{"id":1121,"date":"2020-04-30T08:53:23","date_gmt":"2020-04-30T08:53:23","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/healthiertogetherpbc.com\/?page_id=1121"},"modified":"2020-08-17T17:35:25","modified_gmt":"2020-08-17T17:35:25","slug":"authentic-community-engagement","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/healthiertogetherpbc.org\/our-progress\/authentic-community-engagement\/","title":{"rendered":"Authentic Community Engagement"},"content":{"rendered":"\t\t
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Our progress<\/h2>\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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Authentic Community Engagement<\/h1>\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t
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A Participatory Approach <\/h4>\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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Meaningful engagement with individuals most impacted by health disparities is at the very heart of\u00a0Healthier\u00a0Together\u2019s\u00a0work. Arnstein\u2019s Ladder of Citizen Participation. We strive to maintain citizen power, where individuals who are most impacted and not often invited to participate are part of our decision-making and supported to grow into leadership roles.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t

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Reference: Arnstein, Sherry R. \u201cA Ladder Of Citizen Participation.\u201d Journal of the American Planning Association, Vol. 35, No. 4, July 1969.<\/em><\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t

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Engagement looks different based on the community, the context and ecological factors, and the people. Finding the right entry point and role for everyone is important. For some, developing the organizing structure is of interest. For others, implementing plans and activities is their strength. Some may want to be deeply involved in the decision-making process while others want to be informed about progress. The goal is to strike a balance between form and function to cultivate and nurture the shared purpose and share power in dynamic and generative ways.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t

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\n\t\t\t\tIt\u2019s about validating the residents who are living in the neighborhoods. You are telling them, \u2018I trust you to tell me solutions.\u2019 They are not used to it. Many come from countries where their voices don\u2019t matter. It takes a lot of education, building trust, and changing mindsets. And it takes time for them to believe that they can be part of the change. \t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t

\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tHealthier Together Project Director<\/cite>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/blockquote>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t
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It\u2019s a Matter of Trust<\/h4>\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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Creating pathways for authentic community engagement is time intensive and requires relationships built on trust. There are no short-cuts. Burnout, fatigue and frustration is common.\u00a0 There is pressure to achieve.\u00a0 It sometimes feels like it would be more expeditious to make a decision if everything did not need to go through the community.\u00a0 But without spending time on building trust and creating relationships, people\u2019s talents, insights and resources would never have come to light.\u00a0 We believe authentic community participation holds the key to authentic community change.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t

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It Takes Time<\/h4>\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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Earning trust in community engagement work takes time, consistency and reassurance. Community agencies may perceive the initiative as an outsider or a threat. They can become gatekeepers, growing protective of residents and fearful promises won\u2019t be kept and the community will be let down. Some may be challenged by eliciting the voices and opinions of people who are viewed by the agencies as \u201ctheir residents.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>

Another challenge is putting a value on resident contributions. Time as a key commodity can neither be over or underestimated. Early on in Healthier Together\u2019s work, there was an assumption that people would give of their time because of the belief that there could be something better for their communities. It was clear institutional bias. The communities and Palm Health Foundation<\/a><\/span>, recognizing the value of time, began to consider ways to support people for the contributions they were making in this work, including compensating residents through mini-grants. It is an issue we continue to explore to determine how to balance the contributions of paid staff with the often equally valuable and time-consuming work of resident leaders.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t

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\n\t\t\t\tIt took two years of people saying, \u2018you\u2019re still here and still doing the same thing, so it must be real.'\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t

\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tHealthier Together Project Director<\/cite>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/blockquote>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t
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Key Learning<\/h4>\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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We learned three valuable lessons that over time helped deepen relationships for community change work to take hold.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t

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\u2022 Understand where the community is coming from and don\u2019t take initial rejection personally.<\/p>

\u2022 Don\u2019t pretend to know everything, because you don\u2019t.<\/p>

\u2022 Try new things but be careful to recognize the low downsides and high upsides of those actions, and in particular, in relationship to the communities with histories of disenfranchisement and disadvantage.<\/p><\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t

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\u2022 Always close the communication loop from resident engagement. Share action steps and opinions and give credit to those who shared ideas.<\/p>

\u2022 Never underestimate the slightest change.<\/p>

\u2022 Acknowledge and celebrate wins. Sometimes communities are hard on themselves and don\u2019t recognize their own successes.<\/p><\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t

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\u2022 Provide space for people to engage where they can add the most value, play to their strengths, and based on the time they can give.<\/p>

\u2022 Recognize that goal-oriented people may not be comfortable in early stages.<\/p>

\u2022 Seek contributions to the effort in all forms. Meaningful contributions often are outside the traditional decision-making\/meeting spaces.<\/p>

\u2022 Offer opportunities for training and practice for roles outside of comfort zones.<\/p><\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t

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\n\t\t\t\tI thought I was going to have to give up a lot of my time to be a part of the organization. I did, but in return, the support I received helped me to grow personally and professionally to reach more people. That was the common goal.\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t

\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tNonprofit leader and mini-grant recipient<\/cite>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/blockquote>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t
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Case Studies<\/h4>\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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To learn more about authentic community engagement in practice, read our stories of impact:<\/p>

Authentic Community Engagement<\/strong><\/a><\/span><\/p>

Residents Leading Policy Change <\/strong><\/a><\/span><\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t

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Adaptive Leadership<\/a><\/h5>\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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Our progress Authentic Community Engagement A Participatory Approach Meaningful engagement with individuals most impacted by health disparities is at the very heart of\u00a0Healthier\u00a0Together\u2019s\u00a0work. Arnstein\u2019s Ladder of Citizen Participation. We strive to maintain citizen power, where individuals who are most impacted and not often invited to participate are part of our decision-making and supported to grow […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"parent":71,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"footnotes":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/healthiertogetherpbc.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/1121"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/healthiertogetherpbc.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/healthiertogetherpbc.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/healthiertogetherpbc.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/healthiertogetherpbc.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1121"}],"version-history":[{"count":26,"href":"https:\/\/healthiertogetherpbc.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/1121\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":3005,"href":"https:\/\/healthiertogetherpbc.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/1121\/revisions\/3005"}],"up":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/healthiertogetherpbc.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/71"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/healthiertogetherpbc.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1121"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}