In almost every city, there are neighborhoods that struggle with some of the city's very worst problems. And yet, these same neighborhoods often have the least resources to help them deal with their problems.
What can be done about this "resources gap"? The first step is to assist inner-city neighborhoods in identifying, strengthening, and making the most of the resources they do have — the talented leaders and potential leaders who already live there.
Heartbeat creates a range of educational programs for organizations in these communities who want to strengthen and develop their own residents and community leaders. These programs provide educational tools designed to extend the skills of leaders and other residents, and to help leverage those skills so they can do the most tangible good in the community.
By honoring the strengths and heroism that already exists in the inner city, Heartbeat is taking steps to try to do something about the resources gap in these communities.
The Heartbeat program finds concrete expression in these four programs:
The Neighborhood Newspaper Project
Heartbeat offers a training workshop that equips individuals or organizations to help inner-city neighborhoods work together to launch their own newspapers. This neighborhood newspaper is then used to help build a greater sense of community within the neighborhood, linking people to resources, reporting on positive things that are happening, and helping residents feel more connected to one another and to the community.
Developed in Dallas, this workshop includes instruction in basic community organizing, as well as hands-on introductions to the computer hardware and software required for desktop publishing.
Personal and Community Empowerment (P.A.C.E.)
Developed in Memphis and New York, this 13-week course trains inner-city residents to plan and implement projects that will improve the quality of life in their neighborhoods. Participants learn valuable interpersonal skills, like group decision-making, how to conduct meetings, and how to plan a project and present it to others. With these skills, residents are able to develop and share ideas they have for improving their communities.
Instruction includes a photography project, a neighborhood historical tour, and an encouraging, inspiring readers theater production. By offering skills, resources and inspiration, PACE helps adults turn their dreams into reality.
Back to Work
These lessons do not cover skills such as resume writing and job interviews; those are covered in other job-skill courses. Rather, Back to Work concentrates on "soft skills", the relationship and personal life-issues that are fundamental to a person's success in finding and keeping employment. Students explore how to work with others, how to work for a boss, how to resolve conflicts, how to deal with emotions, and more.
Developed in Brooklyn, New York, this course is designed to be inexpensive to host and simple to teach so that existing neighborhood-based organizations can offer this important service.
The Community Computer Course
This is a comprehensive training curriculum that teaches computer skills within an "educating for empowerment" model. This means that the courses are taught in such a way that students see the immediate application to their daily lives and become enthusiastic about the work.
The course meets twice a week for eight weeks. One of the weekly sessions is dedicated to skills instruction in Microsoft Windows and Microsoft Word, while the other session is devoted to lab activities and group process. The course culminates in the production of a class newsletter showcasing the students' new skills.
