Greenbelt Alliance Volunteer Tabling

Volunteer of the Month: Martin Monica

Our November volunteer of the month is Martin Monica. A lifelong resident of Santa Clara County and a law enforcement officer for 18 years, Martin sought out volunteer opportunities with Greenbelt Alliance because he sees a direct connection between the way we build our communities and public safety. Martin is deeply committed to child and senior safety issues, for whom accessibility and environmental health are especially important.

Martin, along with his son and daughter, volunteered for the Mountain View Art and Wine Festival. They staffed the Greenbelt Alliance table over the course of two days, enthusiastically talking to people about the value of sustainable land-use planning and encouraging them to get involved in local efforts.

Greenbelt Alliance thanks Martin and his family for their help!



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PETA Annual Holiday Party 2009

I participated in the Holiday party at the PETA headquarters in Oakland. There were people from all over that gathered and chatted about the accomplishments that PETA had for 2009. People had various suggestions on how they could help law enforcement with animal rights. Scott Anderson Sr. VP of PETA Development is looking forward to working with me as well.

23rd Annual Holiday Party presented by the Union Community Resources and The South Bay AFL-CIO Labor Council

12-20-09
I volunteered to be one of the Santa Clauses at the 23rd Annual Holiday Party presented by the Union Community Resources and The South Bay AFL-CIO Labor Council. This was a great event with many children and families attending. What a great experience it was meeting all the children and parents. This party demonstrated the team work and love that we have for the children. I want to thank all the people that made this Holiday Party possible.

Santa Claus At San Jose School

12-17-09
I was asked to play Santa Claus at a preschool in San Jose. There were about 24 students with their parents. The kids had fun and the children loved their free santa picture. This was another great event for the children and parents during this holiday season.

Meeting with Raj Jayadev of Silicon Valley Debug

12-15-09

I met with Raj Jayadev of Silicon Valley De-Bug. We discussed the police and community relations situation in San Jose. I presented the idea of community policing. I suggested that the proper method in a free society is based on the reality that police depend upon the eyes, ears, information and influence of the public to exert social control. Most police crime solving is from reactive policing, rather than proactive policing (community policing).I believe we had a great discussion and will continue this discussion in an effort to develop an action plan for the community.



Raj Jayadev of Silicon Valley Debug and Martin Monica

Suzie Quirarte

I met with Suzie, and discussed how we could work as partners in freeing the community from addiction.

Danny Garza Meeting

Today, I met with Danny Garza we discussed community issues. We hope to develop solutions to the some of the problems.

Today I had the opportunity to visit a number of families and discuss education and safety. The community members I met with had a number of concerns and solutions. The community members would like to see community policing as the focus for the police departments. They have asked me to return and continue with the discussion on police and education. I will return and keep this dialogue going.

Peninsula Democratic Coalition Christmas party

I attended the annual Peninsula Democratic Coalition Christmas party. The event was well attended and a lot of great discussions. Ira Ruskin and Joe Simitian were in attendance. There were also in attendance a number of 2010 candidates. I had a great discussion on internet security to the use of AED’s. I had a great time and look forward to the New Year and working on community issues.

Estrella Family Services Children's Christmas Party

12-10-09
I received a call to play Santa Claus at the Estrella Family Services at Gardner Elementary School. I was more than happy to be Santa Claus for the children. We had a great time. It was great seeing the excitement and smiles by the children and parents.

Santa Clara County Suicide Prevention Advisory Group meeting

December 9, 2009 I attended the Santa Clara County Suicide Prevention Advisory Group meeting
AGENDA
December 9, 2009
6-8 p.m.

I. Introductions 6:00 pm-7:05 pm
A. Overview of creation and purpose of Committee 6:00 pm-6:15 pm
B. Introduction of each member and why participating 6:15 pm-7:00 pm
C. Identification of missing members 7:00 pm-7:05 pm
II. Name Committee 7:05 pm-7:20 pm
III. Define meeting work schedule and outcomes 7:20 pm-7:45pm
V. Q&A for committee and Public 7:45 pm-8:00pm

It was a great meeting with many different professionals from different disciplines. There was a quote which was eye opening, “Every 17 minutes in American someone commits suicide. Where is the public concern and outrage?” Wow what a powerful quote and indeed where is the outrage. But in Santa Clara County, Supervisor Liz Kniss is taking the bull by the horns. She has started the advisory group in an effort to make a change in suicides. I applaud her and the group. I am honored to be a part of this group.

Children's Health Council, Palo Alto

On December 8, 2009 I attended a training at The Children’s Health Council on recognizing the Warning signs of suicide and depression for children. The meeting was well attended. The information and the questions were outstanding. The panel presented a technique that you can use to communicate with your teen. Think CALM( pick a destination, e.g turning down music:
Curious
Ask, don’t tell
Ask about the music
Lead by problem solving (goal or is it attitude)
Ask for solutions
Map

Talk about the trip you just went on.

When we communicate we win.

Sierra Club Christmas Potluck

12-5-09 Last weekend I attended the Loma Prieta Sierra Club Chapter Christmas party in Saratoga. It was fun and full of great discussions. One gentleman told me that when he went to Stanford it only cost $400.00 per year. Everyone had a great time. I look forward to meeting other fellow Sierra Club members.

NAACP Courageous On Race

On 12-5-2009 I attended the “Courageous Conversation on Race” at the Mexican Heritage Plaza in San José. The NAACP presented the conference. The conference had a distinguished group of panelist. One area of discussion was how the police and community are fragmented in their relationship. The police need to embrace the philosophy of community policing. Community Policing is Democracy in action. It requires the active participation of local government, civic and business leaders, public and private agencies, community residents, churches, schools, and hospitals. I hope to continue the discussion of community policing and community relations in future blogs.