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June 15, 2006 NDSU Extension Service Awarded Grant to Help Struggling Communities The Northwest Area Foundation has awarded the North Dakota State University Extension Service a second grant to help small North Dakota communities struggling with a loss of income, population and resources. The grant amount will depend on the number of communities that participate in the Horizons program, says Lynette Flage, who coordinates the NDSU Extension Service’s role in the project. The Northwest Area Foundation is a nonprofit organization based in St. Paul, Minn., that works to reduce poverty in an eight-state region - North Dakota, Minnesota, South Dakota, Montana, Iowa, Idaho, Washington and Oregon. This grant is the second phase of a partnership the foundation and NDSU Extension Service formed in 2003. Then, the foundation provided Extension with funding to aid five North Dakota communities - Mott, Beach, Regent, Ashley and Ellendale - and neighboring Eureka, S.D. Flage wants to hear from rural communities with fewer than 5,000 residents that are interested in getting involved in the new Horizons program. “We would like to have at least 25 communities in the state of North Dakota involved by this fall,” she says. The grant will allow the Extension Service to hire staff to help communities receive the training, support and other resources they need to improve their residents’ lives. That assistance can include helping communities develop plans to overcome issues such as out-migration of residents, particularly young people; a growing elderly population; low-paying jobs that force residents to hold two or more jobs; and the need to improve services such as health care, streets and sanitary services. Extension also will provide training that teaches people how to become effective leaders by managing conflict and working together to solve problems and create opportunities. “As communities move to action, Extension will tailor its programming to community needs,” Flage says. NDSU Extension plans to hold six Horizon showcases across the state this fall to give communities a chance to learn about the program. The locations will be announced in early July. As a result of the initial Horizons program, the 2005 North Dakota Legislature passed a bill that allows housing authorities in small, rural communities to issue bonds to pay for moderate-income housing. Those housing authorities had been limited to issuing bonds for low-income housing. Also, a cell phone tower went up in the Ellendale area, improving people’s telecommunication abilities, and communities have developed strategic plans for their futures, worked to get young people involved in city decisions, encouraged more people to assume leadership roles and explored ways to help people feel better about themselves and their communities. Flage says the new Horizons grant is very welcome at a time when 40 percent of North Dakotans questioned in a recent survey said helping people in their communities who are struggling to make ends meet is a top concern. The Northwest Area Foundation conducted the national survey of 2,400 people in December 2005. The survey looked at people’s perceptions about poverty and their priorities for dealing with the issue in their communities. The survey found that of the North Dakotans questioned:
For more information about the Horizons program or how your community can get involved, contact Flage at (701) 265-5200 or Lynette.Flage@ndsu.edu ### Source: Lynette
Flage, (701) 265-5200, Lynette.Flage@ndsu.edu |
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