Collaborating with your Mayor to Improve your community

Collaborating with your mayor is a wonderful way to make positive changes in your community. By getting to know them, sharing your ideas, and staying in communication, you can work together towards a shared goal of making your community a better place for everyone who lives there.

Mayors are often open to hearing from their constituents about the issues that matter most to them. As a community developer, I have had the unique experience of collaborating with some extraordinary leaders in both California and Nevada.

Working with former city of Los Angeles Mayor Tom Bradley and the Los Angeles Community Redevelopment Agency, an independent agency dedicated to revitalizing and refurbishing economically challenged areas of Los Angeles, was truly a memorable experience. As an iconic Angeleno, he had the rare gift and ability to build bridges between opinions, find common ground and make things happen. His presence gave off an aura of reassurance and commitment to the people of Los Angeles.

His ideas and reforms embodied President Lyndon Johnson's War on Poverty, underscoring the importance of social initiatives to improve the lives of all citizens. He was not afraid of tackling issues such as fighting for healthy food access in under-resourced communities as well as securing affordable housing for low-income families.

Once we completed the conversion of the Valley Shelters Motel in North Hollywood, I had the opportunity to work directly with the Bradley administration. The timing was ideal as I was no longer working for the CRA/LA. Bradley and his staff were amazingly committed to stopping homelessness in its tracks. In those days everybody was a beginner. We were all working our way through the processes through different disciplines, connecting the dots and joining together for the common cause of ending homelessness

It was quite literally an experiment as everyone involved had dealt with homelessness but never in such a comprehensive way.

It is no wonder that Tom Bradley is considered one of the major political icons in recent times his dedication to aiding those in need has enabled countless individuals and communities to improve their living conditions over the years.

I will never forget Mayor Tom Bradley; he was a tremendous influence in both my personal and professional life.

Onward to Las Vegas, Nevada

The year was 1989. I received a call from Jan Laverty Jones who had just become the first elected female mayor in the history of Las Vegas, Nevada. We talked about homelessness and the underlying issues that are linked to homelessness such as housing people that are mentally ill, people with special needs, and stopping homelessness before it spread out of control.

Jan Laverty Jones was is an immediate inspiration to me and I saw a path to replicate what I was doing Los Angeles and other cities across the United States.

In a rare moment of unity, The City of Las Vegas and Clark County, Nevada retained my architectural and planning firm to conduct a year-long study in homelessness. To be more specific It was a study on housing affordability with an emphasis on the homelessness problem. We hosted a series of workshops at the United Way SN and Nevada offices that were open to the public. These workshops provided valuable insight through public comments and interviews with experts. The findings of our research helped identify the most needed services for those experiencing or facing homelessness in the Las Vegas valley. As part of our contract with The City of Las Vegas and Clark County these findings were compiled and shared with both the city and the county in a report titled Mobilized Assistance and Shelter for the Homeless. Upon review of the findings of our research both entities unanimously agreed and from thus the M.A.S.H. project was born.

It was a lengthy battle which eventually ended up in Washington DC with the Clinton administration, Henry Cisneros, who served as President Bill Clinton’s HUD Secretary 1993-1997 and, subsequently Andrew Cuomo. My work with Mayor Jones continued and from 19931995. I served the city of Las Vegas as Housing Chief and in 1994 SHARE was formed. Following my tenure with the city, my work continued resulting in many developments that served and continue to serve the needs of the homeless, those with special needs, senior citizens, and veterans.

In 1999 the leadership in the city of Las Vegas changed as Oscar Goodman was elected as Mayor. Along with the new leadership came a new vision, a vision that brought a new level of vitality and development to the downtown Las Vegas area. In October of 2001, a trust fund was set up by the city initially consisting of $100,000.00 in federal money to serve as a single funding mechanism for homeless services. The trust fund would also serve to avoid the duplication of services.

1995 in downtown Las Vegas at The Shade Tree Shelter (Original building) with former Las Vegas Mayor Jan Laverty Jones.

In those days, there were no awards, honors or fancy commissions. We battled to get the initial funds from Washington, DC for what are now St. Vincent's Plaza, The Shade Tree, Salvation Army. Las Vegas M*A*S*H, Help USA, Christmas in April, Habitat for Humanity, SHARE nonprofit organization, Parson's Place and many other organizations helping people in need.

Thank you, Mayor Jones, for fighting for the tough causes and standing up for what you believed in.

In 2011 the gavel would change hands again as Mayor Oscar Goodman would become the only mayor to swear in his spouse as his successor. Prior to being sworn in as the Mayor of Las Vegas, Carolyn G. Goodman was best known for the founding of the Meadows School in 1984 for Pre-k through 12th grades. The Meadow School was my first opportunity to work with her one-on-one on the initial protype of what is now known as the SHARE Village Las Vegas Container Home. Today Mayor Carolyn G. Goodman continues to champion improvements for inner-city schools and is a strong advocate for improving access to services for the homeless and moving people to a path of self-sufficiency.

Las Vegas Mayor Carolyn G. Goodman is my Mayor! Without her, we would not have one single affordable housing unit open, we now house over 500 people a night at our three SHARE Village Las Vegas campuses. She was there for me over eight years ago when I opened Veterans Village, and I am always there for her and former Las Vegas Mayor Oscar B. Goodman in whatever they do.

Reaching beyond your city limits

As you begin your journey to work with the leadership in your own community, I encourage you to also work with the leadership in your surrounding townships. SHARE has enjoyed working with city of Henderson mayor Debra March and city of North Las Vegas John Lee on several community collaborations. It is only when we truly embrace the spirit of community, teamwork, and collaboration that we begin to experience a series of small successes that lead to big wins for people in need and begin the process of ending homelessness in America.