Building Healthy Communities through Collaborative Solutions

1. A Partnership Conference With Tom Wolff Ph.D. Racine Mayor’s Office on Strategic Partnerships Racine, WI June 2011 Building Healthy Communities through Collaborative Solutions Tom Wolff Ph.D. Tom Wolff & Associates 24 S. Prospect St. Amherst, MA. 01002 413 253 2646 tom@tomwolff.com

2. Stand and Declare Collaboration with representatives from all parts of the community is fun and easy Strongly agree Agree Neutral Disagree Strongly disagree

3. Stand and Declare • In collaborations where we share information these exchanges lead to community changes in programs, policies, and practices

4. Stand and Declare • In collaborative efforts in our community we always engage those most affected by the problem as equal partners at the table and they willingly join us and participate actively.

5. What are collaborative solutions? • Doing together that which we cannot do alone • A collaboration is a group of individuals and/or organizations with a common interest who agree to work together toward a common goal. • From S.Fawcett et.al

6. Why collaborative solutions have been encouraged? • To create social change • To encourage social innovation • Expand interventions to the whole community • To do more with less when there are budget cuts • To address limitations of the health and human service systems • To promote civic engagement • To build healthy communities

7. Concerns with Health & Human Service System • Fragmentation • Duplication of effort • Focus on deficits • Crisis Orientation • Failure to respond to diversity • Excessive professionalism • Detached from community & clients • Competition • Limited and inaccessible information • Loss of our spiritual purpose • Failure to engage those most directly affected

8. Experiences in Coalitions and Partnerships • Please describe two partnerships or coalition experiences that you have had that have been positive and two that have been negative.

9. Unique characteristic of community coalitions at their best • Holistic and comprehensive • Flexible and responsive • Build a sense of community • Build and enhance resident engagement in community life • Provide a vehicle for community empowerment • Allow diversity to be valued as foundation of the wholeness of the community • Incubators for innovative solutions to community problems

10. Collaborative Solutions 1. Engage a broad spectrum of the community • Especially those most directly affected • Celebrate racial and cultural diversity 2. Encourage true collaboration as the form of exchange

11. The Continuum of Collaboration Definitions: • Networking Exchanging information for mutual benefit. • Coordination Exchanging information and modifying activities for mutual benefit. • Cooperation Exchanging information, modifying activities, and sharing resources for mutual benefit and to achieve a common purpose.

12. The Continuum of Collaboration- cont. • Collaboration Exchanging information, modifying activities, sharing resources, and enhancing the capacityof another for mutual benefit and to achieve a common purpose by sharing risks, resources, responsibilities, and rewards. • From Arthur Himmelman

13. The Continuum of Collaboration Worksheet • Instructions: Given the definitions of networking, coordinating, cooperating and collaborating, identify the following: • With an “x” identify which functions are most frequently used in your collaborative efforts • Discuss how you might like to change this “mix” • With an “o” identify where you would like to be (which functions you would like to use more frequently, etc.) • Discuss and note what your collaborative needs to do to make this happen • Use Frequently Use Sometimes Hardly Ever Use • Networking _____________ _____________ _____________ • Exchanging Information • Coordination _____________ _____________ _____________ • Exchange Information • Alter Activities • Cooperation _____________ _____________ _____________ • Exchange Information • Alter Activities • Share Resources • Collaboration _____________ _____________ _____________ • Exchange Information • Alter Activities • Share Resources • Enhance Capacity

14. Collaborative Solutions cont. 3. Practice democracy • Promote active citizenship and empowerment 4. Employ an ecological approach that emphasizes individual in his/her setting. • Build on community strengths and assets

15. Slum Housing From John McKnight Mental Illness Crime Neighborhood Needs Map Teenage Pregnancy Drug Abuse Rat Bites Domestic Violence Lead Poisoning Welfare Dependency T r u a n c y Slum Housing Gangs Alcoholism Illiteracy Unemployment AIDS Pollution Broken families Boarded-up Buildings Dropouts Child Abuse Homelessness Abandonment

16. Primary Building Blocks: Assets and capacities located inside the neighborhood, largely under neighborhood control Secondary Building Blocks: Assets located within the community, but largely controlled by outsiders. Potential Building Blocks: Resources originating outside the neighborhood, controlled by outsiders. Neighborhood Assets Map Public Information From John McKnight Fire Depts. Libraries Public Schools Personal Income Parks Capital Improvement Expenditures Cultural Organizations H o s p i t a l s Associations of Business Public Information Individual Businesses Police Individual Capacities Vacant Bldgs., Land, etc. Religious Organizations Gifts of Labeled People Higher Education Institutions Citizens Associations Social Service Agencies Home-Based Enterprise Energy/Waste Resources Welfare Expenditures

17. Types of community assessment questions • Traditional: • What are your needs? • How can we (providers) meet those needs? • Asset-based assessment questions: • What are your community’s strengths? • How can you contribute to helping us find a solution?

18. Collaborative solutions cont. 5. Take action • Address issues of social change and power • Build on a common vision 6. Engage your spirituality as your compass for social change Align the goal and the process • “Be the change that you wish to create in the world.” (M. Gandhi)

19. Appreciation • Acceptance • Compassion • Interdependence

20. Story of the Cleghorn Neighborhood Center

21. CNC Story • Moving from social service to social change • Start with door-to-door visits • Build leadership with adults and youth • Take action - advocacy • Build community • CNC as an illustrationof the six principles

22. Factors Affecting a Coalition’s Capacity to Create Change • Having a clear vision and mission • Action planning for community and systems change • Developing and supporting leadership • Documentation and ongoing feedback on programs • Technical assistance and support • Securing financial resources for the work • Making outcomes matter • From Roussus and Fawcett

23. Working with Conflict in Coalitions • Conflict is inherent in Coalitions • It is useful to recognize different types of conflict and conflict behavior: Power, Accountability, Unity & diversity, Mixed loyalties, Division of labor, Interpersonal conflict • Expression and negotiation of conflicts is healthy coalition behavior. It leads to better results. • Use a variety of approaches to prevent, minimize and resolve conflicts From Beth Rosenthal in Wolff and Kaye From the Ground Up

24. Guiding Principles for a New Social ContractFrom The Boston Foundation • Incorporate those directly affected by policies at the heart of dialogue and community building • Value racial and cultural diversity as the foundation for wholeness • Promote active citizenship and political empowerment • Build on community strengths and assets

25. Barriers • Turf and Competition • Bad history • Failure to Act • Lack of a Common Vision • Failure to provide and create collaborative leadership • Minimal organizational structure • Costs outweigh the benefits • Not engaging self-interest

26. REACH 2010 BostonRacial and Ethnic Approaches to Community Health

27. Boston Blueprint for Action • Health Care and Public Health • Health Insurance. • Data Collection • Patient education • Health Systems – • Cultural Competence-. • Public Health Programs • Research Needs • Environment and Societal Factors • Neighborhood investment – • Jobs and economic security –. • Public awareness –. • Promotion of key community institutions –

29. Social Capital A Health Equity Framework Education Transportation Employment Food Access Socioeconomic Status Health Outcomes Racism Environmental Exposure Health Behaviors Access to Health Services Housing Public Safety

30. Ottawa Charter- Prerequisites for health • Encompassing a very broad set of variables - the fundamental conditions and resources for health are: • peace, • shelter, • education, • food, • income, • a stable ecosystem, • sustainable resources, • social justice and equity

31. Jamaica Plain Youth Health Equity Coalition • Why focus on youth • We’re doing it already! • Youth issues = community issues = family issues • Narrows the focus (but not much)

32. Jamaica Plain Youth Health Equity Collaborative - Goals • Involve residents, organizations and youth • Examine health disparities • Identify causes including social determinants • Common language and framework • Define and implement programs

33. Healthy youth have/are… • High Quality Education That Helps Them Achieve Their Dreams • Meaningful Living Wage Jobs • Safe and Connected Community Environment • High Quality and Affordable Housing • Engaged in High Quality and Comprehensive Health Care • High Quality Food Access and an Environment that Promotes Physical Activity

34. Bucket Meetings • Case Study • Employment inequities for low income African American/Latino youth – role of institutional racism • Employment Health impacts for low income African American/Latino youth • Possible Action Steps/Strategies

35. Youth Retreat August 2009 Undoing Racism Activity

36. Current Focus: Youth Employment • Job Development • Communications • Job Training

37. Youth Report 2009

38. March and Rally February 2010

39. Panel: Exemplars of Success • Presentation of successes • Presentation of struggles • Consultation Clinic on the dilemmas that local coalitions face

40. Consultation Clinics at Your table • Having listened carefully, what suggestions do you have as coaches for the coalition that just presented

41. Engaging the Community

42. Agency-Based and Community-Based Approaches

43. Agency-Based and Community-Based Approaches

44. Who might you engage? • Who else cares about your issue in your community?

45. Benefits of Involving Grassroots Organizations and Leaders • Can reach “high risk” and “hard to reach” populations • Work with “formal” and informal” leaders • Know what works in their communities • 4. Community organizations are community archivists (continued....)

46. Benefits of Involving Grassroots Organizations and Leaders (continued) • Promote ownership and participation • They are the best architects of solutions • Build local leadership • Create positive “norms” in the community • Promote community ownership

47. THE FORMAL SECTORS

48. THE INFORMAL SECTORS

49. Degrees of Involvement – Ladder of Participation Community initiated – shared decision making with agencies Community initiated and directed– agencies support Agency initiated – shared decision making Consulted and informed Assigned roles Tokenism Decoration Manipulation

50. Stakeholder Analysis • Capacities, skills, resources? • Potential role? • Self interest? Why should they join? • How will you recruit? • Barriers to recruiting? • Who? • When?