This year, 2004, has been one of momentum building. Empower Lewiston (EL) hired an Executive Director on November 1, 2004. Our new Executive Director will be able to strengthen Empower Lewiston’s working relationship with the City of Lewiston and facilitate our involvement in the many new and exciting things happening in downtown Lewiston. Her past work experience in direct service positions gives her extensive familiarity with the issues of EC residents; her grants experience gives her the skills Empower Lewiston needs to work on long-term organizational sustainability. An added bonus is our Executive Director also lives in downtown Lewiston!

In May 2004, the City of Lewiston announced its Heritage Initiative, which would bring Federal CDBG monies into the residential area of Census Tract 201 for a period of ten years. Unfortunately, without community involvement in the development of the plan, the Heritage Initiative involved elements that were distressing to the downtown residents. There was common agreement on improved public safety, code enforcement, streetscape improvements, increased owner occupied housing, increased livable square footage per unit, updating of failing infrastructure, increasing neighborhood green space; however, the acquisition and demolition of affordable housing to support a facility for the relocation of a non-profit organization, a proposed road through the neighborhood to reroute truck traffic, decreased density, and the percentage increase in taxable property indicating gentrification were elements not supported by many of the downtown residents and people working in the neighborhoods.

This past summer, Empower Lewiston benefited from the services of a graduate student of Harvard’s School of Design. The student, having received a Community Service Fellowship Grant, was able to provide Empower Lewiston with 400 hours of service, most dedicated to updating and focusing EL’s Strategic Plan to one that was more feasible, given the level of USDA funding. The student met with the full board, individual members, committees and staff throughout the summer. She put together various reports to help the board work through the process of updating the plan, giving different scenarios and issues to take into consideration, including suggestions as to guidelines that would allow the future updating of the strategic plan, maps illustrating current activity in the EC, block group level demographic information from the 2000 census data, a summary of the Seeds of Change resident surveys, and gave ideas as to how EC children could be encouraged to share their thoughts and ideas. As concern about the Heritage Initiative increased, our graduate student provided input regarding the possible Heritage Initiative impacts on the EC, updated housing information, developed a Road Impact report, and a PowerPoint highlighting the positive aspects of the Heritage Initiative area.

In response to the Heritage Initiative, a grassroots effort began to address the concerns of the residents and to support their voices in expressing those concerns to the City. After holding many weekly meetings throughout the summer and fall, the grassroots effort eventually adopted the name “Visible Community”, to counter the negative perceptions of the neighborhood residents as faceless and therefore easier to ignore. EL staff, who are also residents living within the Heritage Initiative target area, have been actively involved in this effort by participating in meetings, establishing an online forum, conducting neighborhood outreach, coordinating public meetings with the City of Lewiston, and participating in a City facilitated neighborhood planning meeting. Residents were supported by non-profit groups and neighborhood faith-based organizations. With their support, persistence, and determination, the residents have found their voice, have been successful in demanding they be considered and be given opportunities for input in development of the plan. As of February 2005, the residents are awaiting the draft of the City’s Consolidated Plan for HUD to determine how their input was integrated.

The EL Board elected new officers for the upcoming year with Ken St. Amand, a long-time Board member, as President. The Board’s focus is to raise the organization’s profile in the community overall and within Census Tract 204 as well increase its long-term sustainability beyond 2008.

In December 2004, Empower Lewiston held two community meetings, one in each of the EC census tracts. EL staff reviewed the strategic plan and its more focused direction for the upcoming years with attendees. One of the projects defined in the newly revised strategic plan is the establishment of a furniture bank. A VISTA volunteer devoted to this project joined EL in December and has developed some innovative concepts for the project and its long-term sustainability.