Community Celebration!

Learn about the impact of projects funded by St. Louis ReCAST in Year 1 and see what projects Year 2 has to offer.  Projects Include: parenting classes Afterschool programs Job readiness classes Conflict resolution Youth literacy Violence prevention Light refreshments will be served Plenty of Attendance Prizes Kids are welcome

The Promise Zone

The Promise Zone target area is one of only 20 federally- designated Promise Zones in the United States. It encompasses St. Louis City Wards: 1-5, 18-19, 21-22, 26-27; and parts of St. Louis County, including the communities of: Bellerive Acres, Bel-Nor, Bel-Ridge, Berkeley, Beverly Hills, Cool Valley, Country Club Hills, Dellwood, Ferguson, Flordell Hills, Glen Echo Park, Greendale, Hazelwood, Hillsdale, Jennings, Kinloch, Moline Acres, Normandy, Northwoods, Pagedale, Pine Lawn, Riverview, University City, Uplands Park, Velda City, Velda Village Hills, and Wellston.

Community Delegates

A community delegate is a resident that lives within the St. Louis Promise Zone who is willing to help make key decisions about community projects for well-being in the areas of violence prevention, mental health, youth engagement, and peer support. Individuals interested in making a difference in their community can apply to become a community delegate. Being a delegate requires extensive time and effort for which each participant will be compensated. Time commitments include attendance at weekly meetings throughout the Spring/Early Summer. Community delegates should also understand that their roles are vital and valuable to the St. Louis ReCAST effort and the St. Louis Promise Zone. Now is the time for residents to have a VOICE!

Community delegates:

• Receive training and guidance regarding participatory budgeting;
• Increase their knowledge in the areas of violence prevention, mental health, youth engagement, and peer support;
• Have opportunities for social networking; and
• Be a part of the movement towards creating sustainable and resilient communities!

Youth and family participation is highly encouraged. Participants must be at least 11 years old (those under the age of 18 will need a consent form signed by a parent/guardian). Transit passes and childcare will also be provided as needed.

Participatory Budgeting Process

• Delegate Selection

  Community delegates (community members within the Promise Zone) will be chosen to head up community project proposals. Delegates will receive training and guidance regarding participatory budgeting.

• Delegate Meetings

  For approximately four weeks, meetings will be held for community delegates to brainstorm and discuss project ideas.

• Scope of Work Creation

  Community delegates, along with the ReCAST Core Advisory Board, will create and design a scope of work for the intended projects. Information will include: budget, service deliverables, target audience, number of people to be served, evaluation metrics, etc.

• RFP Development

  The scope of work for each project proposal will be converted to professional Requests for Proposals (RFPs) by the Saint Louis County Department of Public Health (DPH).

• Bidding

  Bids will be gathered from contractors that are able to fulfill proposal service requirements.

• Community Voting

  At a community meeting, residents within the Promise Zone will vote to select which contractors will be awarded one-year contracts, based on who is best suited to fulfill each scope of work.

• Implementation

  Funds are distributed and project start-up begins.

• Evaluation

  There will be an evaluation conducted by DPH staff, Patient Research Advisory Board members, and the St. Louis ReCAST Core Advisory Board to determine the success of each contract.

Timeline for Participatory Budgeting

• STEP 1 Participatory Budgeting Kick-Off

  Learn about the St. Louis ReCAST grant and tell us what you think about violence prevention, peer support, mental health, and youth engagement in your community.

  Delegate applications made available

• STEP 2 Delegate Selection Briefing

  Get community input and learn about the funding priorities.

  Select 80 delegates and host a facilitated brainstorming/discussion about project ideas.

• STEP 3 Funding Priority Group Meetings

  Explore funding opportunities and finalize project ideas.

  (Possibly two meetings per week.)

• STEP 4 Scope of Work Development

  Create a scope of work and release a Request For Proposals for bid.

  (Possibly two meetings per week.)

• STEP 5 Proposal Review & Community Vote

  Community review of proposals, scoring, and voting.

  Issue the awarded contracts.