Neighbor Power Indy
Workshops and Videos
Each year we highlight inspiring stories from neighbors and organizations across Indianapolis in the form of workshops and videos. The Neighbor Power Indy 2025 theme is Igniting Unity in Community.
We are now accepting workshop and video proposals! We need organizations, groups, and neighbors like you to share your empowering accomplishments and knowledge.
There are several perks to being a video creator or workshop presenter!
- Sharing your community’s story with over 300 neighbors, elected officials, and non-profit representatives
- Sharing your recorded video or workshop with your audience and network
- You will have a great opportunity to engage with neighbors through open dialogue and idea exchange
Interested? Sending us a proposal is the first step! We will need a title of your video or workshop idea and a brief description outlining what you’d like viewers to know.
Check Out 2024 Workshops and Videos
Workshops
Building Community; Turning Passion into Action – Local Vocals, Leslie and Keith Bean
Description: The story of Local Vocals started with a passion to bring people together through music. During the workshop participants heard about Local Vocals and their incredible diversity, how members engaged with one another, and how this can be a model for other projects. They shared how connecting with community members can increase emotional well-being and social cohesion, making communities stronger.
Community-Powered Infrastructure 101 – Taylor Firestine, DeJuan Washington, and Daniel Stevenson, Health by Design
Description: In recent years, the City of Indianapolis has adopted new policies supporting tactical urbanism and art in the public right-of-way—two strategies that have had proven success—resulting in an explosion of interest in “DIY” traffic calming and creative placemaking throughout the city’s neighborhoods.
With blossoming interest from residents, business owners, schools, and other community organizations, Health by Design partnered with the City of Indianapolis Department of Public Works (Indy DPW) to spread the word on this latest community resource — Community-Powered Infrastructure (CPI). This adjustment allowed for 50/50 matching grants to be made available for smaller-scale traffic calming and road safety installations.
Decoding Indianapolis’s Tactical Urbanism Permit Application – Community Heights Neighborhood Organization, Dr. Leslie Schulte
Description: Community Heights Neighborhood Organization’s goal was to create a safer 10th St for everyone. In the Summer of 2023, Community Heights used the Department of Public Works new Tactical Urbanism policy to prevent accidents, calm traffic, and create a street that was safe for pedestrians and drivers alike. This workshop will guided attendees on filling out the Department of Public Works Tactical Urbanism Permit Application.
From Sex Workers to Sunflowers -Eddie Smith and Geno Malusek
Description: The Grace Tuxedo Park neighborhood once had an area referred to as “Sex Worker Alley”, and after community efforts, is now known as “Sunflower Alley”.
This session highlighted how greening vacant lots and repairing/tearing down abandoned buildings in urban neighborhoods decreased crime and violence, as well as stress and depression in the neighborhoods around them. Grace Tuxedo Park is a shining example of how this practice works.
Grant Writing for the Non-Grant Writer – Tammy Sajdyk and Lynn Levy
Description: This grant writing workshop was geared for individuals not familiar with grant writing. The goal of the workshop was to teach residents throughout Indianapolis how to put together a basic grant to help support their community.
Indy Center for Conflict Resolution: Community Mediation – Vanessa Romero and Kenwyn Butler, Indy Center for Conflict Resolution
Description: Provided Conflict Resolution 101 to members of the community to help people with how they deal with conflict, react vs respond to conflict, and promote mediation.
Papel Picado en la Calle – BeatrizVasquezArt
Description: For many in the Latinx community, families have lived in Indiana for 3 or more generations and for some have lived here since the mid to late 1800s, yet they continue to be underrepresented in leadership roles in all aspects of society in Indiana, including in the arts.
This workshop detailed their project and invited participants to help us create 500 Papel Picados to place between the Woodruff Place Neighborhood and St.Clair Place Neighborhood on the Near East Side as part of their visibility and representation. Their goal was to connect to our traditions while living in middle America and invite non-Latinx neighbors to explore the possibilities of the ancient traditional art form of Papel Picado using this art as a connector to Latinx neighbors in Indianapolis.
Using Art and Placemaking to Build Community – Chris Smith, 1000 Words Inc.
Description: Recognizing the transformative influence of art on communities, Chris Smith explained the benefits through beautification and strengthened community bonds. They provided guidance on crafting memorable and impactful art projects with lasting effects on communities. They explored tools for organizing events and methods to assess the project’s impact on the community.
Waterways for All: Celebrate, Engage & Partner – Simona Reising, Reconnecting to Our Waterways
Description: Reconnecting to Our Waterways (ROW) is a collective impact initiative that has worked purposefully since 2012 to change the quality of life and ecology along Indianapolis waterways and surrounding neighborhoods. During their workshop, ROW celebrated how waterways across Indianapolis are working to improve their communities by embracing and valuing the river and its tributaries. They discussed how to engage new stakeholders and neighborhoods to discover, celebrate, and create genuine care around waterways as an asset.