Recently, municipal
separate storm sewer system (MS4) staff at the
City of Rochester started to engage with underrepresented groups in the city, particularly non-English speakers. We asked them what prompted this effort, how it's going so far, and how
other communities can learn from Rochester's work
Q: What prompted
your MS4 staff to re-evaluate how to engage underrepresented communities?
A: Our
Environmental Education Specialist, Stephanie, attended a Metro Watershed
Partners meeting that covered serving underrepresented and diverse
communities. After just finishing up the
2018 A Litter Bit Better Event (Rochester's annual city-wide cleanup) and seeing how the previous efforts haven’t been
effective, Stephanie was inspired to re-evaluate the approach and brainstorm
new ways to reach Rochester’s underserved communities.
Q: What have you done to engage these communities?
A: The A Litter Bit
Better event is co-coordinated between R Neighbors, a local nonprofit neighborhood
organization, and the City of Rochester Public Works Department. Coordinators during the early years of the program felt that it was important
to invite community members that speak languages other than English to
participate. They worked with Intercultural Mutual Assistance
Association to
translate Save the Date cards that were placed on the web site included in the local Diversity Council's newsletter.
Q: How have
Rochester’s citizens responded to these efforts?
A: While the intentions
were good, the use of the translated Save the Date cards has been minimal. Relationships haven’t been made with members of the underrepresented
communities we're trying to reach, so it's is hard to know how
these cards are being interpreted. Also,
none of the other materials for the event were translated, which adds barriers
to participation.
Q: How are you approaching community engagement now?
A: One of the
biggest barriers is the focus on products rather than
processes. Program measurements
tend to place more importance on the number of participants and the number of
programs offered. This can lead to corners being cut and programs with low
attendance. It is more important to be
process-oriented in situations where the goal is engagement.
Take
the time to build relationships with members of your target communities. Rather than going to a
meeting and telling people what you have to offer, go to the meeting to listen
and ask, "What are your needs?" Discuss your ability to meet those needs. If your program goals don’t align with their
needs, then recognize that it isn’t the right time to work with that
community and let them know how they can reach you when they are ready. In other words, don’t force your program onto
them.
Building
relationships takes time, and it may be more than a year before a community is ready
to participate in a program you can provide. Each underrepresented community has its own values, culture, social
norms, and perceptions of the world. It
is important to try to understand the community to the best of your ability in
order to create an effective program for your target audience.
Q: What are the
next steps for the City of Rochester’s MS4 engagement?
A: Stephanie has
reached out to the Diversity Council in Rochester and is hoping to schedule a
meeting with their leadership to start the conversation. If it seems that there are communities that
would be interested in having a discussion about what needs they have for environmental
programs, then she’ll continue to have meetings (formal and informal) and see
where it goes.
Q: What are some
first steps for other MS4 staff working on community engagement?
A: Research services and groups in your area that have built relationships
with the underrepresented communities you’re trying to reach. The Minnesota Humanities Center, diversity
councils, faith-based groups, neighborhood groups, and cultural groups are good
places to start. Reach out and first set
up a meeting with the leader(s) of those groups to introduce yourself. Frame your message to focus on being
interested in learning about their needs and how you could provide programs to
serve them. Ask about trainings they
offer to learn about how to best work with communities that are different from
yours. Take your time to build relationships and think about relationships you
already have that could introduce you to others that are already working with
your target audiences.
Photo courtesy of cursedthing/Flickr
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