Third Community Forum Media

Common Pathways  
Bringing the community together to build a
common pathway to a better Worcester for all
www.commonpathways.org


April 10, 2008
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Clara Savage, Common Pathways Coordinator, 508-459-9664, csavage [dot] commonpathways [at] gmail [dot] com

Common Pathways to Hold Third Community Forum
April 24, 5:00 to 7:30 p.m.
Mount Carmel Church’s Community Center


Worcester, MA – Common Pathways, an initiative to engage residents in determining priorities for improving the quality of life in Worcester, will hold its Third Community Forum on Thursday, April 24, from 5:00-7:30 p.m. at Our Lady of Mount Carmel Church, located at 53 East Central St. in Worcester. Child care and a light meal will be provided.

Common Pathways will hold a News Conference on Friday, April 18 at 1:00 p.m. at 44 Front St., Suite 280 in Worcester, to announce and discuss details of the April 24 Forum. Refreshments will be served.

The purpose for the April 24 Forum is as follows:

  • To present the Common Pathways Indicators Report
  • To review and discuss in small groups the six selected themes with sample indicators and corresponding data.
  • To assist in selecting the emerging indicators for each theme.

To suggest actions to move forward selected indicators by theme.

During the First Community Forum on November 30, 2005, which more than 150 participants attended, Common Pathways identified more than 350 specific likes, concerns and desired improvements regarding the quality of life in Worcester. Subsequently, Common Pathways catalogued them under 12 general themes. In alphabetical order, the initial themes were: City Governance; Culture and Recreation; Diversity and Multiculturalism; Economic Development; Education; Environment; Housing; Medical and Social Services; People and Social Environment; Public Safety; Transportation; and Youth.

On April 5, 2006, Common Pathways held its Second Community Forum, during which more than 110 participants selected six themes as priorities to focus on. These themes are as follows: Economic Development; Education; Housing; Public Health and Medical Services; Social and Mental Health Services; and Transportation. Subsequently, Common Pathways has made significant efforts to compile corresponding data for the selected indicators for each theme.

 

Common Pathways will share the Indicators Report with the Worcester community during April 24’s Third Community Forum. Through small group discussions, participants will review and discuss the indicators by theme, identify new concerns, and suggest actions to make meaningful, positive and constructive changes in our city’s quality of life in open, collaborative and sustainable ways.

 

Common Pathways’ Leadership Council has been engaged throughout this entire process and is looking forward to work together with the community to develop a plan of action. In alphabetical order by last name, the Leadership Council consists of the following business, political, community, health and education leaders:

 

  • Lois Barry, LUK Inc.
  • John Bassett, Clark University
  • Armand Carriere, UniverCity Partnership
  • Deb Cary, Mass. Audubon Society
  • Michael Coonan, Plumbers & Pipefitters Local Union No. 4
  • Jill Dagilis, Worcester Community Action Council
  • Tim Garvin, United Way of Central Mass.
  • Jay Gardiner, Worcester Health and Human Services Department
  • Bruce Gaultney, Telegram & Gazette
  • Gary Gemme, Worcester Police Department
  • Michael Gilleberto, Worcester City Manager’s Office
  • Juan Gomez, Centro Las Americas
  • Lois Green, Hoche-Schofield Foundation
  • Paul Hernandez, Oak Hill Community Development Corporation
  • Dennis Irish, Saint Vincent Hospital
  • Dick Kennedy, Worcester Regional Chamber of Commerce
  • Ann Lisi, Greater Worcester Community Foundation
  • John O'Brien, UMass Memorial Health Care
  • Mike O'Brien, City of Worcester
  • Sarai Rivera, Iglesia Cristiana de la Communidad
  • Carlton Watson, Henry Lee Willis Community Center
  • Jan Yost, Health Foundation of Central Mass.

 

The mission of Common Pathways is to bring the different sectors of the Worcester community together to improve the quality of life for all.

Common Pathways is part of a growing, nationwide trend of "healthy communities" initiatives, including ones in Boston, Providence, Baltimore and Denver. "Healthy" refers to all aspects of a community's quality of life, including health care. To learn more about Common Pathways, visit www.CommonPathways.org. The website contains links to other "healthy communities" initiatives as well as a registration form for attending the Third Community Forum on April 24.

The Common Pathways website includes a compilation of the issues identified by participants in the First Community Forum in November 2005, an interactive Survey Form, and a link to Data Place (www.DataPlace.org), which was created and is being maintained by a national coalition of "healthy cities" initiatives.

For more information on the “healthy communities” movement, visit the National Neighborhood Indicators Partnership at www.Urban.org/nnip/. NNIP is coalition of "healthy community" initiatives that is seeking to provide access to broad, deep data-mining resources to average Americans and well as to train them to use such resources to empower themselves to take action regarding issues affecting their neighborhoods.
 
For more information on Common Pathways and the Third Community Forum on April 24, call Common Pathways Coordinator Clara Savage at 508-459-9664, or e-mail her at csavage [dot] commonpathways [at] gmail [dot] com.