2018. A coalition of the willing, or another well-intentioned attempt to get Greensboro organizations to agree. Before, in the collapse of Lutheran Services and in the middle of the Great Recession, with families suffering, we couldn’t. Then, with the shooting death of refugees like Chieu Di Thi Vo, we couldn’t. Maybe this time, in the face of Trump’s arrests and deportations.
March , 2018
Hello, everyone!
RING Three Years Later (2013)
March , 2018
Hello, everyone!
I am sure that everyone in the room would agree that
(1) We can do a better job working together.
(2) No organization has the capacity or knowledge to "do it all".
(3) "Doing our best" often means a continuation of "doing it alone", that is, in silos.
(4) We would work together if we accepted that our communities, families and individuals would be better off if we worked together.
(5) We would work together if it could prevent another individual being jailed or another family being busted up.
As we head into the next meeting, I also hope folks have a historical perspective, an awareness of past and current episodes that affect our communities, families and individuals we work with. These include past banding-together efforts.
The Curious Case of Lutheran Family Services (2011)
In other (quieter) times, a slow, steady and deliberate progression by us towards collaboration would and should be the manner in which we move forward. However, I believe there is urgency to our work — and the failure to come together will reflect the individual and collective failure of area organizations to agree to disagree and move forward.
Above all, a level of knowledge about each organization's mission and activities must be a given, not a ramp-up towards eventual understanding and cooperation. If parties are not aware of such things then I urge them to meet in smaller meetings or consult the Web for details. Big meetings are poor forums for trust-building. I am happy to find the time to meet in small groups. These also have the advantage of flexibility in times and locations which are easier to work out among ourselves.
Schools, government, higher ed and business can no longer be regarded as "stakeholders" outside the circle of "partners" who have traditionally concerned themselves with refugee, immigrant and newcomer communities.
I agree 100% that trust is critical. I know about half the folks in the room and trust they've got my back as I've got theirs. We disagree plenty. The nature of this work makes us used to uncertainty and working outside our comfort zones. There are many ways organizations can adhere to their missions or observe funding restrictions or other mandates and still be in the room.
Others in other parts of the state and country have found a way. So should we.
