth Collaborative on the Brooklyn Bridge Alliance for Youth (The Alliance),whose work “assures the success of all youth by challenging the conditions that diminish their hope,by assuring that all youth are connected to a trusting adult who is vested in their healthy development as measured by educational success and mastery of life skills.”1 While the founding mission statement,vision,goals and strategies of the West Metro Youth Collaborative will be co-created by its charter members,there are several features of The Alliance model that we recommend adopting and incorporating into our charter,including: Potential features of The Alliance model to adopt and incorporate: Legal Structure:Chartered and governed via a Joint Powers Governance Agreement between Hennepin County and all member cities,school districts,and community colleges. Governance:The Board of Directors is composed of appointees from each member jurisdiction. The Alliance defines 'Members'as those who have signed the Joint Powers Agreement that formed the Alliance,contribute to the general fund of the Alliance budget,and have staff actively participating on the task force teams that advance the mission and work of the organization. 1 Vision Statement,Brooklyn Bridge Alliance for Youth, https://www.brooklynsallianceforyouth.org/who-we-are DRAFTFunding:The Alliance is jointly funded through approximately $212,000 in annual contributions from its Members,including Hennepin County ($57,500),the cities of Brooklyn Park ($57,500) and Brooklyn Center ($57,500),and schools:Osseo Area Schools ($11,500),Anoka-Hennepin School District ($5,750),Brooklyn Center Schools ($5,750),Robbinsdale Area Schools ($5,750), Hennepin Technical College ($5,750)and North Hennepin Community College ($5,750). These funds are leveraged to unlock $250,000 -$350,000 in additional outside revenues annually via federal,state,and local grants,and private,philanthropic,and corporate donations. Youth Voice:The Board of Directors includes four directors ages 18-24 who are drawn from across member jurisdictions and serve as a voice for middle and high school youth.Additionally, a separate,larger Youth Council further centers youth voice and leadership in all other aspects of The Alliance’s governance,planning,programming,and coordination with the community. TIMELINE Here’s a timeline with a few key milestones –past,present,and future: ●Summer 2022:Hennepin County partners with Hopkins Public Schools,the City of Hopkins,and young leaders to gather insights and co-create potential solutions,including the recommendation to pursue the creation of a West Metro Youth Collaborative. ●December 2022:Hennepin County Board approves a 2023 budget amendment to establish a $57,500 contingency fund and creates a draft Joint Powers Agreement. ●January-April 2023:Hennepin County leading discussions with select West Metro cities and school districts to present the concept,and gauge potential membership interest. ●Summer 2023:Hennepin County will host a convening among interested cities and school districts to engage in preliminary visioning,planning,co-creation,and commitments.This convening will include youth voices from participating jurisdictions. ●Fall 2023:Participating jurisdictions secure funding during their annual budget process. ●Winter 2023:Joint Powers Governance Agreement finalized and executed.Member jurisdictions appoint board members and identify staff leads for the initiative. ●January 2024:West Metro Youth Collaborative Launches! Generation Enhanced Network (GEN) 2022-2023 Overview Prepared by Jen Westmoreland, Hopkins School Board Chair Dominique Pierre-Toussaint, ICA Director of Community Relations Background In the summer of 2022, Hennepin County and the City of Hopkins partnered with Hopkins Public Schools to hire a group of 8 young leaders (ages 15-22) as consultants to engage their peers and the community to gather information about what youth in our community need to thrive. Hopkins School Board Chair Jen Westmoreland and Dominique Pierre-Toussaint served as the adult consultants to this group. Ellie Maag served as a Youth Participatory Action Research (YPAR) consultant to help ensure that the group’s process aligned with YPAR best practices. This initial work took place between June and August 2022. In addition to conducting research that led to a recommendation to establish the West Metro Youth Collaborative formally, the youth consultants created Generation Enhanced Network (GEN). This youth-led initiative serves young people in the Hopkins Schools community and represents an example of innovative programming that could be scaled regionally to serve more youth with greater coordination and resources. Generation Enhanced Network (GEN) prioritizes “next generation” voices and is shaped by their/your vision. It’s an organization for schools, government organizations, non-profits, businesses, and community organizations to innovate and collaborate to best serve the needs of the next generation in our communities. Why do we need GEN? Our youth and young adults deserve the very best. We are a community with many resources. Change within the community comes from each generation moving forward. The best way to accomplish this change is by working alongside the next generation to ensure they have the resources they need to be successful. The GEN Team Our group represents the diversity of youth and young people in our community in terms of race, ethnicity, gender and sexual identity, socio-economic position, career interests, and individual strengths. The original GEN consultants were Harper Best, Abhinav Kumar, Antonio Perez, Kennedy Pierre-Toussaint, Alex Quintero, Zachary Stanton, Katy Young, and Simon White. Since August 2022 our group has grown to include more young people in the Hopkins Schools community. Our Process Between the months of June and August 2022, we met weekly as a group to work on collecting information from the community on needs and solutions, ideating on and creating the GEN identity, and spreading awareness of the network. As we engaged in this work, we learned that members of our consultant group were experiencing the impacts of systemic injustices and were in need of support. As a group, we practiced the foundational concept of GEN by speaking our truths, connecting each other to resources, identifying possibilities for systemic change, and supporting each other through individual and collective challenges that arose during our time working together. GEN Identity The consultants worked on creating the name Generation Enhanced Network, writing the description for the network, and creating a visual identity (branding). Information Gathering The consultants gathered information through surveys, interviews, and individual conversations with community members. These general questions informed the survey, interview, and individual conversations. If you are a young member of our community, we want to know what your needs and goals are. Is there a challenge you or your family are facing right now (food or housing insecurity, mental or physical health, etc.)? What do you need to pursue your passion (ex. arts, sports, business, academics, etc.)? What do you need to achieve your goals now and into the future (mentorship, internship, community support, etc.)? If you are a community member with resources to share, we want to know what resources you can bring to the table, what ideas you have for this emerging organization, and how we might collaborate to serve the next generation? The consultants received 31 survey responses from a cross-section of community members, interviewed 5 community leaders, and engaged in 32 individual conversations with young people in our community. They conducted a qualitative open coding process on the survey, interview, and conversation responses. The results are as follows. Top needs/gaps identified: ● Food insecurity ● Housing insecurity ● Mental health resources ● Financial and mentorship support for interests/passions ● Social and moral support Top solutions/possibilities identified: ● Compensating young people to be in decision-making spaces across our community (government, nonprofit, business) ● More robust partnerships with resource providers like ICA, ResourceWest, Relate Counseling ● Partnerships with businesses and individuals who can provide mentorship and professional opportunities for young people ● A young adult (21+) to young person (12-18) mentoring program Awareness Building Depot Coffee House Event The consultants planned a GEN awareness-building and information-gathering event at the Depot Coffee House on August 6th, 2022. Each consultant invited at least 10 people and shared the event on social media. Approximately 40 community members attended, including youth, parents/caregivers, elected officials, nonprofit leaders, business owners, and community leaders. GEN consultant and Hopkins Student Senate President Abhinav Kumar, Hennepin County Commissioner LaTondresse, and Hopkins Mayor Hanlon spoke about the importance of GEN. The GEN team gathered information through conversations with event guests, and all attendees were encouraged to fill out the survey. The GEN visual identity/branding was unveiled at the event, and consultants took photos and videos of the event to use in future GEN communications. Presentation The consultants created a multimedia presentation that reflects our work on GEN thus far. This presentation can be shared with potential partners as we continue to build the Generation Enhanced Network. Social Media Platforms The consultants created GEN social media channels and took photos and videos for use on these platforms. GEN Activities Since August 2022 While the group’s formal information-gathering phase ended in August 2022, GEN has continued to build momentum as we move toward a more expansive West Metro Youth Collaborative structure. Here are some of the activities GEN members have been engaged in: ● GEN team members were invited as guest speakers and answered questions during the Ukraine Youth Group visit to the City of Hopkins in August 2022. ● GEN team members attended the ICA Great Taste Fundraiser in October 2022 to make additional connections in the community and share the work of GEN. ● GEN team members expressed an interest in learning about the behind-the-scenes work of a community podcast. The PARLE podcast launched in December 2022. A professional podcast producer is mentoring GEN members in sound production, photography, videography, etc. Recording of the podcast episodes has been open to the public (registration through Hopkins Community Education). ● GEN team members planned and provided support (music, volunteering, community connections) for the ResourceWest spring fundraiser in March 2023. ● GEN team members will participate in the Harvard Human Flourishing Program’s Leadership Summit in April 2023. ● GEN team members will be collaborating in August/September 2023 on a youth/young adult art exhibition with the Trilogy Real Estate Group building and the Hallon apartments project on Blake and Excelsior Blvd. ● GEN team took part in providing music for the State of the City of Hopkins event. ● GEN team adult consultants continue to connect GEN team members and other youth in our community to mentors, job opportunities, mental health support, and other resources.