Public Hearing: YES ☐ NO ☒ Department: Board of Commissioners - District 6
SUBJECT:
Title
Commission District(s): Commission District 6
To approve a $200,000 District 6 ARP appropriation to Support the Roots Down GreenHive Leadership Program Over a 2- Year Period to Increase and Provide Mental Health Resources/Opportunities to Young Adults While Enhancing Short and Long-Term Community Green Space Improvements
Body
Information Contact: Commissioner Edward C. “Ted” Terry
Phone Number: 404-371-4909
PURPOSE:
The COVID-19 pandemic has brought many changes to how we live our lives, and with it, at times, uncertainty, altered daily routines, financial pressures and social isolation.
This 10-week structured format for DeKalb County based college-aged leaders to become directly engaged in the relationships between organisms and their environments as it interconnects with the Productive Urban Landscapes work that is being pioneered in DeKalb County.
There are 4 separate cohorts each year. Roots Down has a goal to increase the number of GreenHive Leadership program participants. This District 6 APR appropriation will assist with the operational expenses and stipends necessary to support the cohort’s expansion of 30 fellows in year 2023 and 2024.
NEED/IMPACT:
GreenHive Leadership Program, launched as a Roots Down initiative, to educate and empower the next generation of land stewards to become involved in efforts to mitigating climate change or improving resilience to climate change, create an interest in green jobs, and importantly, to help feed people. The program launched during the pandemic, allowing it to serve as a viable resource to “safely” connect young people to “green space” as an outlet to reduce normal and COVID related stress and incidences of depression and anxiety, while offering a sense of purpose and a helpful stipend to mitigate some of the domino effects of COVID related issues and the economy.
In 2022 there were 19 participants, representing diversity in race, religion, orientation, and socio-economic backgrounds fostered an interest, as “eco-conscious” people, around the shared goal of better public spaces, and a greener, more sustainable DeKalb. The innovation of these “invisible classrooms within green spaces” incubated a nuance to how ecologically diverse spaces connect and feed people and can also educate and encourage a sense of physical, spiritual, and emotional balance while shaping what we see, think, and do.
Studies support that investments in parks and other public outdoor recreation spaces aide in the responsive needs of disproportionately impacted communities by promoting healthier living environments and outdoor recreation and socialization to mitigate the spread of COVID-19 which continues to mutate to new, contagious, and dangerous variants.
The GreenHive Leadership Program contributes to a human investment by encouraging a sense of purpose through a shared project to work on with peers that directly impacts their local community and enhances the experience for the residents and visitors who use these spaces.
FISCAL IMPACT:
$200,000.00, District 6, POETA Account 105744.63258.521209.01.06.602479 over a 2-year period
RECOMMENDATION:
Recommended Action
Approve the District 6 appropriation, and the attached proposal which will be used by the Law Department to draft the appropriate contractual paperwork for the CEO to execute.