SMALLER AND OLDER MIP PROJECTS

Public Restrooms in Keene, NH

In 2019 MIP held a Make a Difference Leadership Series for low-income individuals in conjunction with The Community Kitchen of Keene. The participants in that training identified public restroom access as an issue for residents and visitors to Keene. MIP’s advocacy in local media and with city officials resulted in the Keene City Council including plans for public restrooms in the city improvement plan.

Craig Dallas Rice’s song We All Gotta Go is his creative effort inspired by the Make a Difference workshops and subsequent MIP public toilet advocacy.

 

MIP applauds Keene City Hall for opening its restrooms to the public during business hours, 2022.

MIP Community Pandemic Response

In 2020 – 2022, MIP responded to the isolation of the pandemic with community wellness checks and dissemination of resource information across past and current connections, and with government resources. In May-June 2021 MIP:

  • Conducted one-to-one wellness calls to all people on the MIP contact list
  • Held a Zoom Coffee Hour with the MIP community and State Senator Jay Kahn
  • Distributed COVID resource information and posted the information prominently on the MIP website

Throughout the pandemic, MIP continued reaching out and talking to social service leaders to discover, facilitate, and disseminate information on safety nets and resources for seniors and those on the economic margins.

Community Training

MIP, alone and in partnership with peer organizations, delivers useful training to leaders in our community.

  • Trauma-Informed Service Workshop: a workshop for volunteers with The Community Kitchen, Hundred Nights, MIP and other places where we are likely to encounter people whose lives are impacted by past and/or ongoing trauma (2024, with The Community Kitchen)
  • Make A Difference workshop series for leadership development (2017, with The Community Kitchen)

The participants above received certificates from Keene Mayor, Kendall Lane, for successful completion of the MIP/Make a Difference workshops series.