by Roo Cantada, San Juan Ridge ACT Member

Greetings from the San Juan Ridge ACT, your team for getting things done! We are excited to invite everyone out to our next meeting on WEDNESDAY MAY 30^th at 4pm the North San Juan Community Center.

We encourage folks to attend either to get involved or just to get informed about local issues. Our group has been meeting since last fall and we have made a lot of progress! We have identified three areas to focus on: homelessness, transportation, and substance abuse.  We know there is much more, but we started with those.

Our committees have been meeting with key members of the County to try to bring resources to the San Juan Ridge Area. Tom Hobbs is chair of the SJRACT Homeless committee and he has been working with Joe Nate, the new Hospitability House Coordinator, Brendan Phillips who is the Housing Development Coordinator and Homeless Outreach for Social Services as well as Keith of Sierra Roots. The county has formed a team to address the homeless issue and Tom and his committee are working directly with them. Most importantly, the entire team will be coming to all food bank distributions to help sign folks up for much needed resources. Tom and Tony Mociun are working on a long term plan to submit to the county team to address long term solutions and also working towards a clean-up day in NSJ.

The SJR ACT Transportation committee is working towards reestablishing a regular public transit route that will serve the SJR area and provide service to Grass Valley and Nevada City.  They are working closely with the Transportation Commissioner and Transit Manager to provide data and a cohesive business plan by the end of July. A survey will be available and we will be polling at areas such as the Sierra Super Stop, Mother Truckers and the Food Banks.  Keep an eye out for us!

The SJR ACT is just one group that is needing participation and feedback. The Lions Club of North San Juan is in dire need of new members. This locally run chapter meets on the 2^nd Thursday of every month at 6:30 in the NSJ fire hall. This small local chapter, which provides eyeglasses and other assistance to our community, needs your help to keep going!  This Club is at an exciting time, full of change and possibilities for the future, all that is missing is YOU!  It is groups like this that provide valuable partnerships for grants and other county funds thus increasing our chances of bringing more resources up the Ridge. By having members who care about the community, it ensures that these max resources can be utilized. Please consider joining the Lion’s Club.

We hope to continue this amazing progress with the election of our new Supervisor in the fall. There is still much to do and we hope that you can join us in helping to make the San Juan Ridge better for all!