Neighborhood Engagement – A balanced approach

I love it when people give back to their community, especially in neighborhoods. It’ a great way to connect with families, get to know neighbors and neighborhood leaders and you get to find out what the “real” needs are as well as understand what people truly want for their neighborhoods. Working in communities, I’ve seen resurgence in helping out neighborhoods from clean-ups and graffiti removal to starting community gardens and hosting potlucks or block parties. In Austin and across America, more people are involved in “neighboring.” The Volunteering In America report (link: www.volunteeringinamerica.gov/TX/Austin) shows that more people are working with neighbors to fix a problem and attending community meetings, but you don’t need a report to show you how people are engaged in Austin; just go outside and see for yourself!

Helping out neighborhoods is a great way to strengthen communities and this type of engagement can be successful if you use a balanced approach; balancing passion, needs and aspirations.

• Take one part passion: what you care about – what drives you to create positive change
• Add needs to the mix: what is the real need – the critical issues
• Finish it with aspiration (or start with it!): what are the aspirations for the people living in neighborhoods – what do they care about?

We often times, just think of our passions and the need and we forget to ask what neighbors care about (I confess, I’m guilty of doing this in the past). Taking the time to ask people why they’re involved or what issues are important to them builds bridges and trust, especially in low-income neighborhoods. Ever wonder why some projects work in some neighborhoods and not in others? Part of the reasons projects don’t get traction or even work is because neighbors weren’t involved in the process; they weren’t asked for their input and so people don’t come out to support the effort. This is why it’s important to take the time to ask people what they care about; what their aspirations are for their neighborhoods and getting them involved. Taking the time to balancing these three approaches will help not only you with your project but neighborhoods in the long-run.

How will you incorporate this approach in your next project or maybe you have already? What did you learn? Pass it forward!

Adelante,

Mando

Director, Community Engagement – United Way Capital Area/Hands On Central Texas

VP, Engagement – Cultural Strategies

armando.rayo@unitedwaycapitalarea.org

www.unitedwaycapitalarea.org

www.handsoncentraltexas.org

www.cultural-strategies.com

www.elmundodemando.com

Thank you Mando, we look forward to this partnership!