Community Cafe Bainbridge

Will bringing Coffee Oasis to Bainbridge help reduce teen suicide on the island? Lee Moniz hopes so. Listen here to learn about Coffee Oasis and why the Tyler Moniz Project is working to bring the organization to Bainbridge.

Here on Bainbridge, we have lost several youth to suicide in the last few months alone. Many others report that they struggle with depression, anxiety, bullying, and various pressures. Some are just looking for a place to connect and feel a sense of community.

This is why Lee Moniz and others are working to bring Coffee Oasis to Bainbridge. Lee is the founder of the Tyler Moniz Project, a non-profit organization that she and her husband, Jeff, created after their son, Tyler, died by suicide at Washington State University two years ago.

In this podcast, we learn about her hopes to partner with Coffee Oasis to create a coffee house where youth can just hang out and, if needed, get access to a variety of programs, activities and support staff.

Coffee Oasis is a faith-based, non-profit organization that creates gathering places for youth by combining coffee and youth programs. They have several coffee shops around Kitsap County, including Poulsbo, Bremerton, and Port Orchard.

In this podcast Daniel Frederick, Coffee Oasis' Director of Community Development, talks about the programs they offer, including job training, counseling, mentoring, crisis intervention, and case management. We also hear from Kyle Koller, a youth actively involved in the organization, who shares what a difference Coffee Oasis made in his own life.

If you’d like to learn more, there will be a Question & Answer session about the Bainbridge Island Coffee Oasis project at City Hall on September 24th from 7:00-8:30pm. You can also visit the Tyler Moniz Project (www.thetylermonizproject.com) and Coffee Oasis websites (https://thecoffeeoasis.com/)

... and if you or someone you know is struggling, please reach out and ask for help. There are many resources to draw from including:

• National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 1-800-273-8255 or text 741741
• Bainbridge Youth Services, which provides free counseling for youth ages 12-19

Credits: BCB host, Christina Hulet; audio editor and publisher, Diane Walker; social media: Jen St. Louis.

Line dancing? Table Tennis? Yoga? Beginning Chinese? Bridge? Drawing? Chess? Knitting? Photography? Astrology? German? Cribbage? Karaoke? Shakespeare? There's something for everyone at the BI Senior Center -- and you can help them decide what future offerings might be available! Attend one of four strategic planning sessions offered over the next week, and help our senior center plan for the future.

Working with their existing members, the Senior Center's Board has come up with a five point plan for the center's future, but they want to open this discussion up to the larger community, so they are holding 4 strategic planning sessions at different times and places to make it easy to attend:

  • Tuesday, September 11, 10 am-noon at Bethany Lutheran Church

  • Thursday, September 13, 3-5 pm at Eagle Harbor Congregational Church

  • Saturday, September 15, 1-3 pm at Island Volunteer Caregivers (behind Marge Williams Center)

  • Tuesday, September 18, 7-9 pm at the Senior Center

You need only attend one session, so choose the one most convenient for you and be sure to let them know what shape you'd like them to take for the future.

For more information, visit their website at biseniorcenter.org. And to learn more about their wide range of learning and exercise opportunities, stop by the Center and pick up a copy of their Splash newsletter today!

Credits: BCB host: Carolyn Goad; audio editor and publisher: Diane Walker; social media: Jen St. Louis.

What is the development moratorium, why was it enacted, and how does it address growing concerns about the type of development happening on Bainbridge Island? In this podcast, BI Senior Planner Christy Carr and Planning Commissioner Jon Quitslund help clarify the issues.

Beginning in January 2018, the Bainbridge Island City Council passed a series of ordinances establishing and clarifying a six-month moratorium on certain new developments. The moratorium was set to expire mid-summer but was extended on June 26 by an additional 90 days.  

Listen here as BCB host Christina Hulet talks with long term islanders Christy and Jon  about the moratorium and several related topics, including the review process and design of subdivisions; the role of the Design Review Board and the Planning Commission; the Critical Areas and Landmark Tree ordinances; and the recommendations just delivered by the Affordable Housing Task Force.

We also explore some of the criticisms associated with the moratorium and consider how best to hold the tension between development and preserving what we love about our island.

For more information on the moratorium, visit the City’s website at www.bainbridgewa.gov.

Credits: BCB host: Christina Hulet; audio editor and publisher: Diane Walker; social media: Jen St. Louis.

Many of us know people who are either struggling to stay in their current homes or hoping to find an affordable place on Bainbridge. Housing Resources Bainbridge is here to help: listen here as HRB's Phedra Elliot and Penny Lamping describe the services this vital group provides.

Housing Resources Bainbridge (HRB) is an independent, nonprofit organization that provides and advocates for affordable rental housing and homeownership options on the island. HRB also helps elderly and disabled individuals stay in their homes by providing home improvements such as accessible walkways and kitchen/bathroom modifications.

Phedra Elliot is HRB's executive director, and Penny Lamping is a long-time Bainbridge resident who serves as fundraising and Communications Manager. Together they explain the growing need in our community for a broader range of housing options and some of the ways HRB is working to achieve that goal.

Phedra also served on the City’s Affordable Housing Task Force (AHTF), which released its recommendations in July 2018. You can listen to a related podcast on that subject here.

To learn more about Housing Resources Bainbridge, please visit their website at: http://housingresourcesbi.org/.

Credits: BCB host: Christina Hulet; audio editor: Chris Walker; publisher: Diane Walker; social media: Jen St. Louis.

How do we go about creating a community where people who want to live here can afford to do so?

In June 2017, the Bainbridge Island City Council appointed a fifteen member, all citizen volunteer group to  answer that question. The Affordable Housing Task Force (AHTF) was charged with developing recommendations to improve access to affordable housing across the economic spectrum. This month, the AHTF released its final report, including proposals for our collective consideration.
 
In this podcast, we hear from several community members involved in the process. Althea Paulson is a long-time Bainbridge resident and Chair of the task force; Phedra Elliot is Executive Director of Housing Resources Bainbridge and a fellow AHTF member; and Jennifer Sutton is a Senior Planner for the City of Bainbridge.
 
Together, they help us understand why affordable housing has become an issue, why it matters, and what some possible solutions might be, including zoning changes, building on public lands, encouraging ADU's, incentivizing innovative solutions, and more.
 
Listen to this podcast as we explore these recommendations, and the inherent tensions and trade-offs that we as a community will need to weigh as we respond.
 
To get involved or learn more, you can attend the City Council’s study session on the AHTF report on August 21 at 6pm at City Hall. More information is also available on the City’s website at www.bainbridgewa.gov (type in “Affordable Housing Task Force” in the search box).
Credits: BCB host: Christina Hulet; publisher: Diane Walker; social media Jen St. Louis.

"Music hath charms to soothe the savage breast," wrote William Congreve back in 1697. The Agate Pass Threshold Choir honors that sentiment, singing their gentle music to help ease people in difficult transitions. To learn more and hear their songs, listen here.

Part of a larger international organization, the local group, which currently numbers 12 members who rehearse together every Monday evening, sends singers out in pods of two or four to the bedsides of transitioning souls, all free of charge. And in bringing healing to their listeners, their families, and their caregivers, the singers find a peace and joy for themselves as well.

To learn more about the Threshold Choir, visit their website at thresholdchoir.org. And if you think you might be interested, either in singing with the Threshold Choir or in having them sing for someone you know, you can contact them via the website or by emailing Judy Friesem at [email protected]

Credits: BCB host: Diane Walker;  BCB audio tech: Chris Walker; publisher: Diane Walker; social media Jen St. Louis.

What is the Ethics Board, and why do we have one? In this podcast, BCB host Christina Hulet talks with Scott Wilder, current board chair, and Dennis Willerford, a long-time board member, about the role of the Bainbridge Island Ethics Board.  

This five-member, volunteer board is responsible for promoting the highest ethical standards of personal and professional conduct for all those involved with the City of Bainbridge. It trains elected officials and members of our many committees, commissions or advisory groups on the city’s core values and ethical standards, and also ensures that major contractors and city employees follow these same standards.

Listen here as Dennis and Scott discuss the importance of the four C’s or basic rules of ethics--conduct of public meetings, confidentiality, compensation and gifts, and conflict of interest. They also describe the board's history and explain the two articles of the city's ethics code -- the first, which describes the City’s core values, and the second, which actually lays out a code to be followed.

In addition to providing and monitoring ethical standards, the Ethics Board also serves as a resource to members of the community, providing advisory opinions and responding to complaints or concerns from the general public.

To learn more, please visit the City of Bainbridge Ethics Board website: https://www.bainbridgewa.gov/231/Ethics-Board. Positions are also opening up on the Board, if you’re interested in applying.

Credits: BCB host: Christina Hulet; BCB audio editor and publisher: Diane Walker.

In this podcast, meet Amber Richards, Emergency Management Coordinator for Bainbridge Island and Scott James of Bainbridge Prepares. The two join BCB host Bob Ross to discuss the recent emergency preparedness survey and what the city of Bainbridge is doing to ensure resilience in the face of natural disasters.

Join us for this edition of Community Cafe as Amber and Scott share their perspectives about community preparedness and the important partnerships now in place in the city. You'll hear many suggestions, insights and tips and learn how the recent Resident Survey serves as a tool to help further preparedness efforts.

To look at the survey and get an idea what you need to have on hand, visit http://www.bainbridgewa.gov/CivicAlerts.aspx?AID=491.

To learn more about Bainbridge Prepares, visit http://bainbridgeprepares.org/.

Credits: BCB host: Bob Ross; audio editor and publisher: Diane Walker; social media: Jen St. Louis.

What do our youth have to say about climate change?

That is what the Bainbridge Island chapter of Citizens’ Climate Lobby wanted to find out when it had an essay contest for local youth.

In this podcast you'll meet Nilus Swanson, a 16-year old sophomore at Kingston High School, who submitted the winning essay.

Nilus' passionate call to action for why we should address climate change reminds us that sometimes youth can bring clarity to an issue that eludes our broader discourse. It is, after all, his generation and those to follow that will be most impacted by the effects of climate change.

Listeners will also learn about the work of the Citizens’ Climate Lobby (CCL) from Bobbie Morgan, a Bainbridge Island resident, writer and one of the leaders of CCL’s local chapter. CCL has more than 480 local chapters around the country. To learn more about the one on Bainbridge, please visit: https://citizensclimatelobby.org/chapters/WA_Bainbridge_Island/.

Credits: BCB host: Christina Hulet; audio editor: Harrison Gaushell;  publisher: Diane Walker; social media: Jen St. Louis.

It would be easier to turn the page on the dark chapters of our history. But then, how would we heal, or learn, or grow as a society?

 In this powerful podcast, students Evelyn Cantwell and Ethan Soltanzadeh join teacher Jim Starrs in a conversation about Sakai Intermediate School's Leaving Our Island curriculum, a study of the Japanese internment during World War II.

Evelyn, a current 6th grader, Ethan, a high schooler and former Sakai student,and Jim, a 6th grade social studies and language arts teacher, share with us the many ways in which the curriculum uses stories, theater, books, and writing to bring to life the internment of Bainbridge’s 276 Japanese Americans. 

It's particularly moving to hear Evelyn and Ethan talk about forum day, when those internment survivors, who were the first to be exiled in 1942, come to the classroom to share their stories with students.

Listen to this podcast and be inspired by their reflections, and the lessons they draw that can serve all of us.

Credits: BCB host: Christina Hulet; audio editor and publisher: Diane Walker.