Well, hello there and welcome to Access City Council. Each week we check in with a member of our Las Vegas City Council to see what's happening in their part of town. I'm Crystal Allen, a producer and host for the city of Las Vegas. As always, we appreciate you for spending some time with us. And joining us in studio today, we are so pleased to bring back after 6 weeks Councilwoman Shondra Summers-Armstrong. >> Good morning. >> Always nice to have you with us. >> It's wonderful to be here. >> And talk about things happening in in in your part of town. There's always a lot happening in Ward 5. >> We are busy. That's for sure. Very diverse area with a lot of exciting things happening. And we're going to get to one exciting thing that happened recently. So, let's go ahead and get this conversation going. First up, the Westside Education and Training Center is hosting a community kickoff and you are invited. We'll give you more details on that. Plus, it really is a shocking reality. Black women are three times more likely to die during pregnancy and childbirth. We'll discuss the local effort to raise awareness and ultimately save lives. And finally, an incredible interactive exhibit makes its debut. We're going to take you inside Rhythm & Resilience: Black Vegas. Well, we got a lot to get to, so let's go ahead and get to it right now. First up, a state-of-the-art center offering free and low-cost training for high-paying in-demand jobs. And if you're looking to take that step, the time is now. The Westside Education and Training Center is hosting a kickoff and you are invited. Here to tell us more is Stefan Corbett. He's the executive director of the Economic Development Division for the College of Southern Nevada. So good to have you, Stefan. >> Thank you. It's a pleasure to be here. Well, when you walked in, the councilman's face lit up because this is like a reunion of sorts, right? There's been a lot of collaboration and partnership as WETCC has, you know, come online and it's been a very exciting time for the community. So just give people a little background. The ribbon cutting was in August, right? It's on the historic Westside campus, a partnership between the city and of course the College of Southern Nevada providing the training and, you know, councilman, you spoke to this so many times. It has been so transformative and it's historic. Um, you know, so I guess my question to you and Stefan, please feel free to, you know, jump in on this as well. What makes WETCC so different in terms of how it's reaching and connecting people to opportunities? I think it's the intentionality. Uh, it's not just a training center. Uh, it's not just a place for people to go and get their GED. Uh, it's a place to start your career. And it's we call it from uh, that uh, that campus is cradle to career. Uh, and uh, what this what CSN is doing there is phenomenal and I think unprecedented. Um, they are training for positions that are actively being sought in the workforce and ensuring that people after they're done with their training have a job. And so I think that's the most important thing and I I I defer uh, to Stefan. I think he can speak much more eloquently about the nuts and bolts of what they're doing there. >> For sure. There's a lot that you're doing there, right? >> And the councilwoman has been amazing uh, going door-to-door with us, making sure that folks are aware of it. And as she said is the intentionality is that is an employment and training center. And so anybody can be go through a program, go out and then what? But we make sure that we have the business community involved and that every program that we have in place are programs that are in-demand occupations. So not only that they these are occupations that are not only going to diversify our economy, but it diversifies the community and make sure that everybody's represented and that everybody can experience growth and social and economic opportunities. I think that's so important. We're talking about equity, right? To opportunity and access and that's what Wet starts to do. Um when you What does that look like for those who are interested? You know, cuz classes are already underway, which is exciting. And you talk about some of these high-paying in-demand jobs. We're talking about advanced manufacturing, health care, IT, construction. So there's just so much there for people to take advantage of, right? >> No, that's exactly right. So all of our programs are in those in-demand occupations as you mentioned, health care, manufacturing, computer information technology. So it's all these pipelines are in place to make sure that it's our community that are meeting the needs of the overall community and contributing to the business. And so this is just a great way to start legacies and to break those traditional to reach those traditional usually what are not traditional opportunities and have those traditional opportunities created for everybody. Yeah, and let's speak to that legacy, Councilwoman, that's being created with this cuz you know, you you talked to many folks and you know, they said this has been a long time coming and and and it's it was time. So can you just speak to, you know, it finally coming to fruition and what this truly means in terms of upward mobility and kind of a transformative effect for that community? Absolutely. So if folks didn't know, historic West Las Vegas has some of the lowest incomes in all of Southern Nevada. Somewhere between $25,000 is the average when in the city that averages two to three times that. And so, a lot of that has to do with access. Access to these opportunities, access to training. And so, I think Stefan said it best. We want people to be the pipeline. We This is the pipeline. So, when we were going door to door several weeks, we knocked on doors in the neighborhood and we will be back. So, look for us. I'm warming up my tennis shoes. I got them on today. And and it's important, right? So, when we're in the community and we're going door to door and we're giving talking about this and we're passing out flyers and we're inviting people, what we heard was, "Well, we saw this beautiful building, but we didn't know what it was." And I think this is indicative of what we see is that the community often doesn't feel like what is happening involves them, that they're not part of it, that they're maybe not welcome. And our going door to door showed them, "Hey, this is for you. This is for your children, your grandchildren, your extended family. You are welcome. The door is open." And we're doing all sorts of things. There's English language classes there, GED. And then we're having all these training for jobs. This is a comprehensive approach and it is a welcoming and inviting approach. We want folks, whether you are in a career that you're not happy with and you want to do something different or you're just starting off. And I remind people that live on the historic West Side and the nearby area, we are two bus rides from the medical district, one of the fastest growing economic engines in Southern Nevada. And you can be a part of that. Your family can be a part of that and change the trajectory >> Yeah. of your family, right? It all starts with education and we are excited about what is happening. >> is now. Right now. >> It is here. And I love it. It's just exciting just to hear you talk about it, hear Stefani talk about this. And speaking of getting the community connected to it, you're having the community kickoff. So, let's talk a little bit about what we can expect. >> This is an amazing opportunity to celebrate the community, to celebrate the advancement. Uh so, we're going to have jump houses out there. We're going to have employers out there. We're going to have some funnel cakes, ice cream for the kids to get because we are a multi-generational entity. And so, we want this event to be multi-generational just the way our programs are going to be. And so, it's also about exposing students early as middle as early as middle school to these in-demand occupations for them to begin to explore, go home and take it back to the family and talk about it. And so, we believe this kickoff on the 18th is another starting mark of what's going to propel uh that the the folks in the community are going to propel the next-level opportunities. >> it's multi-generational. We're bringing everybody cuz that's the whole point of that Historic Westside campus. This concept is from cradle to career. We're getting everybody involved in this. And also, you want partners and people who are interested in partnering with you to come to this as well, maybe set up tables so people can know more about them. This is a holistic approach. And so, we serve the whole person. And so, the partnership with the city of Las Vegas from the Early Childhood Education Center to the resources through the EOB, uh to the radio station, it's one large campus that is really, as the councilwoman said, high intentionality for the community. Yeah, you're trying to provide those wrap-around services, not just the training, but career coaching or if you need maybe help with child care or youth development cuz you're bringing, you know, the whole family in on this. And I think that's the beauty of it all. I think y'all really got this right. We're excited. And we just want folks to know that we are here. We are open. Uh they are welcome. Um and don't put any artificial barriers up. Well, I need child care. Baby, come on. We got you. >> on. Come to the campus. Let us help you move through the challenges. And when we move through challenges, we move forward into excellence. And that is what this is all about is is having a holistic and collective approach, collaborative, and we're going to get there. And people just need to have the courage to come, be open heart and open mind, and ready to get to work to improve themselves and the future of their families. >> I love that. Well, the foundation has been set. It is in place, and we are ready to build on that. So, Stefan, thank you so much for being here. Thank you for the work that you're doing. Thanks, College of Southern Nevada, for the collaborative partnership. And we got to bring you back. There's just never enough time, right? Okay, well, we appreciate you. All right, still to come, really, um, a shocking reality when it comes to maternal care and women dying in childbirth here in Nevada. Coming up, a local effort working to make an impact and save lives. Stay with us. We'll be right back. Here's a look at Ward 5. It's a diverse and expansive ward stretching from the historic Westside community and parts of Fremont and downtown to the northwest part of the valley. If you live or work in this area, you're in the city limits of Las Vegas and represented by Councilwoman Shondra Summers-Armstrong. Thank you so much for staying with us. Well, it's really a disheartening reality. Nevada ranks among the worst states in the nation when it comes to maternal care. And the disparity among mothers in certain groups even more devastating. Recent stats show black women are three times more likely to die during pregnancy and childbirth than Caucasian mothers. Well, joining us with more on a local effort tackling this issue is Tiara Flynn. She's a doula and founder of Phenomenal Mama. It's so good to have you in studio with us. And again, when you walked in, Councilwoman had a big smile on her face and a big hug ready for you. You know, For who know this young lady, Nevada born and bred, right? First of all, um thank you for your service, being an Air Force veteran, um passionate community advocate, you are a changemaker, speaker, mentor, you name it, business owner, of course, um a majority owner with Seven New Marketing. We all know Seven New Marketing and credible impact this made on the community, celebrating 20 years. >> 20 years. >> Right? >> Yes. That credible milestone and then you went on um to open your own practice. >> I did, yes. >> Mama and that was really um came from a personal experience and also some of your early work with health care. So, let's let's talk a little bit about that. >> Yes, so um as you mentioned, I'm majority owner of Seven New Marketing. So, being in business where we all we're all about community. We're a community outreach and engagement um company in addition to marketing. Um when it came to maternal health support and filling in those gaps, I every time I feel like I ask my dad a question, he's like, "You're doing it." Cuz I'm like, "Well, nobody's doing this. Who's doing like this?" And he'll say, "You're doing it." So, um it came organically for sure right before um the pandemic and I just, you know, saw even more so in that time how needed doulas were here locally. You know, a lot of people really don't exactly the scope of what a doula does compared to a midwife. Um and there's really some historical context, too, when you think about it, um especially as it pertains to the black community. So, let's talk a little bit about that. >> Yes, for sure. Um and I know we're talking about it a little bit beforehand, but um the differences between First of all, the difference between doula care and midwifery care is that your midwife is your care provider. So, they would take the place of your OB um and a doula is your support person solely there for the mom because everybody's job is to get baby here healthy and safely and you hear that over and over and nobody's really focusing on the mom's needs. Nobody's focusing on the full family needs and so doulas are here to fill that gap. Thank you for for making that distinction for those who might not be aware. And Councilman, I I know you um I'm sure you have been very encouraged by the work that Tiara um and the Black Maternal Care uh Black Maternal Health Care Alliance, right, is doing in the community. Let's talk a little bit about that. I am very proud. My work started in this area when I was in the legislature in 2021. I carried a bill um for Make It Work Nevada uh to get doulas um uh the ability to be paid under Medicaid. Yes. And that was a huge step. We'd never done that before, and I'm grateful to Quinton Savwoir uh who was with that organization, is now the president of the NAACP um for his work. So, here's a guy who um was aggressive and that was his charge to get this bill through, and that would and it was not easy. We got pushback um from some folks in the medical community because people don't know what a doula does. Doulas are navigators, right? They're the people that work with the mom, the family from the very beginning, help them understand the process. They're not medical uh uh they're not a doctor, but uh we all know if you've had children that a lot of what you are struggling with has very little to do with medical and it has everything to do with everything else. And so, I was proud to carry that bill in 2021, got them payment. Oh, well, this is >> Tremendously. It was my honor. Right. My absolute honor. And then again in 2023. And this is important to me for a couple of reasons. Number one, I have three sons who are adults, but I had the privilege of having two different birthing experiences. I had two children in Germany um on the economy, as military people would say, in a German hospital, and I had a midwife. And it was a completely different experience than what I had in the states for my third son. Um and uh we went to a local hospital, did all the things, had no problems in Germany, stayed in a hospital for 6 days for each of my pregnancies, the birth, had the midwife there every day, was wonderful, under the supervision of a doctor, no issues. I have my child here in Nevada, and he gets hypothermia in the hospital. So, he was under a heat lamp for 6 days. That affects how you feel about your interaction. You're doing everything you're supposed to, but there's nobody I had no one but my husband, it was his first child, and trust me, he had no help. He was still trying to figure out and it would have been wonderful to have a doula who could have said, cuz I was out of it, who could have said, maybe this room is too cold, maybe the baby doesn't have on enough clothes, maybe maybe maybe, and could have been of assistance, and so I felt that it was absolutely important that no mother feel that, that she have someone to help her, and when the doulas came and said they wanted legislation, I was like, let's go. Yes. I Thank you for sharing that personal story. You know, Tara, you were just saying a lot of people don't even realize they have access to this. >> Right. Correct. Yes. And thank you again for carrying that because as you were sharing, it was huge. At the time, we were only one in like eight or nine states that doulas are are Medicaid covered. And I think even today we're still like less than 15 or something like that. So, it was a huge Yes, it was a huge deal then and connecting it to your personal story because as you shared, like so many people have different experiences, some traumatic, some not, but just the unknowingness of it, I guess, and not knowing what to expect even for your husband. As a doula, it's very important for me to prepare everyone. I mean, I've been in the parking lot headed to a birth trying to find a spot and missed it, but then the family would tell me afterwards the dads particularly would say, I felt very prepared to advocate and yeah. We have about a minute left, so we can talk very quickly about I know there's a lot to it, but black maternal um health care week. >> Yes, so black maternal health week is a national initiative and the reason why it exists is from some of those earlier stats that you shared, but locally my goal from the very beginning and still is is to help build that ecosystem and have all of us talk to each other. So I've invited you know doulas, midwives, the OBs, the black nurses association. I really want all of us to talk to each other because it's not about working in silos and it's not about whether or not a doula is there to step on your toes or whatever the perceptions are. It's about all of us working together under that same umbrella to support the families and so during black maternal health week here, we have a week long of events where we come together, we bring the resources to the community and so that way people do know what's available to them and they understand how to access that care and build their village really. That's what it's about. >> put that contact info on the screen. Well, it was actually on the screen while you were talking so that people know where to reach out and where to go. And this is April 11th. Well, nationally it's recognized April 11th through the 17th, but we shifted a week because we have a lot going on locally and so the 18th through the 26th is when we're going to have our week long of events. I mean there's five events in the lineup. So plenty of opportunities to engage. Wonderful. Well, thank you so much for stopping by. You have to come by and see us again and we appreciate you so much and Councilman we appreciate for all the work that you did during your time in the legislation legislature and being the forerunner for some very important legislation that ultimately um has helped so many in the community. So thank you so And I hope the community will come out to the event on the 18th. So we'll be on the Wet City campus, the uh historic Westside campus. So we'll have all of this going on at one time. Both the introduction to Wet'suwet'en but also this a beautiful event that we've had a couple of times. I've been several times. And so families, right? Here we are. We say that this campus is from cradle to career. And so here we are cradle right before the cradle prepping for the cradle. And all the things that doulas can do to help your family navigate and then you just take that right on into a career path for you and your family. So we love what we're doing on the historic Westside and we are just honored to have partners like you. Thank you to them. >> Thank you. I love that. Well again, to be continued. We got to have you back here. Thank you so much and appreciate the work that you're doing. All right, still to come the rhythm and resilience of black Vegas. We're taking you inside an incredible new exhibit. You definitely have to see this. It's right here on the City's campus. Don't miss it. We'll have more coming up. We're back with Councilwoman Shondra Summers-Armstrong, proudly representing of course Ward 5. Well you know all I have to say about this next story is get ready to be blown away. Councilwoman, you're going to take us on quite the tour, right? It's beautiful. Yes, so get ready for rhythm and resilience black Vegas. This is part one cuz there's so much good stuff. Check it out. Hello, hello. So how are you? Oh, I'm wonderful. >> Welcome. >> Miss Claytee. How are you? >> and Miss Carmen Beal. Hello. Nice to see Nice to see you as well. This is Isn't it amazing? >> phenomenal. Yes, it is. So here we are at Pacific Plaza art gallery and we are now about to begin looking at the rhythm and resilience black Vegas exhibit. So we're going to go ahead and start at the beginning Ah. of the history of Las Vegas here, which begins with Mr. John Howell over here. He is the first African-American to own land in Southern Nevada. Now, you may not know his his name, but I assure you that you know the Springs Preserve, and that is the exact land that he owned, over 188 acres of land. You only see a silhouette of him, and that's because we do not have any photographs. However, you can see photographs of his descendants, and you can see ownership records. I thought this was fascinating. The Springs Preserve, we collaborated with them to identify not only the census showing that he was a resident here in 1870, but we also saw a surveys as well as a deed, which shows that he sold the land. I learned so much about my family through the census records. It is moving to see this, and is so important for all y'all out there that want to know about your people. The census records are amazing, and they give you a window into the past that we can't get anyplace else. >> Is that's why we have some of those names of people later on on Block 17? Wow. Speaking about Block 17. >> Yes. Isn't this something? This is the old downtown map. The first town site was the McWilliams town site, which was west of the tracks. Which is where historic West Las Vegas is now. That's correct. I didn't realize that it actually was predating. Wow. That's correct. >> Okay. But when the railroad owners got here in 1905, they said, "No, downtown is going to be east of the tracks." So, that's why we have that. And they ran the town, no government, so African-Americans were told to live on Block 17. Wow. And Block 17 is near Block 16, which was the red light district. >> Red light district. Okay. >> How can we find it today? Oh, because it is right across the street from the Mob Museum. Our first federal building, which was that post office courthouse. >> Yes. Right across the street. If you've been to Triple George restaurant >> Yes. that was Block 17. >> Oh my gosh. Wow. This is amazing. Yeah. Individuals in the midst of the Great Depression coming out to Las Vegas thinking that they could find an opportunity with the Hoover Dam. However, out of over 20,000 individuals, only 44 African-Americans were actually hired after multiple fights to work on the Hoover Dam. One of my favorite Easter eggs and I got the original facts from Miss Claytee is that our guide, my guide, Langston Hughes, my favorite poet, actually came here to the state of Nevada to fight for those African-Americans to stay here. We know this story so well because not just the newspapers here in Las Vegas wrote about what was happening on the Hoover Dam and blacks working there, but reporters came in from newspapers like this Yes. and wrote about it, so we know. So, can I ask you, if black people who were here were not allowed to work on the Hoover Dam, where did they work? How did they sustain themselves? Most of them were entrepreneurs. >> Okay. We have that some of those names on the census records. So, we can trace back to the person who had the shoeshine stand. We know who worked for the railroad. So, they had those kinds of jobs and there was a tailoring shop. Carver Park was originally designed in World War II by famous architect Paul Revere Williams. Though many individuals from Arkansas, Louisiana, and even Mississippi were recruited to produce magnesium for the World at War effort. You have this beautiful photograph of Carver Park. It was a temporary facility, but as Claytee will tell you, it did not fully come into fruition with individuals working because by that time the fabulous Westside was already in existence. Carver Park is not in Las Vegas, it's in Henderson. It started It started the city of Henderson. Basic Basic Magnesium Incorporated, Carver Park where blacks lived, and Victory Village where the white workers lived. That was the beginning of the city of Henderson. Wow. >> Yeah. That's awesome. >> Mhm. Thank you. So, we had people migrating the professionals migrating from other places, the workers coming from small towns. It was just a massive Yes. although tiny it was I call it our great migration, but it was Yes, but it was >> that's a fabulous way of stating it because it falls right into the national great migration which occurred between 1910 and 1970 where over 6 million African-Americans migrated from the South to the Northwest and West Coast. >> West. Yes, looking for opportunity. Absolutely. So, once blacks started moving to the Westside, they started a business community. And that business corridor, the main part of the business corridor. We know that we had businesses on D, E, F, and G, but the main corridor was Jackson Avenue. Wow. Yeah. Wow. Is all I have to say and that was just part one. I know. It's a beautiful presentation and I encourage the community to come out and see it. Just a quick reminder is at the Civic Center Gallery um on the Civic Center uh campus right here at 525 South Main Street. So, just FYI. Councilwoman, thank you so much. Appreciate you. It's been a great show. Always. >> Great guest and thanks for taking us out and about. We love when you take us on field trips. Love it. We'll see you again in 6 weeks. All right, everybody. Thank you so much for watching. Listen, the Councilwoman always wants to hear from you and if you would like to send her a message, you can do so. You can reach her by cell Well, actually, we'll say by phone 702-229-5443. Also, you can send her email at ward5@lasvegasnevada.gov. And don't miss our next show beginning April 13th with Mayor Pro Tem Ward One Councilwoman Brian Knudsen. You can watch City of Las Vegas TV streaming and catch posted content at City of Las Vegas TV. You can also watch us live at lasvegasnevada.gov/connect. And one more reminder, be sure to subscribe to our newsletter by scanning that QR code in the credits of the show. We appreciate you so much for watching and we will see you next time. Take care.