What are your thoughts on the Small Box Discount Store Overlay that is being proposed for areas within District 1?
I'm 35 years old, a mother of two amazing kids and a professional blessed to train students and teachers everyday. I am also a business owner. I founded Teach Not Punish Family Resource Center to educate and empower North Tulsa families.
I wasn't always the person I am today. At one time I was a 19 year old single mother growing up in North Tulsa. As a young mother I had knowledge about health and wellness, but I didn't understand the importance of living a healthy lifestyle. For 7 years My husband I, undereducated and unprepared parents, did our best to raise our daughter in our North Tulsa community. Like many young parents, we regularly filled our cabinets and stocked our Christmas trees with food and toys from the Family Dollar behind our house.
Now, my husband and I educated and aware of the importance of healthy eating and the danger of exposure to lead products are committed to a lifestyle that reflects such awareness. Unfortunately, our 16 year old daughter still suffers from the lack of awareness and limited access that led her parents to poor choices during her developmental years. We've spent many years trying to undo unhealthy habits that we exposed her to but still she is quick to eat junk food before healthy foods if we don't monitor her closely to reinforce good eating habits.
I'm not advocating that people stop shopping at dollar stores but families need to have more options. Options and access to shop at other places for food, gifts and household items. Right now that isn't a reality in North Tulsa, so families are just using what they have. The affects of the lack of access of quality food sources are evident. We're losing our lives do to a lack of access to basic needs. We don't need more processed foods, we need healthy options to ensure we can provide the nourishment our families deserve and toys that are educational not detrimental to our kids health.
My family and I moved back to Tulsa last year to help families like ours. Families lead by young mothers and fathers lacking the resources and access needed to live healthy lives. We saw the need and wanted to help families learn to live better, healthier lives. So, to hear that yet another dollar store is being built flies completely against the mission and vision of TNP. I see no need to increase access to unhealthy, deadly products to the families in our community. Additional dollar stores in North Tulsa only serves to further oppress a community already struggling to support its largely economically disadvantaged population. There are far better ways to create economic development in our community and I'd venture to say that we all know that.
We need resources that are fruitful to our future, not resources that perpetuate the narrative "if you knew better you'd do better."
Better options will lead to healthier, longer, more productive lives for the citizens of this community.
Thank you
Please choose which option best describes your opinion on the proposed overlay district.
I support the proposed overlay.
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What are your thoughts on the Small Box Discount Store Overlay that is being proposed for areas within District 1?
I'm 35 years old, a mother of two amazing kids and a professional blessed to train students and teachers everyday. I am also a business owner. I founded Teach Not Punish Family Resource Center to educate and empower North Tulsa families.
I wasn't always the person I am today. At one time I was a 19 year old single mother growing up in North Tulsa. As a young mother I had knowledge about health and wellness, but I didn't understand the importance of living a healthy lifestyle. For 7 years My husband I, undereducated and unprepared parents, did our best to raise our daughter in our North Tulsa community. Like many young parents, we regularly filled our cabinets and stocked our Christmas trees with food and toys from the Family Dollar behind our house.
Now, my husband and I educated and aware of the importance of healthy eating and the danger of exposure to lead products are committed to a lifestyle that reflects such awareness. Unfortunately, our 16 year old daughter still suffers from the lack of awareness and limited access that led her parents to poor choices during her developmental years. We've spent many years trying to undo unhealthy habits that we exposed her to but still she is quick to eat junk food before healthy foods if we don't monitor her closely to reinforce good eating habits.
I'm not advocating that people stop shopping at dollar stores but families need to have more options. Options and access to shop at other places for food, gifts and household items. Right now that isn't a reality in North Tulsa, so families are just using what they have. The affects of the lack of access of quality food sources are evident. We're losing our lives do to a lack of access to basic needs. We don't need more processed foods, we need healthy options to ensure we can provide the nourishment our families deserve and toys that are educational not detrimental to our kids health.
My family and I moved back to Tulsa last year to help families like ours. Families lead by young mothers and fathers lacking the resources and access needed to live healthy lives. We saw the need and wanted to help families learn to live better, healthier lives. So, to hear that yet another dollar store is being built flies completely against the mission and vision of TNP. I see no need to increase access to unhealthy, deadly products to the families in our community. Additional dollar stores in North Tulsa only serves to further oppress a community already struggling to support its largely economically disadvantaged population. There are far better ways to create economic development in our community and I'd venture to say that we all know that.
We need resources that are fruitful to our future, not resources that perpetuate the narrative "if you knew better you'd do better."
Better options will lead to healthier, longer, more productive lives for the citizens of this community.
Thank you
Please choose which option best describes your opinion on the proposed overlay district.