Horizons program works to improve Troy

by

June 26, 2008 | Latah Eagle | Troy, Idaho

Horizons is a program that was started by the Northwest Area Foundation (NWAF). The goal of Horizons is to “help communities understand the impact of poverty on the life and vitality of their community, understand the issue and how it looks in their community and commit to community- wide action that will bring lasting change and a promising future.” The eight states that are served byNWAF (Oregon, Washington, Idaho, Montana, South Dakota, North Dakota, Iowa, and Minnesota) have a shared history of the Great Northern Railway, which was founded by James J. Hill. NWAF was established in 1934 by his son, Louis W. Hill to help communities reduce poverty long-term. NWAF looks at poverty in more than just the monetary sense. Poverty is “the extent to which an individual does without resources. Those resources may include financial, emotional, mental, spiritual, physical, support systems, relationships, knowledge of hidden class rules, and coping strategies.”

Troy became involved in the Horizons program in 2006 with spotlights and showcases advertising the program. Members of Troy came together and submitted an application asking to be included in the program. The basic criteria to be accepted into Horizons included the willingness to move from waiting to leading, from decisions by a few to the participation of many, from indifference to pride, a community population of less than 5000 and with histories of economic decline and significant population change. For Idaho, the 2006-2008 Horizons programs focused on the Northern half of the state. Partnered with the University of Idaho Extension offices, Horizons is currently working in 14 communities of the Northern Idaho region with 26 towns participating. Some towns chose to come together and work as one for the purposes of the program.

Over the two year program, Troy Horizons conducted Study Circles, Leadership Training, Community Visioning, and Community Coaching. Following the results of the many discussions and trainings performed, Horizons has pursued many paths of completion, all moving forward bringing a brighter future to Troy. Horizons provided the funding to start the City website, http://www.troyidaho.net. Horizons has provided funding to the City for the monthly Troy Talk newsletter. Now the Troy Talk goes out to every 83871 address, instead of just the people who receive city water service. Horizons has provided many trainings including the most popular, an entrepreneur training series held in Kendrick. The group is exploring holding this training again in the future. We have worked on and are still working on community connectedness, getting organizations to work together towards a common goal, establishing sidewalks, building a community garden, establishing the 2 Degrees Northwest Program, informing the public on water conservation and working with the city on their water production efforts and sidewalk building. Horizons provided the food for the Community dinner hosted by the City of Troy in May. They are also providing the food for the playground construction project in July.

Currently, the largest goal is the Old High School Project. The group working with Rune Frossmo, the owner of the old Troy High School to create a building for community usage. The first phase of this project has been dedicated to the Troy Historical Society. Horizons has contracted the services of local architect Karen Owsley to create schematic drawings of the Museum space in the lower level of the old High School. Horizons has contracted the services of local facilitator Jim Withim, to help Horizons find out from organizations how they want the old High School to be used.

Horizons long-term role will ultimately be decided by the community. June 30 is the end of the formal support from the NWAF and UI Extension. Troy Horizons will then continue for 1 year, described as Phase II of the process, with a grant that is projected to be awarded in September 2008. We will pursue all of the projects we have set in place and possibly explore new projects that have only been discussed. We are really excited to establish a Troy Marathon on the Latah Trail for the completion of the trail, projected to be in September. There has been some discussion of creating a non-profit (501c3) entity to continue Troy Horizons and the projects in place. If there is something that you would like Troy Horizons to work on for your community, please tell us. If you would like to be involved with any of the projects mentioned here, want to provide input, or want more information, you can contact Shishona Thurston at 208-835-5049, or by email at shishonathruston@hotmail.com 604 S Main, Troy, ID 83871. Shishona will be in Montana June 21 through July 7, but will still be checking email.

More information about the NWAF, Horizons, and Troy Horizons can be found in these webpages: http://extension. ag.uidaho.edu/horizons/documents/ Expanded_Community_ Guide_b-w.pdf, http://troy.communityblogs.us www.troyhorizons.org, http://extension. ag.uidaho.edu/horizons/ index.html

http://www.lataheagle.com/full.php?sid=3851&current_edition=2008-06-26

Learn more: Poverty