Executive Director Izaah Knox will be on hand to discuss the six areas of influence Urban Dreams has as their focus. Those areas include:
- Outpatient Substance Abuse Treatment and OWI Services
Within their substance abuse department, they house OWI weekend diversion classes.
They help over 1,750 individuals with chemical dependency related issues. - Workforce Development
Urban Dreams offers Workforce Development programs that include the employment
programs with Broadlawns Medical Center and Wellmark Blue Cross Blue Shield. They are
working on expanding workforce development services to other businesses and industries. - Community Connectivity
This bucket of work includes all of their monthly community engagement events,
community-police relations initiatives, and public safety work. These events are free or
very low cost and focus on positive out-of-car experiences for law enforcement, meeting
neighbors, and engaging business and community leaders. - Mental Health Treatment and Services
Urban Dreams partners with Broadlawns Medical Center to provide mental health
treatment services at their 601 Forest Ave. location. - Social Mediation and Consultation
Urban Dreams provides consultation and assistance with issues involving race, education,
community conflict, and social/civil concerns with multiple agencies, including City of
Des Moines, Des Moines Police Department and Des Moines Public Schools, to name a few. - Voter Education
A non-partisan effort to increase civic engagement in areas with historically low voter
turnout, including Iowa’s first in the Nation Brown and Black Presidential Forum.
First Sunday funds will go to help cover any one of these programs’ costs. The organization’s services are timely with the Black Lives Matter movement and communication with the DM Police Department. Urban Dreams played a big part in bringing those two entities together this past summer and fall.
For more information, please visit their website: https://urbandreams.org/
CHECKS SHOULD BE MAILED TO: DMIEC, P.O. Box 30065, Des Moines, IA 50310
Checks can be written either to “URBAN DREAMS” or “DMIEC” with “First Sunday” in the
memo line. We would prefer that all checks be mailed to DMIEC. If you mail your check directly
to the organization, please inform Ed Arnold of the amount, if you feel comfortable, so the
Social Justice Committee can get an accurate count of donations.
