Today was a different day from any that we have had before.  Marcia and I had the opportunity to conduct a 3 hour LOOP personal planning workshop for eight homeless veterans staying at “Building 9”.  This is a facility established to provide transitional housing at the Washington Veterans Home in Retsil, in Port Orchard.  The 60-bed transitional housing facility is available to assist those in need of stable housing, vocational rehabilitation, and increased income potential. Veterans are surrounded with supportive staff and wrap-around services designed to lead to their successful completion of the program and a successful return to the community.  Once admitted, they may stay for two years.  Building 9 for Veterans focuses on three goals: (1)  Increased residential stability of participants; (2)  Greater self-determination of participants; and (3)  Increased skill level and income potential of participants. 

Eight residents of the facility joined us and worked  through and completed seven personal-planning steps.  It was a real grounding experience for me.  Many of these folks, seven men and one woman, had served our country in Vietnam.  Their stories showed that life had taken them around some difficult corners since they returned.  Now they were trying to get back on a positive track.  Their objectives were very basic and reflected what they had lost along their way.  All wanted a home or an apartment of their own.  Most wanted a car and, to get a car, most needed a driver’s license.  Most had some kind of debt.  All wanted to find meaningful work.  It was an honor for Marcia and me to be with them and to provide support as they made plans to step into a better future

The eight participants who completed the LOOP evaluated it on a scale of  1-6 where 1 was “not at all” and 6 was  “completely” satisfied.    The objectives of the workshop were:

• I have identified some personal goals and objectives.
• I have clarified my directions toward a course of action.
• I have produced drawings which illustrate my present and my future.
• I have outlined some personal steps I can take in my transition.
• I feel motivated to move forward. 

The average overall rating for the workshop was 5.1 with a range of 4.7 – 6.  The item with the highest score (5.5) was I feel motivated to move forward and the next highest were  I have clarified my direction toward a course of action and I have outlined some personal steps I can take in my transition.    The comments made by participants were.

• Great Job.  Outstanding Class                                                                                                                     
• Was a good educational experience. 
• Gave light to the steps needed to achieve success.  
• Thank you for your time to set goals for achieving our life goals.
• It was informing and education(al)          
• Thank you       
• Create workable resumes
• Thanks for helping me find direction  to move  in to move forward with my plans to become more independent.
• I feel better informed on focusing on my goals.
• Pretty well put together with good organization and presentation.
• Nice couple. 

At the request of Tamra Ingwaldson, the new Director of United Way of Mason County, TAP facilitator Marcia Hamilton conducted a Board planning meeting on January 25, 2010.   The Board focused on  UWMC's  three priority impact areas (1) education; (2) health and (3) income and its fund disbursement process.  

In May and June of 2011 we did a number of different sorts of LOOPs:  two for the CSALT Program at Olympic college (Bremerton and Shelton campuses);   one for a large family with  an overflowing nest; and one for a couple making a huge career/financial transition.  As usual, we learned a great deal from our participants.  Two new ideas were added to the confidentiality contract (I will not make fun of anyone.  I will not judge anyone).  In addition, the students moved so quickly that they were able to complete the objective tree—an extra added step for a LOOPette.  A family of three, mom, pop and college student daughter suddenly expanded.  The family, living together in a small house, faced cross cultural adjustment problems (the daughter and son in law and their children had returned from Central America after four years; and another son had returned from military service).   The son needed to get to work; the daughter needed quiet to study.  The couple had to face that they could not live where they wanted (in the peace and quiet of the countryside) and take the job of their dreams in the big city.   What always intrigues us is that the process is so easily individualized—even though it is a linear method.  

Some random comments from all of these experiences underline how “goal oriented” the process is.  

 I really liked the “LOOP’ program because I learned a lot about plans and how to organize them. I now know how many steps it will take to get to my goals.  I liked how I learned how to do positive stepping stones.  The sticky note tree helped me plan my future.  It helped me visualize my future and the steps I need to get there.  Fun, innovative way to connect with yourself and others to be able to realize and achieve your goals throughout life. 

In late January, in Montreal for OCHA (the UN Office of Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs) DH facilitated an international Bio-safety Clearing House (BCH) Training or Trainers Workshop during which preparations were finalized for the Global Bio-safety Project ll.  He had this to say about the workshop. 

 “I began working with the UN Environmental Program (UNEP) in 2002 to prepare for the initial 5 year project.  The international organizing conference was followed by two Training of Trainers Workshops, one held in India and the other in Kuala Lampur.  W’hat the project was/is trying to do is truly important.  Essentially it works with countries around the planet to identify, compile data on, track cross border movement of and monitor GMOs -- Environmentalists work together with Information Technology personnel to build government management and monitoring capacity as well as public awareness, public education and public policy linked to GMOs.    

In 2008, the project was completed.  A Bio-Safety Clearinghouse <bch.cbd.int> was set up in Montreal and more than 70 countries had begun reporting and sharing data on GMOs, genetically modified organisms (flora and fauna).  It took two years to put together the funding and the political support to launch phase ll.   This phase began in January with what I think is a bad combination of too little funding, too little time and too high expectations.  Like many other things these days, the project will do as much as it can with what little it has.”

Denny Hamilton had the opportunity to work with personnel from the United Nations Development Program (UNDP) in the cities of Delhi and Mumbai in two districts of Tamal Nadu State in south eastern India.  The assignment was part of process to review all of the projects supported by UNDP during this five-year program cycle.  He found the U N personnel to be open and interested in improving not only the quality of project documents, but also the management of projects.  He managed a process in which the annual work plans of each of the 66 projects was reviewed and language of the objectives, activities and indicators revised to more accurately reflect the intent of the projects as well as how progress could be measured. 

Three projects stand out among the ones he worked with.  One was an environmental conservation project in the Gulf of Mannar, an unusual body of water between the southeast coast of India and the northwest coast of Sri Lanka.  India has established a large marine reserve which covers a thousand square kilometers of the sea and a ten kilometer wide perimeter park around the reserve.  What was interesting was the way the management of the park was assigned within the government bureaucracy, which placed it under the Department of Forestry.  Little was going on inside the park.  To compensate, the project had focused on developing livelihoods for fishing families, particularly women, who have been cut out of the work force by modern equipment.  A most extraordinary set of livelihood development activities focused on women and children he has ever encountered were underway.  Included were:  small scale fish processing ( pickling, drying);  sewing  (clothes for women and children, purses, bags); vocational training : bicycle repair, computer training, carpentry, welding, small marine engine repair, accounting;  adult education

(literacy, reading); weaving (bamboo mats and baskets).

The second was a poverty reduction project focused on what is called “Financial Inclusion.”  In India there are groups of people called “Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes”  who tend to be among the poorest and most vulnerable social groups and this project was designed to get financial assistance to these vulnerable groups.  It was early days in this project and one challenges was moving the implementation from the national level down to the district level. 

The third project as a joint UN agency project on convergence involving UNDP, UNICEF and UNFPA (the United Nations Fund for Population Activities).  This project had a good work plan on paper.  Its aim was to assist district governments to improve planning and implementation of projects at the district level.   What Mr. Hamilton discovered and tried to help the partners work with was the challenges associated with three large agencies collaborating on a single project.  It would be like Weyerhaeuser, Boeing and United Parcel Service working together on a project to merge their efforts to improve public services in the western United States.      

The Humanitarian Field Coordination Program  -- Kenya and Thailand – April and May

Denny Hamilton defines a training program as, “a multi-faceted set of training events, which together focus on improving human performance in a specific range of activities. He began working on this one program back in the spring of 2008.  In this case, the program had three components: a 12 week-long distance-learning component during which 65-75 participants each read one chapter every two weeks on topics related to humanitarian coordination.  DH contributed to the writing of all six chapters, which covered: (1) humanitarian coordination; (2)  information management; (3)  emergency response and contingency planning; (4) advocacy; (5) humanitarian protection ; and (6) humanitarian financing.  At the conclusion of each chapter participants had to complete and submit  a set of exercises.  At the conclusion of the 12 weeks, those participants, all of whom were staff of the United Nations Office for Coordination of Humanitarian Activities (OCHA), who had successfully completed the distance-learning component were invited to participate in a training workshop.  In all, Mr. Hamilton facilitated nine (9) of these workshops, the last two of which were conducted in Kenya and Thailand at the end of April and in early May.  The workshops focused on developing competencies required to perform the functions of humanitarian workers in the field.  These included Planning and Organizing, Analyzing, Creativity, Communication, Facilitation, Networking, Negotiation, Teamwork, Client Orientation, Commitment to People in Need, Building Trust, Accountability and Leadership.  He conducted training sessions which created the opportunity for participants to learn more about these competencies and to practice them.  One highlight of the workshop is a simulation of the response to the Russian incursion into Georgia in 2008.  Since the participants all come to the workshop with a common background based on their work on the six chapters, and since the training course was initially designed and then modified to respond to specific needs identified by the participants, the response to this training event was unbelievably positive. 

Largest LOOP GROOP Ever at Olympic College

Forty five students participated in the largest LOOP(ette) ever at Olympic College on December 28.  These students, part of the Workfirst program, worked in groups of 4 or 5.  Some of them had been in the program for several months, others had just been accepted.  Brianna Baker, the program's coordinator, Denny, Joe Teisan and Lorie Waggett acted as coaches, answering questions and providing encourangement and guidance.    Some of what the students said about the experience follows.   “Fun and thought provoking!  I liked the social interaction.  I liked the color post-its.  I liked that the activities that keep you involved.  I liked that it helped me remember the life goals I have which sometimes are easy to forget.  I liked EVERYTHING!  I liked hearing other people, the goal setting,  and realizing I have the power to make things happen for me.  My direction is clearer,   One said, “How in depth this workshop was!  All the areas of improvement I need to plan for.”  And another said, “I liked Loopette because you can draw out your present and future instead of writing.  It helped me a lot.”   

Idea Cards" Good Idea for Meetings  

Participants who came to the early morning “Intro to the Card and Chart Technique” workshop on Thursday July 30 were graciously hosted at the NM Chamber of Commerce offices because the Theler Center was just too hot to handle. They learned how to make meetings more effective by using visualization techniques for brainstorming, decision making, action planning, and task assignments. Not only did they discuss materials, preparation, questioning and instruction techniques, they practiced collecting, clarifying, posting and clustering “idea cards.” They expected to learn how to: “be a better facilitator, make a meeting run more efficiently, manage a contentious meeting, and help participants clarify the task or issue. What they said at the end of the 90 minute workshop was that the C&T technique : “was a clearer way of doing mind-mapping; was a very useful tool for facilitating a meeting or conducting a training; could easily be adapted to a database structure, will help bring clarification in meetings; and it was a good demonstration of excellent facilitation techniques.” One person said, “I like the card idea better than the leader doing all the writing. It seems the leader would be less harried.” The workshop was facilitated by Denny and Marcia Hamilton from TAP Training Associates Pacific. All participants received a Card and Chart Start up kit. Come to an early morning 90-minute workshop facilitated by the Hamiltons, Thursday, October 8, 2009 at 7:30 am at the Theler Center in Belfair, 360-275-4898. Make your presentations more effective. Learn to use your voice, your hands, and visual aids to better communicate your message, convince your listeners, and sell your product! Coffee, danish, and juice will be presented. Call 360-275-6701 or register on line at www.tap-trainingassociatespacific.com.

At a meeting with the head off Mason County's Emergency Management Department, Martin Best,  CDP members explored how the  CDP group might fit under the Mason County EMD as a C O V A D  Community Volunteer Action in Disaster group.   As a COVAD group we would have access to education and training events and have a venue to coordinate the use of our volunteers in the event of a disaster.  We would provide volunteer support through the series of shelters identified in our area.   

Two community CDPEP planning workshops have been held in Belfair to date.   The first was held on July 10, 2009 and the second on September 10. The third will be held from 3:00 -5:00 at the FD#2 firehall in Belfair on October 15. Discussion involved emergency shelters, swine flu, community education, linkages with community organizations, media and the program itself. The public is welcome to attend all  meetings.

The chart of goals and objectives really pulled everything together.

Building my career tree and working on a short-term, initial strategy to start pursuing my goals was the most useful. 

The guidance from the facilitator and the support of the group were helpful in getting me to see and express my own dream.  (No one prescribed to me what I should do.)

When I knew I needed a change in my life, I knew what I neded to change FROM, but not what TO....

A very fun and enlightening experience.

Totally new for me and very interesting and helpful.  It is a necessary step for an MBA class.