Leadership Greater Madison Opens Doors for a Community Conversation about Solutions and Approaches

Future Madison leaders who are participating in the Leadership Greater Madison (LGM)* civic leadership training program have targeted homelessness as the community issue on which they are focusing their joint efforts in 2013. The project team, comprised of seven local residents representing a wide variety of employers and organizations**, will convene “A Summit on Homelessness in Dane County” on Tuesday, October 15, 2013 at Inn on the Park in Madison from 7:45 a.m. – 4:00 p.m.

The group’s objective is to help facilitate an important and productive public conversation about the issue of homelessness with the hope that by bringing together members of the Madison community who are working on various aspects of the issue to share and receive information, a better understanding and more coordinated approach to addressing the issue will emerge. The Summit will feature presentations and panel discussions by local service providers, faith-based organizations, the City of Madison and Dane County on timely topics such as shelters and day resource centers, affordable housing, homelessness and schools, criminal justice issues, community and business perspectives, medical and insurance issues, and homeless veteran perspectives. In addition to the panel discussions, the Summit will also include a luncheon speaker from the Madison Police Department on the topic of human trafficking and the connection to homelessness.

The Summit will be open to the public and will include participation from various organizations that represent the Dane County Homeless Services Consortium. Cost for the Summit is $25 to cover the cost of food and refreshments. More information about the Summit can be obtained by contactingLGM20Summit@gmail.com.

* Leadership Greater Madison (LGM), now in its 20^th year, provides advanced leadership training to help future community leaders become more aware of the issues affecting our area and the opportunities that exist to get involved. The program focuses on helping participants learn how to develop in-depth analysis of, identify resolution management approaches to, and communicate about, critical public issues while placing special emphasis on contemporary issues, challenges and opportunities, as well as “real world” options and experiences. This includes responsibility for developing and implementing a capstone project addressing a current issue. Graduates of Leadership Greater Madison can continue to remain connected by joining a growing LGM Alumni Association, which offers networking, continued education and opportunities for service in the community. For more information about LGM, please contact Lynn Wood, lwood@wcgpr.com. 

** LGM project team members who are coordinating the Summit on Homelessness in Dane County include: Phillip Bower, Whyte Hirschboeck Dudek, S.C.; Martin Day, Madison Gas & Electric; David De Leon, Alliant Energy; Kelly Donahue, City of Madison Police Department; Sarah Sosa-Acevedo, Madison Children’s Museum; Pat Steele, Northport Community Learning Center; and Patrick Sweeney, Wisconsin Council of the Blind and Visually Impaired. 

7:45 - 8:15          Registration
8:15 – 8:30          Welcome 
8:30 – 9:15          Keynote Speaker
9:15 – 9:45          Information and Data
9:45 – 10:15        City and County Goals
10:15 – 10:30      Break
10:30 – 11:20      1^st Session – breakout panel

-       A  – Shelters 

-       B  – Affordable Housing

-       C  -  Criminal Justice

11:20 – 11:30      Transition
11:30 – 12:20      2^nd Session – breakout panel

-       A  – Shelters 

-       B  – Affordable Housing

-       C  – Homelessness and schools

12:20 – 1:00         Lunch 
1:00 – 1:50           3rd Session – breakout panel

-       A  – Business Community

-       B  – Medical

-       C  – Homelessness and schools

1:50 – 2:00           Transition
2:00 – 2:50           4^th Session – breakout panel

-       A  – Business Community

-       B  – Veterans

-       C  – Faith Community

2:50 – 3:10           Transition
3:10 – 3:45           Wrap up and Summary
3:45 –  4:00          Networking