Blueprint Quicklinks: Blueprint Report to the Community Blueprint Rooting out Poverty Community Action Duluth's Case for Change Findings Blueprint Background What it takes to Get By in Duluth Blueprint Powerpoint (.pdf) Declaration to End Poverty Circles of Support Website FAIM Website

BLUEPRINT 2008

Blueprint Action Teams Formed

Following last year's successful community engagement sessions and the November 2007 release of the Blueprint Report to the Community, the Duluth Blueprint to End Poverty has moved to an implementation phase. The centerpiece of thise approach is the formation of "Action Teams" around the 4 Targeted Strategies that emerged from the 2007 community sessions. In the next few months, the Duluth Blueprint to End Poverty will profile individual Action Teams and the work that is underway

TRANSPORTATION ACTION TEAM

The composition of the Transportation Action Team includes a broad mix of technical expertise, professional planners, government sector, nonprofit organizations and consumer advocates.

Mapping Effort

The first task of the Transportation Action Team was to gather information on the status of transportation services and consumer needs- primarily as they relate to finding and keeping a job. With assistance from community partners and Action Team members a "mapping" project was initiated to answer 4 key questions:

In the City of Duluth:

A comprehensive map was developed to answer these questions. View the map by clicking here.

Consumer Surveys

A second initiative of the Transportation Action Team was to obtain utilization information directly from low-income citizens of Duluth. With the assistance of Community Action Duluth's Volunteer Tax Sites, over 600 individuals offered feedback on a) their current means of transportation, b) the transportation challenges they face in getting to work or school and c) overall barriers to meeting their transportation needs. Summary findings for the consumer survey include:

For an in-depth examination of the survey results please click on the following hyperlinks:

Blueprint Cross Analysis 1

Blueprint Cross Analysis 2

Car Repair/Car Purchase

Based on results from the consumer surveys and information from key informants, the need for a fund to assist with care repairs and car purchases was clearly identified. The Transportation Action Team has encouraged Blueprint staff to seek funding support to hire a full-time Transportation Coordinator to 1) explore the restoration of a loan fund previously operated by Lutheran Social Services, 2) research successful car pruchase programs, 3) identify a financial partner to provide car repair/purchase loans and 4) recapitalize the existing $200,000 loan pool.

BREAKING BLUEPRINT NEWS

Duluth selected to attend "Building Equitable Communities" Roundtable

The City of Duluth is one of six communities selected by the National League of Cities to attend a 3-day technical assistance roundtable designed for "teams of municipal leaders and their partners seeking to create more equitable and inclusive communities". A 10-member delegation led by Duluth Mayor Don Ness will travel to Savannah, GA where the Duluth team will:

The City of Savannah was selected because of its comprehensive approach to addressing poverty. To learn more about Savannah's approach to addressing community needs click: www.stepupsavannah.org