Sunday, November 29, 2015

Saturday, November 28, 2015

Citizens and Police In Conversation: A Promising First Step

Anastasia’s Commentary on last Saturday’s “Coffee House Conversation on Humanizing Citizen-Police Relations II”

With special acknowledgements on our podcast to Lieutenant Jason Keckler of the Frederick City Police Force, Jeanette Bartelt, Hillcrest Community Coordinator and Sue deVeer, New Horizons Curriculum Development Chairperson:

My Possible Society In Motion Radio Show co-host, Jack Slattery, out did himself in our broadcast today titled “Citizens and Police In Conversation: A Promising First Step”

With Jack’s astute and thoughtful partnering with me, I think we did an uplifting program. He certainly helped me recount some of the highlights of our wonderfully progressing Coffee House Conversations Project in Frederick, Maryland as it played out last Saturday.

If you would like a few moments of uplifting listening, in line with the spirit of our now approaching holiday season, today’s program can serve to remind you that citizens and police can work together to support one another in reaching the higher planes of cooperation

Listen to this show, now on podcast, to get a taste of this and what is to come from us in the months ahead through our Coffee House Conversations Project.

I think a listen will help lift you out of any discouragement you might feel with citizen police relations as the media paints them across the country though it was just a “promising first step.”

Perhaps you will even be uplifted enough with what you hear to make sure to join us next Saturday for –


Coffee House Conversation on Humanizing Citizen-Police Relations “III”
December 5, 2015
3:00 p.m. to 6 p.m.
Hillcrest Elementary School

Details and Reservations Contact: Anastasia 240.409.5347
Email: HarpersFerryNH@aol.com

Saturday, November 14, 2015

Coffee House Conversations On Humanizing Citizen-Police Relations II

Here we are back again!

Another important community development event 
sponsored by the New Horizons Support Network, Inc.

Coffee House Conversations On Humanizing Citizen-Police Relations II


partnering with the Frederick City Police

Details below



Friday, November 6, 2015

Empowerment Series, Coffee House Conversations

Press Release

Coffee House Conversations Project Announces Plans For Hillcrest Empowerment Series

As the New Horizons Support Network, Inc. sponsored Coffee House Conversations mission heads into its second season, 2015 – 2016, the planning team for the project announced a forthcoming series, devoted to citizen-police relations in the Hillcrest neighborhood community.

The series will begin on Saturday, November 21 with a New Horizons’ format discussion geared toward establishing ground rules for dialogue on the presently charged topic of citizen-police relations. The second event of the series, scheduled for Saturday, December 5, will spotlight police officers’ personal stories, followed by a third conversation program focusing on citizen stories on the topic.

Bringing a “can do” message to the fore once again through guided community dialogue, New Horizons Support Network Executive Director Anastasia Rosen-Jones and the Coffee House Conversations Volunteer Team are now ramping up their efforts to empower citizens and police to work more closely together with the goal being enhanced teamwork. According to Rosen-Jones, a quote of Sir Robert Peel, father of modern day community policing, pointedly underscores the theme of the series, “….the police are the public and the public are the police…” 

These Coffee House Conversations On Humanizing Citizen-Police Relations will be introduced and moderated by Rosen-Jones and feature opening comments by newly appointed Frederick City Police Chief, Edward Hargis. The program will then move forward into an open group discussion to establish norms or ground rules for effective citizen-police dialogue that will serve as a foundation for the series. Input from the group at-large, as well as the participating police officers is expected to spark a lively discussion and help to ensure the objective.

This first in the series of four Coffee House Conversations On Humanizing Citizen-Police Relations will be held at Hillcrest Elementary School, 1285 Hillcrest Drive, Saturday, November 21 from 3 p.m. to 6:00 p.m. 

New Horizons Support Network, Inc. is a non-profit organization that offers programs designed to teach community development and violence-prevention skills and strategies through the conversations model of its “Small Zones of Peace” Project initiative. Now in the process of contributing these organizational strengths to the development of a Frederick County civic conversations coalition, New Horizons, under Ms. Rosen-Jones guidance, is currently building a coalition with a weekly volunteers’ meeting at Dublin Roasters

Information about the overall project and the coalition can be found at: zonesofpeacenh.blogspot.com. Ms. Rosen-Jones can be reached at: 240.409.5347 or zonesofpeacenh@aol.com.

Thursday, November 5, 2015

Coffee House Conversations Project Announces Plans For Empowerment Series

If you are concerned about current (and, maybe, past) relationships between citizens and police officers – and -- you live in Frederick County, Maryland, this series of Coffee House Conversations may be just the event for you. 

(If you do not live in Frederick County – and – want to join us, you are welcome to attend. Contact me, Anastasia, at: Cell: 240.409.5347 or Email: HarpersFerryNH@aol.com for details and to reserve your place.)

The series begins with Coffee House Conversation #1 of 4, "How To Talk About Citizen-Police Relationships"  -- November 21, 3:00 to 6:00 p.m. (See below for the full list of sessions planned for the series.)

Humanizing our Citizen --
Police Relationships II
Designed especially for the Hillcrest community neighborhood, Frederick, Maryland

(Humanizing our Citizen -- Police Relationships I event was held on Saturday, October 17 at Dublin Roasters, Frederick, Maryland)

The November 21st will be a special event designed to develop ground rules for dialogue between citizens and police officers.


About the series: The series will focus attention on the neighborhood problems of the Hillcrest community of Frederick, Maryland with citizen-police relationships as its pivotal discussion topic.

The complete series will include the following (and may be extended)
  • How To Talk About Citizen-Police Relationships (and other hot button civic concerns) November 21, 3:00 to 6:00 p.m.
  •  Police Officers Share Personal Stories – Saturday, December 5 , 3:00 to 6:00 p.m.
  • Citizens Sharing Stories of Their Relations With Police – TBA, 2016
  • Where Do We Go From Here To Humanize Our Citizen-Police Relationships? – TBA, 2016
Some of the key principles behind our project include –


Police Philosophy
"To maintain at all times a relationship with the public that gives reality to (the principle) that the police are the public and that the public are the police…"
Sir Robert Peel, noted father of modern day community policing



New Horizons Philosophy

“An enemy is someone whose story you have not heard” 
Unknown origin