What do community members want to know about housing?
When it comes to providing information on complex issues, such as housing, it can be hard to know where to begin. Some people seem to know a lot, some not very much and confusion feels prevalent. Click the image above to see a larger version of Half Moon Bay's housing background handout. For the past four years, Common [...]
Library’s fun, innovative programs encourage inclusion
Redwood City Public Library Director Derek Wolfgram and the entire RCPL leadership team are committed to inclusion. The first of the library's five operating principles is: "Our community is welcoming and inclusive, celebrates the diversity of our population, and enjoys a friendly, neighborly community spirit. The Redwood City Library has been using innovative programming to build relationships between various parts of [...]
Continuing to lead the way on housing
As cities throughout the Bay Area determine how to address the region’s housing needs, multi-sector collaboratives are helping to guide the way. Over the past two and a half years, Common Knowledge has walked alongside members of Home for All, a county-wide collaborative, as they work to improve the climate for housing decisions in San Mateo County. Through their Community [...]
Finding Common Ground on Housing
Communities across California are being challenged by rising housing costs. For example, in reports about recently released data from the California Realtor’s Association, only 27% of Californians have adequate income to buy a median-priced home. That’s less than half the 56% peak rate in the first quarter of 2012. In California’s San Mateo County, the rate is even lower: 14% [...]
New Tools to Navigate the News
Common Knowledge was pleased to partner with the Pacific Library Partnership (PLP) to help design the recently launched News Literacy Toolkit with resources for librarians as well as the community at large. The array of free materials was developed with a multi-level “community-driven design” approach that began with a survey and regional forum of library leaders and journalists, followed by [...]
An Update on The New Resume Project
More and more jobs are advertised online and computers are screening the resumes. Creating a resume that gets read and noticed is hard for anyone and can be especially challenging for adult literacy students. Research by the U.S. Department of Education indicates that nearly 25 percent of adults in California struggle with basic literacy skills. For these adults, searching for [...]