Quarterly Convening Highlights

We hosted our Hope Zone Quarterly Convening – “Hope In Action” – where we discussed our policy plans, reviewed our progress over the last year, and explored the future of the Hope Zone. We were honored to have Tauheedah Jackson, Director of EdRedesign’s Institute for Success Planning at the Harvard Graduate School of Education, and Brian McClendon, Managing Director of Place at the William Julius Wilson Institute, join us for these important conversations.

At the Hope in Action event, Omega CDC unveiled our Public Policy Statement: Mobilize children and families to influence public engagement and investment in place-based solutions that advance sustainable socioeconomic progress.

We also outlined our goals, which are as follows:

Align the work of Omega CDC with local, state, and federal coalitions focused on cradle-to-career strategies.
Educate and mobilize the community through advocacy and awareness.
Unlock public investment.

We believe these goals will position Northwest Dayton to create real, lasting change.

One of the key themes was the power of community voices and the importance of community involvement, which led to our evening event, Stories of Hope. In collaboration with Lore Storytelling, Omega CDC offered community members and staff a four-week workshop focused on the art of storytelling and sharing personal narratives. The Stories of Hope event was the culmination of this workshop, providing participants with the opportunity to share their stories. It was a powerful evening filled with vulnerability, courage, and the undeniable strength of sharing our experiences. Our storytellers for the evening were Vonda Ford, Chynia Ballard, Asara Martin, Debra Crumb, Vince Nelson, Ayesiah Hall, and Ebony Stroud.

After these events, it became evident that despite the challenges and imperfections we face daily, Hope truly does live here.