Albert Wisner Public Library hosts civic engagement programs

WARWICK — Every season the Albert Wisner Public Library presents a series of civic engagement programs designed to promote discussion of timely national and local topics.
The programs are free and open to members of the community.
Registration is required: online at albertwisnerlibrary.org or by calling 986-1047 ext. 3.
Community Conversation: Toward a more perfect union Join this series of discussions to discover how our diverse experiences have shaped us, divided us, and linked us. Through this dialogue, we may come to understand each other better and begin to find ways to move toward a more perfect union. Attendance at previous discussion is not required.
Discussions meet from 6 to 7:45 p.m.
Discussions are facilitated by Beverly Braxton and refreshment are served.
Wednesday, April 18: Bonds and boundaries: Looking at our community
Our common life is shaped by the ways that we come together in groups. Americans link up with each other in so many ways. Sometimes geography brings us together in a neighborhood or town. Sometimes we come together through organizations or institutions. Sometimes we choose the groups we belong to; sometimes they come with birth or shared history.
Learning how our actions or attitudes affect each other will prepare us to imagine what it would take to create a better life together.
Wednesday, May 16: Visions of America: What ties us together?
What does it mean to be part of the United States of America?
Some people hardly think about it.
Some people respond proudly "We are a city upon a hill," an example for the rest of the world. Ours is a society that is based on the idea that all people are equal in this land of opportunity.
Today, plenty of people are concerned that the union is threatened by our differences.
Others worry that too much emphasis on melding will threaten our diversity.
These conversations may not be easy. They may touch on different ideas about power and interest, about privilege and need, and about how we value each other. Talking together will be hard work, but it begins some of the most important work we can do.
Wednesday, June 13: What can we do to build a stronger community in an age of diversity?
We have talked and thought about how we describe ourselves, about how we come together or stand apart, and what it means to be an American.
What can we do with the information and insight we've gained over the course of these conversations?
How will we make that leap of imagination and work together to forge a common life that sustains all of us?
Myths and realities of U.S. Immigration: Past to current
Tuesday, April 24, 6:30 p.m.
Join Laura Garcia, Racial Justice Program Manager for the YWCA, for a look at U.S. immigration policy.
The presentation will include a discussion of key dates in American immigration legal history, the process to come to this country, and the myths and realities of U.S. immigration.
The goal is to provide insight with a uniquely fair and balanced approach. Garcia provides an engaging forum for people to express themselves with informative, up-to-date materials to prompt discussion.
A mother’s story: A daughter's dangerous descent into heroin addiction and her path to recovery
Thursday, May 10, 6:30 p.m.
It was my daughter, but it could just as easily be yours. Or your son. Or you. Addiction has some basis in heredity, but it can happen to anyone.
Even the best and brightest are no match, because you don't handle opioids - they handle you.
Come learn some of the signs that you might easily miss in the beginning.
Get information on where to go for help and the resources to help you fight an adversary like no other.
Understand that this is an epidemic now claiming 122 lives a day - some right here in our town.