Middletown Works Leads Asset Mapping Project

by Press Staff 10/14/20

MIDDLETOWN — Middletown Works, a Working Cities Challenge Initiative of the Federal Reserve Bank of Boston, is well into its third year, and has recently taken the lead on developing an interactive asset mapping project for the Middletown community.

Middletown Works is a collaborative initiative designed to create systemic change for single parents living in poverty in the city, according to the press release. Its 10-year goal is to increase prosperity among Middletown’s single-parent families, primarily single moms of color.

Asset mapping is exactly what it sounds like. It’s about creating a map of the strengths and assets in the community, the release said. For this project, the focus was around workforce and economic development, and education.

Co-chairwoman Shanay Fulton was hired as and asset mapping manager. She partnered with former Middlesex United Way’s master of social work intern Kaitlin Binnington. Under their leadership, they organized a diverse advisory committee made up of key stakeholders in Middletown to help collect and analyze various assets, according to the agency.

One of the Working Cities values, collaborative leadership, was highlighted throughout the entire process, as aspiring community leaders met over several weeks to create a first-of-its-kind, free interactive platform designed to showcase many local assets.

Utilizing an asset mapping approach verses a traditional “gap analysis” is critical for several reasons: It gives the community an opportunity to look toward to their preferred future, space for people to reflect on their desires, explore their dreams, and helps people develop their internal strengths to move the community to its desired future, the release said.

“Asset mapping, using the Asset Based Community Development model, is needed now, more than ever,” Middletown Works director Rebecca Lemanski said in a prepared statement. “As we see COVID-19 ravaging low-income, marginalized communities, it is imperative for neighborhood leaders to focus on the capacities, gifts, and assets within a community. Middletown Works mirrors this approach, as we are relationship driven.”

These individuals and families become partners, and help co-create a new, more prosperous vision for their community, according to the agency. “Middletown Works recognizes the importance of this, and affirms the great work already going on in our community,” Lemanski said.

One of the organization’s values is collaborative leadership. “The bottom line is, what we focus on is what we find,” Lemanski said. “If we search for assets, we will find assets.”

A virtual community café is slated for Oct. 21 at 6 p.m., during which time the advisory leaders, Jennifer Kellie and Emily McEvoy, along with the director, will reveal project results.

By Rebecca Lemanski

Published 12:59 pm EDT, Friday, April 12, 2019

What do flower pots and foster parents have to do with each other? Well apparently, when you bring together people from various backgrounds and diverse perspectives, unlikely things happen.

This unlikely combination emerged after our first Middletown WORKS Community Café in January. During these events, community residents, staff from nonprofit agencies, business owners and parents gather together to talk, share food and participate in unique activities, such as a “marketplace.”

During a marketplace, community members have an opportunity to state their name and make an offer, a request, a declaration or simply pass.

In January, members offered things like clothing, art supplies and handmade slippers. Others made requests such as, “If anyone is able to offer me a ride to the grocery store this Saturday, please let me know,” and “I’m looking for new flower pots — mine are broken,” and “We are looking for foster parents in the Middletown/Middlesex area, so if you know of anyone, please let me know!”

After sharing this story at a team meeting, one of our partners shouted, “from flower pots to foster parents!”

Creating intentional space(s) where people can be themselves, and gather with others they may not normally see on a regular basis allows for these unlikely ideas to emerge.

Our culture is highly individualized — placing a huge focus on self-expression and self-interest, with little regard for the collective whole.

How many times have you heard the phrase: “Just do you.” Middletown WORKS is working to change that.

We intentionally put relationships first. In the words of David Brooks, an op-ed columnist for The New York Times, “Culture changes when a small group of people, often on the margins of society, find a better way to live, and other people begin to copy them. We need to create hubs where these decentralized networks can come together for solidarity and support,” Feb. 18, “A Nation of Weavers”.

For the past six months, we have been working diligently to create hubs for people to come together to dialogue across differences, and connect with others in our neighborhood. Along with offering a monthly café, we have also been offering monthly conversation circles.

These are more intimate and take place on the third Thursday of the month from 4 to 5 p.m. at the Family Wellness Center, 635 Main St. We welcome anyone who cares about single-parent families in Middletown to join us for conversation and light refreshments. The next one will be held Thursday. We’d love to see you there.

Our next Community Café is April 29 from 4 to 5:30 p.m. at the Middletown Roller Skating Rink on Main Street. You might be pleasantly surprised by what you experience!

As Middletown WORKS expands, we are looking to grow not only good ideas, but also our social network. All individuals and businesses who would like to make a difference for Middletown’s single-parent families are invited.

To get involved, visit MiddletownWorks.org or call 860-975-5405.