Lava Hot Springs, ID

March Blogging Questions
12. Sustaining action and creating structural change around community.

How will your community make decisions about seeking further resources to support its plans?

Once we are an established 501c3 nonprofit, which will be named Lava Action Means Prosperity; it will be easier for us to function as an organization that will cooperatively work with others to achieve our goals.

Is a system in place to seek, receive, monitor and report on new resources to support community work?

We are in the process of working with the Idaho Nonprofit Center to do everything necessary to establish ourselves as a nonprofit.  We will have a board and will continue to work with our now four Action Teams.  In continuing to work with and communicate with other individuals and organizations we will be able to better do all these things, but for now it is a work in progress.

Is a system in place to maintain contact with or to continue to work with other communities?  With your Delivery Organization?  In other partnerships?

That too is still being worked on at this point.  Communication is key to our success, and we are striving to maintain relationships and networks.  After we finally become an established 501c3, we will be able to better do these things.  Through the Youth Leadership Retreat, our community coach was able to strengthen partnerships that we have started to develop with other Horizons III communities.

What new resources have been secured to assist the work of the community?

We are currently working with the Idaho Nonprofit Center to help us with the Articles of Incorporation and other pertinent paperwork for becoming a 501c3 nonprofit.  We already have a Mission Statement and draft Bylaws, and will be meeting in May to complete the rest of the process.  Lava has also created partnerships with environmental organizations and architects that will help us upgrade our river access.

February Blogging Questions
8. Sustaining action and creating structural change around leadership.

What is your community’s plan for maintaining a strong community leadership system?

Keeping channels of communication open by sharing with each other at different organizational meetings.  We will also be reporting to the City Council on a quarterly basis.  By working together and communicating together the leadership system will be maintained and will grow.

How can your community sustain the changes it has already made in its leadership?

Too many people have seen the good that comes from working together on common issues, so how can we not continue to sustain ourselves?  Through dedication, determination, and togetherness; we can and will do great things for our community.

What structural changes have been made in how the community does its work/makes decisions?

People and groups seem to be communicating and working together more, which can and does help how some decisions are made.  In some situations we need to have formal meeting with certain groups, which allows for opportunities to negotiate consensus in making decisions.

What structural changes have been made so that your community leadership sustains partnerships with others?

That’s something we are still striving to achieve and are open to any suggestions.  Some of this is a slow process, but with continued commitment and open communications, the partnerships are being nurtured and will grow.  We even keep our local representatives and senators know about our progress and success.  That way you have relationships at the local, county, and state levels.

January Blogging Questions
4. Sustaining action and creating structural change around poverty.

What structures have been changed that will enable your community to address poverty in the long term?

People’s awareness of the issue is what has changed.  It’s a problem that will only get worse if we don’t address poverty and try to do something about it.  In the long term, we will be a local 501c3 that will be in this community to address poverty and other issues.

How will you monitor and evaluate your community’s progress in reducing poverty?

Whether or not people have and are retaining jobs.  We will be greatly opening channels of communication through our proposed Internet site, as well as through other means of communication that one of our Action Teams is working to achieve.  Bottom line, we are all communicating more and we are more connected with each other again, like the meaning of community.

What community resources will be needed to sustain the community plan to reduce poverty?

We will need people and we will need money.  Yes, together we can do great things, but we must maintain our involvement in order to do anything together.  And, most good plans do need some sort of funding to get and keep them moving.  There is much work to be done, and as a 501c3 we will more easily be able to obtain funding than if we were not a nonprofit.  Money without people will do little, while people without money can still do great things.  However, we need dedicated people to help reduce poverty and to create more opportunities where everyone has a chance to thrive.  With people working together, the money will come.

What additional resources would make a difference in your community’s work to reduce poverty?

We are struggling at this point to come up with training opportunities for people within the community.  There are a few of us pushing this forward, and we will survive.  Our most important task now is to establish ourselves as a 501c3, so we will be using some of our training money for that purpose in working with the Idaho Nonprofit Center.  However, there will still be thousands of dollars of that training money that will not be used by the deadline.

So, we are asking the Northwest Area Foundation to please consider granting us any remaining training monies, so we will have that much more to help to reduce poverty in our communities.

December Blogging Questions
11. Taking action on community

In what ways is your community operating or working differently? In what new or expanded ways are people contributing to your community?

There seems to be more open communications and more efforts toward cooperation and collaboration between groups and individuals.  People are volunteering more and enjoy working together on achievable goals.

How are low income involved?

It’s been a slow process, but we have been seeing more involvement from those considered low income.  We’ve seen more involvement on the Steering Committee and with some of the Action Teams.  So we are making an impact.

What structures have been created or changed that will help your community?

We will be submitting monthly articles called Horizons Happenings that will give updates on our progress with some of the Action Teams.  We will also be trying to establish ourselves as a 501c3 Nonprofit in the months ahead.  Being our own nonprofit will enable us to apply for and receive grants or other funding.

What new partnerships have been created, and what difference have they made for your community?

Horizons has formed a partnership with the State Foundation, the City Council, and others as part of the river access improvement project.  The impact is that together we can do great things that were more difficult without partnerships.

Have you learned anything about how nearby communities like yours are taking action to reduce poverty?

We have been trying to network with other communities, especially during training sessions.  Things get so busy that it’s hard to keep up with each other, though it is very important to learn from one another.

Do you see any opportunities to exchange information or combine efforts in this work?

There are great opportunities to exchange info and combine efforts, but it’s a matter of staying on top of things in your own community, let alone trying to keep up with what the other Horizons III communities are doing.  If we could do it all over, it would have been neat to have a quarterly conference call with the other Horizons III communities.  Coaches had their calls, but the community leads should have done the same, to just share what each is doing and is quicker than emails.

November blog questions

7. Taking action on leadership

How has your community leadership expanded?

Before the elections we had one male Horizons person on the City Council, and now we have two new female City Council members who have been involved in different facets of the Horizons process.  There have also been other Horizons members who are also becoming more involved in the Chamber of Commerce, as well as other organizations within the community.

What changes have been made in who is now involved in leadership positions?

This may have been answered in the previous question, but to reiterate, we are seeing more involvement from others who never used to take part in leadership roles.  There are still many in the community that may not understand what Horizons is about, but they are learning that those who are involved in Horizons work together with others to get things accomplished.

Are more people participating in leadership?

More people are participating in leadership roles from city government, to the Chamber of Commerce, in the churches, and the service organizations in the area.

Are different kinds of people (representing more sectors or parts of the community) now participating in community leadership?

Lava Hot Springs is a small community based on tourism because of the water.  We do not have much, if any, ethnic diversity, and the people that do live here either earn their income from tourism, or work out of their homes, or they have to commute to either Pocatello or Soda Springs.  There is still diversity with this cross-section, and we are seeing leadership coming from others who didn’t used to participate.

Does the community leadership reflect the community’s demographic profile?

It is slowly changing, but takes time.  We do have a high percentage of seniors in the community, which is also reflected in some of the leadership roles.  Diversity is what matters most, and we are seeing more diversity.

Are more low income people participating in community leadership?

That also has been a slow process, but what people are seeing is that, together we can do great things for our community.  In time, it will happen.

What changes have been made in the way your community recruits and trains new leaders? Sustains existing leaders?

People are just realizing that they can and do make a difference.  The Leadership Plenty process showed people that they do have the potential to do great things.  There have been many bonds formed throughout the entire Horizons process, from the Study Circles, through Leadership Plenty, and throughout the Visioning and Action phases.  We encourage each other, which becomes infectious, and more people want to be part of doing great things in their community.

October Questions
3. Taking action on poverty

What kinds of concrete steps are being taken by your community to address poverty?

One of the most important things has been more awareness amongst organizations, businesses, local government, and individuals in the community. There has been more cooperation to work together on poverty issues, such that the three churches are doing more to give to needy families, and the Comprehensive Planning Committee is also addressing poverty in their revision of the Comprehensive Plan.

How did your community make choices about the actions most like to have an impact on poverty?

Through collaborating and reaching consensus on projects or actions that would have the most impact on our efforts.  It has also been important to align with other organizations and to keep others informed throughout the process.

How are low income individuals involved?

It has been a struggle to get involvement from all classes of people, but we feel that we have a good cross-section of individuals on our action teams.  We also have monthly updates in the local newspaper and request people’s involvement in those forums and at public meetings.

How does your plan for poverty reduction link with existing leaders, groups and organizations?

There are active Horizons members on the City Council, on the Comprehensive Planning Committee, in the churches, in the American Legion, and in the Lions Club to name a few.  This has helped to bring more of those groups together on common issues.

What other partnership will help your community carry out its poverty reduction plan?

We have been exploring other partnerships through the great training that has been provided to the Horizons III communities, and have been working on linking with other nonprofit groups and various state agencies.

3.  Taking action on poverty

a.     What kinds of concrete steps are being taken by your community to address poverty?

More groups working together on issues, rather than trying to do it alone.  There has also been more contact and collaboration with outside groups.

b.     How did your community make choices about the actions most likely to have an impact on poverty?

The primary considerations have been for those things which could easily be up into place, with the least amount of money, and that seem to provide the most benefit in helping the community thrive.

c.      How are low incomes involved?

Action planning meetings are always open to the public, but we need to do better at reaching out to others to keep people informed and involved.

d.     How does your plan for poverty reduction link with existing leaders, groups and organizations?

We try to stay actively involved with other groups, keep lines of communication open, strive for transparency, seek involvement from a diverse cross-section of the community, and share common goals with other groups.

e.     What other partnership will help your community carry out its poverty reduction plan?

Strengthening our existing partnerships and seeking new ones would help to strengthen our efforts.  Partnering with organizations such as SEICOG, the Three Rivers RC&D, and the IdEEA would help us because of those group’s ability to seek out available grant monies.

 4.  Sustaining action and creating structural change around poverty

a.     What structures have been changed that will enable your community to address poverty in the long-term?

Getting others to understand the two different illustrations of the arrows; in which one shows arrows going in different directions (typical of most community groups), and the one that shows arrows aligned in the same direction, signifying groups working together has shown many how much more of an impact we can make when we work together.

c.      What community resources will be needed to sustain the community plan to reduce poverty?Financial support, commitment from other groups, and determination to work together on a shared vision.

7.  Taking action on leadershipa.     How has your community leadership expanded?

Those who have been involved in the Horizons processes are stepping forward in taking on more leadership roles or just being more involved in the community.

b.     What changes have been made in who is now involved in leadership positions?

Not sure of any changes made, but more people are getting involved.

c.      Are more people participating in leadership?

Yes, it is apparent in different aspects of the community.

d.     Are different kinds of people (representing more sectors or parts of the community) now participating in community leadership?

Yes, slowly they are trying to.

e.     Does the community leadership reflect the community’s demographic profile?

Not so much now, but in time it will get there.

f.       Are more low income people participating in community leadership?

Slowly, but not enough.

g.     What changes have been made in the way your community recruits and trains new leaders?

Doesn’t seem very evident at this point, other than sharing information on training available through the Idaho Rural Partnership.

8.  Sustaining action and creating structural change around leadership

a.     What is your community’s plan for maintaining a strong community leadership system?

We currently do not have a plan and would like to know more about how to do this.

b.     How can your community sustain the changes it has already made in its leadership?

By not giving up or becoming discouraged, and knowing that individuals and groups can and do make a difference in their communities.

c.      What structural changes have been made in how the community does its work/makes decisions?

Not sure that any structural changes have been made yet.

d.     What structural changes have been made so that your community leadership sustains partnerships with others?

Not sure, but would like to know more about how we could achieve this.

11.  Taking action on community

a.     In what ways is your community operating or working differently?

More individuals and groups are becoming more involved and are trying to work together on different issues.

b.     In what new or expanded ways are people contributing to your community?

More volunteerism, and more open communications and transparency.

c.      How are low incomes involved?

We need to do better at reaching them for more involvement, though some have been involved in different aspects of the Horizons process.

d.     What structures have been created or changed that will help your community?

Not sure of any structures created other than church food pantries, but there has been more participation and open dialogue between various groups.

e.     What new partnerships have been created, and what difference have they made for your community?

Partnerships between Horizons, the Comprehensive Planning Committee, the City Council, Chamber of Commerce, Lava Pride, and others have shown how much more effective we can be when we work together.

f.       Have you learned anything about how nearby communities like yours are taking action to reduce poverty?

Very minimally, but we would like to know more about what the other Horizons III communities are doing.  How can we do this?

g.     Do you see any opportunities to exchange information or combine efforts in this work?

Yes, there is no need to recreate the wheel when we can learn from and build upon what others have already done.  We need to be able to work together with others, because it has already been shown that together we can do great things for our communities.

12.  Sustaining action and creating structural change around community

a.     How will your community make decisions about seeking further resources to support its plans?

By working together, pooling our resources, promoting open dialogues, and being transparent.

b.     Is a system in place to seek, receive, monitor and report on new resources to support community work?

Not yet, but our Communications Action Team is working on such a system.  We would like to know more about what else we can do.

c.      Is a system in place to maintain contact with, or to continue to work with other communities?

No, how can we do this?

d.     With your delivery organization?

Communications Action Team is working on this and other ways for improving our communications on all sorts of information and resources.

e.     In other partnerships?

Other partnerships have been and are being formed because of the efforts of the three Action Teams and individuals on those teams.

f.       What new resources have been secured to assist the work of the community?

Don’t know that any have yet, and we would like more help in doing this.

5) What difference does the involvement of low income people make in community leadership?

It makes a big difference, because they feel like they are important and that their voice does count and can be heard.  This one has been a slow process, but it has begun and will only get better over time.

4)  What changes are you seeing in the way leadership is carried out?  How decisions get made in your community?

There seems to be more effort at negotiating consensus within organizations and within City Council, which gets more people involved in decision making processes, and in turn gains more acceptance from the community.

3) In what ways have leadership skills been improved/enhanced?  What is different?

More people are becoming involved in civic issues, and there is beginning to be more transparency within the city government, the Chamber of Commerce, and within some of the service organizations.  More people are also stepping forward to lead projects, and are writing agendas and conducting effective meetings because of what was taught in Leadership Plenty.