MECANA plans township spotlight days to marshal neighbor support, acknowledges tech access gaps
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Summary
MECANA President Kathy Burton said the coalition will start township 'spotlight' days to collect concise problem reports from neighborhoods and rally support from other townships; members also discussed the digital divide and the need to give residents clear contact information for elected officials and city services.
At the Sept. 20 meeting, Marion County Alliance of Neighborhood Associations President Kathy Burton outlined a new neighborhood-support initiative to spotlight a small number of high-priority issues in each township and build cross-township backing to reach city decision-makers.
"In October, at our meeting, I will have a form out on the table for people to take to identify a specific issue in their neighborhood...that they would like to see addressed," Burton said. The goal, she said, is to create a short, shareable record that neighborhood associations can use to contact councilors, the mayor's office and other officials.
Members emphasized the digital divide as an obstacle: older residents and some low-income households lack smartphones or comfort with online complaint systems. Speakers urged MECANA to provide step-by-step instructions and centralized contact points (phone numbers, email addresses and printed forms) so residents who do not use social media can participate.
Shauna Murphy, the new executive director of the Martin Luther King Center, urged inclusion of younger volunteers and resident voices in planning and service delivery. Several speakers recommended recruiting people in their 20s and 30s to help manage online tasks and outreach.
Burton asked members to propose a short name or acronym for the initiative to make it identifiable in outreach materials and on channel 16 broadcasts.
"We have to get past that sense of hopelessness and helplessness that it doesn't matter what we say or do," Burton said. The planned spotlight days will try to create tangible wins by addressing specific, well-documented problems such as alley cleanup, pothole repairs or abandoned-lot maintenance.
She asked neighborhood leaders to return to their groups with concise examples and to bring ready-to-submit contact information to the October meeting.