Email journal: June 22, 2006, Worcester On Tuesday I met with Erin for the first meeting of a new group of residents of Main South who will be working together as part of the Main South Oral History Project. This project brings both youth and adults together to work to identify issues that affect the neighborhood. These issues are much like the ones we ask questions about in the standardized surveys. However in this project they will work together to create an oral history around a specific issue. The final product from all this will likely be a video made by the members of the group that will help others in a community forum understand the nature of the issue and help to plan some action. It was just the first meeting for the new group so we spent a lot of time just getting to know one another, outlining what will be done during the project, and outlining what everyone hopes to accomplish at the end. We also outlined the expectations we had for one another, such as respecting one another's opinion and showing up to all the meetings on time, etc. Only four people besides Erin and myself were present but other people had contacted Erin and showed enthusiasm for the project and will hopefully come to future meetings. Although I have been talking to Main South residents already through outreach and surveys, it was nice to talk to people in non-survey setting and letting them tell their own stories. Everyone talked about their unique experiences with Main South and how they got involved with the project. One teenage boy had helped in other events that are a larger part of the Neighborhood STRENGTH project such as redoing Hawley Court and had worked with Rebecca Dezan in the past. Another man met Erin through outreach and had completed a survey. He was interested in doing what he could to help the Main South area. It was a really nice experience and I will be going to these meetings on a weekly basis. In future weeks I will be able to tell more about how the actual project unfolds. Hopefully we'll be getting some more people from the neighborhood to help out with the project. I really think it could be a good thing for the Main South community and it is important that it is being made by the residents themselves as well as involving the oral history of others in the community. I'll hopefully have something a little more exciting to say about this part of the project next week! Jill