Being introduced to the community

Hey everyone,

This weekend I was introduced to the community so that they would know I was going to be showing up at their door and asking them some questions. We went to a small restaurant that is being renovated and met in the back of it. The meeting had to deal with a plot of land that is in dispute. their is a lady that is running an illegal business their and allowing for truckers to park their but she does not have a permit. So she has already been called to court but no one has been stopping her from doing this and although she has been cited by the city and the police she continues on with her business. So the meeting was small and we did not get the amount of people we expected. we were at 11 but expected at least 30... Community organizing is a very interesting way of getting people to deal with their problems in their neighborhoods. So basically the organizer will be the center to unite everyone and kind of motivate them but not be the person to take action. what the organizer does is have everyone do the work for them, not all of it, but he is trying to get the community members to get involved and not wait for organizer to do everything but to take ownership of the problem and to be able to go out and talk to the press and help him recruit people that are suffering the same problem and that want to make a change.

so at the meeting we decided a form of action that we are taking into account and we are going to inform the truckers that they will be getting ticketed if they continue to park there and have to pay a fine and also to inform some more of the community about the problem and raise awareness throughout the community. So we were trying to discuss what we can do to get people out and as much of a foodie as I am,I suggested we provide some food! So some of the community members thought this was a great idea and offered to bring some hot dogs and buns so that people could come by and eat a little and help us protest:)

At the end of the meeting I was introduced and had to talk to them and let them know I was going to be around knocking on their doors and everyone was very welcoming and said to call them and try and set up some sort of appointment so that they could for sure be there. So it is starting to get exciting now and I will be hitting the streets for sure next week!

So that was my exciting weekend and I was also really happy because Ecuador beat Peru 2-1 in Lima and I was able to enjoy it while drinking a cold Pilsener in the windy city.