Local residents can look forward to a dental service fair, a county food bank, potentially increased affordability of public transportation, and educators with the training to be able to fight the patterns of poverty in their classrooms. Hanford hosted a "Bridges Out Of Poverty" conference May 30 that wasn't all talk and no action. The conference -- put on by Kings Community Action Organization, local Family Resource Centers and Kings County Behavioral Health -- focused on new poverty research, examining theories of change and analyzing poverty.

Following the conference, attendees and other community residents regrouped to form four "action teams" on different issues relating to poverty, and established plans to resolve them.

The Education Action Team met on Thursday to discuss plans for a two-day summit for educators and future educators -- an event for college students aiming to be teachers, preschool teachers and the county's K-12 teachers. The Action Team plans to bring in Ruby Payne, who annually speaks to about 200 groups, to provide training for educators to use when dealing with children from poverty.

The summit is set for March, likely at the West Hills College Lemoore conference center, but the location could change if more than 200 educators are interested in attending.

At Thursday's meeting, Hanford Family Resource Center Director Mike Mendoza said the "excitment and euphoria" from team members was great, but asked whether anyone saw potential obstacles that they should consider. To that end, team members decided to schedule a planning meeting for Nov. 21 at 8:30 a.m. to work through any obstacles.

"We are beyond the teasing stage," Mendoza said. "We are serious about this."

Glen Parsons, Chapman University Hanford Campus director, said he foresaw the summit's impact to be "mutually beneficially to everybody" -- from students, to teachers, to local colleges.

Jody Ruble, a team member representing West Hills College, said that the goal of the summit is to "find a way to get it into the minds and hearts" of people who stand in front of local students everyday, so they can fight the battle against poverty in their classrooms.

And Mendoza reminded everyone that the event and team efforts are not just for Hanford.

"We are talking about an entire county," he said.

Jeff Garner, community outreach and marketing specialist for Kings Community Action Organization, is serving as facilitator for each of the four Action Teams that were formed out of the May conference.

Each team has met at least monthly since the conference and each is planning to execute a project that will aid local residents living in poverty.

"It's really amazing the momentum that has continued and moved on," Garner said.

The Youth Action Team is working to develop a youth needs assessment -- a survey that will be completed in January by local sixth- through 12th-graders, and analyzed to determine what the local youth needs are.

The Families and Children Action Team is planning a free dental service fair for February, targeting local children and adults who do not receive public assistance and can not afford private insurance. Attendees will receive dental cleanings, sealants and fillings.

And the final team, the Basic Needs Action Team is working to increase access and affordability of public transportation throughout the county, with an emphasis on Corcoran. Also, the team's members recently discussed the potential of starting a food bank in Kings County.

Garner said the Action Teams are looking for more involvement from the community. For more information on the teams or their upcoming meetings, contact Jeff Garner at 415-7204.

The reporter can be reached at 583-2424.

(Nov. 14, 2008)