Fostering Community Engagement: The Boise Experience Supported by - PowerPoint PPT Presentation

Fostering Community Engagement: The Boise Experience Supported by the Office of Refugee Resettlement (ORR/ACF/DHHS) May 16, 2013

Lear ning Objectives  Understand some tangible benefits of broad-based community collaboration  Learn about real-life strategies for engaging leaders from refugee groups and receiving communities  Learn about a practical, replicable and scalable approach to strategic planning that can promote community ownership, solidarity and support  Identify ways to measure success

Outline and Overview Jan Reeves, Idaho Office for Refugees Webinar Outline 1. Initiating a Strategic Planning Process 2. Engaging Community Leaders — Theresa McLeod 3. Refugee Leadership Engagement — Kituta Asimba 4. Initiating and Sustaining the Effort — Sherry Dyer

Why We’re Having this Disc ussion  The Question of Capacity  The Need to Know  Inclusiveness as a Learned Behavior

The Question of Capacity  Hot topic in resettlement circles  Some states and municipalities working to restrict resettlement  Refugee advocates wary of lowering arrivals  Capacity is always dynamic, never static  Capacity is about quality

The Need to Know  Who are these refugees?  Why are they moving into my community?  How will they change my life?

Inclusiveness is a Learned Behavior  Overcoming fear of the “other”  Breaking the cycle — reaching out to youth

Part I: Introduction to the “Boise Model”  The Problem: The Perfect Storm  The Attitude: “Never let a serious crisis go to waste”  The Approach: Convene, Listen, Prioritize and Educate  The Result: Strategic Plan to Grow Community Resources  The Challenge: Keeping It Alive

Capacity Crisis of 2008 (Boise)  Unprecedented numbers of refugee arrivals  Employment opportunities vanishing  Arriving groups needing more support  Funding for refugee resettlement lagging  Key stakeholders asking hard questions about capacity

Response to Capacity Crisis  Recognize need and opportunity to establish stronger and more widespread partnerships in support of refugees  IOR initiated regular community-wide meetings  Boise Mayor convenes multiple stakeholder meetings  Planning group emerges and lays groundwork for the full strategic planning process  Focus on growing resources, not limiting arrivals

The Plan Itself  Purpose: Strengthen the supports for successful refugee resettlement in the greater Boise area  Six plans within a plan  Education, Employment, Health Care, Housing, Transportation and Social Integration  High level goals for each section  Objectives  Action steps  Responsibility/Partners  Progress Reporting

Fundamental Principles  People are looking for tools to help them succeed  When it comes to information, more is better  To have a partner, you need to be a partner  Every community is unique  Tailor approach to your fit your own circumstances  Replicate , adapt, modify, or reject  Community ownership makes the whole thing organic

Lessons Learned  Educate and inform, and educate some more  Reframe the dialogue  Be the best partner you can be in order to bring people together

More Lessons Learned  Talk to the “Uninitiated” and “Uninvolved”  Better yet, let your partners do the talking  Keep up the dialogue with your partners, too  Push ownership of refugee resettlement out of the “resettlement system”  Let people do what they know how to do  Help them to do it successfully with refugees  The Result: Greater community ownership  Show how capacity building benefits the entire community

Part II: Engaging Community Leaders Theresa McLeod Office of the Mayor, City of Boise 1. Mayor’s Strategic Vision 2. Engagement of City and Community Partners

Tomorrow’s Leaders

City Government Priorities  Mayor Dave Bieter’s strategic vision for Boise:  Making Boise the most livable city in the country  Ensure a safe, healthy, livable community  Promote a strong and diverse local economy  Foster an environment where learning, the arts, culture and recreation thrive  This vision allows the City to evaluate how we are delivering services to all residents

Involvement of City Partners  Initial engagement of Boise City staff  IOR sponsored Community Coordination meeting (2008)  Convened internal City team meeting with refugee agencies  How do we deliver City services to our newest arrivals?  Housing & Community Development, Library, Parks & Recreation, Public Safety, Arts and Culture

Community Partners  At the same time that the City was evaluating its service delivery, community partners were concerned about their ability to provide services to refugees  Many partners were unaware of the resettlement process and were eager to learn in the midst of the economic crisis  Mayor needed to respond to community concerns (economy, homelessness, etc.)  Plan also benefits other community populations City serves (seniors, youth)

Leadership  Strong leadership needed to keep partners engaged over long term (professional facilitation, incorporate effort in speeches)  Internal departments: Look at refugees as customers – how can we best deliver services given barriers of language, transportation, employment limitations.  External partners: What is their engagement? Capacity building?

Challenges  How do you maintain momentum as other priorities emerge?  How do you keep leaders at the table?  When elected officials are not willing to step up, who will?

Leadership: Evolving Opportunities  Mayor’s Business Retention Visits  Small businesses owned by immigrants and refugees  Attend Partner Events Boise Example: META, CCG, ANA, Artisans4Hope  Mayor may not know clients but likely knows board  members and executive leadership  Confirms community support and adds energy to mayoral leadership and the City’s involvement.  Celebrate Successes State of the City (refer to last webinar)  Citizenship ceremonies 

Boiseans at Work and Play

Part III: Refugee Leadership Engagement Kituta Asimba, El-Ada Community Action 1. Importance of refugee involvement 2. Benefits to refugees and to the entire community 3. Getting refugees engaged in the planning process and implementation

Involving Refugees  Refugees must be part of the solution to their integration issues  Being part of the conversation is the way to be part of the solution

Benefits to Refugees and Community  Goal of the Plan is to improve the condition of resettled refugees  Community has a vision and a compass to follow  Refugees will be able to be more productive and contributing  When refugees are successful, the entire community becomes healthier

How to Get Refugees Involved  Mobilize ethnic community leaders  Create an encouraging cultural climate  Emphasize success in implementation so ethnic based organizations gain confidence in the Plan  Having the Plan is not the end of the conversation; it’s the beginning of the solution

Part IV: Initiating and Sustaining the Effort Sherry Dyer, Implementation Coordinator 1. What it Takes to Get Going 2. The Plan’s in Place: What Now? 3. Expanding the Circle

Strong Resettlement is the Foundation  Important to begin in an environment of collaboration among the resettlement organizations within the community.  Develop involvement and commitments of the resettlement leaders as key contributors to the planning and execution process .  Boise Example: Network Charter

Getting to Work Developing the Group  Clearly define your process  Seek widespread community involvement  Engagement will nurture a sense of ownership  Keep everyone fully informed  Build in understanding/acceptance of “continuous process”

Laying the Groundwork for Success Begin with the End in Mind  Engage a skilled facilitator  Establish a Planning Team  Encourage long term thinking & strategic focus  Get organized for the work  Meet with leaders in the community  Select & invite participants  Fully educate all involved  Gain commitment

Keeping It Alive and Continuous  Ongoing coordination of the process has to be someone’s job  Establish a regular meeting protocol  Measure and document your progress  Communicate clearly and maintain accountability  Continuous process improvement

Expanding the Circle Pushing it Out to the Community  Continuous outreach to engage new partners  Release the reins  Continuously responsive to community priorities  Celebrate success!

Process to Outcome What Gets Planned Gets Done! Purpose, Process, People

For More Information Web City of Boise website www.cityofboise.org/Departments/Mayor/index.aspx Idaho Office for Refugees Website www.idahorefugees.org/Home/Community_Plan/ Email Jan Reeves, Idaho State Refugee Coordinator jreeves@idahorefugees.org Theresa McLeod, Office of the Mayor, City of Boise tmcleod@cityofboise.org Sherry Dyer, Implementation Coordinator sherry@sherry-dyer.com