010: The812's Digest for the Week of January 22

01/29/24 • 32 min

Selected clips of last week's conversations with: City Councilmember Matt Flaherty, City Human Rights Director Michael Shermis, former Fire Chief and now candidate for the open District 5 Council seat Jason Moore, and Charlotte Zietlow, who was the city's first-ever female council president in 1972.

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009: Charlotte Zietlow: The City's First Female Council President

Charlotte Zietlow is well-known in Bloomington and Monroe County for many reasons. This episode focuses her time on the Bloomington City Council in the early 1970s -- the subject of her second book, "1971: How We Won". She talks about how the previous council was unresponsive to public input and concerns, motivating her to run for office. She campaigned on issues like zoning changes and lack of transparency. By 1972, she was one of ten newly elected city officials who had swept all but one incumbent out of office.
As the new council president, she led reforms to open up government and increase public participation. The new council addressed a long backlog of issues through committees and initiatives focused on social services, infrastructure, and the environment. After one term, Charlotte decided not to run for reelection when she disagreed with the mayor on an issue, instead running for mayor herself.

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011: Rev. Forrest Gilmore, Executive Director, Beacon Inc.

Rev. Forest Gilmore, an ordained Unitarian Universalist minister, is the Executive Director of Beacon Inc. He discusses the evolution of the organization from its origins as the Shalom Center, established in 1999 as a response to the lack of daytime resources for people experiencing homelessness, as it gradually expanded its services over the years, including hunger relief, case management support, an overnight shelter, permanent housing, and street outreach.
Gilmore dispels common misconceptions about homelessness, emphasizing that it primarily stems from housing issues rather than personal choice or lack of employment, and that housing is the fundamental solution to homelessness. Furthermore, he addresses the challenges of substance use disorders and mental health within the homeless population, while also discussing Beacon Inc.'s future plans, including a new facility aimed at centralizing and expanding their services to better serve the community.

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