On Tuesday October 23, our host Aaron Perry interviewed Hedi Rudd, of the Urban League. Hedi speaks about the South Madison Promise Zone Initiative, which was inspired by the Harlem Children’s Zone. They are working in collaboration with the Urban League of Greater Madison, community and nonprofit leaders. They have spent time canvassing the community for feedback on the changes that are desired in the zone. They have spoken with the residents and the service providers of the zone. “The zone itself is the area from the Beltline to Wingra, and then from Fish Hatchery to where the Hookah Lounge area is,” Hedi explains. They are trying to get a sense of what changes the people of the community would like to see. The feedback that they collected will be presented to the community on Wednesday October 24. The presentation will be an opportunity to determine if this is indeed what the community would like. Says Hedi, “There are a lot of people with a lot of skills and talents to offer in South Madison. We interviewed about 20% of the adult population. We used about 486 surveys that were complete. And of those, 308 people indicated that they had a skill and they were interested in working and collaborating with the promise zone.” The issues that have been raised in the zone include education, employment, health and community. Safety was the largest issue that was raised, and for each of the communities that live within this zone, safety means different things.
Hedi explains the goal for the initiative, “our motto is achievement for all. We are looking at a cradle to career program. We want to be a voice for the community and help them to achieve. ”
Visit www.ulgm.org for more information.
The meeting will be held Wednesday October 24 at 6:00 PM at Lincoln Elementary School.
Listen to the interview here: