Impulse triggers response: Planting seeds

......In the Fall of 1993, I was an unemployed mother of four struggling to make ends meet after an unforeseen circumstance impacted our lives. Feeling isolated and alone with no family to turn to, I searched for help and discovered I didn’t fit the profile and didn’t need to be fixed. In lieu of applying for public assistance, I organized my neighbors into a support network based on the notion that poverty would not affect our quality of life as long as our family was connected to people who cared about us.
...... Local agencies couldn’t provide me with what I was looking for, so I asked some neighbors about getting together on a weekly basis to share a meal, have some fun, learn about issues affecting our lives and help each other out when needed. One of my neighbors, Bea Wilson really liked the idea, so we decided to organize a neighborhood gathering at the elementary school and opened it up to anyone who wanted to attend.
......It took us three months to cut through the red tape and convince the principal to host the first neighborhood gathering. She provided us with a place to meet for six weeks, but wouldn’t authorize use until we provided her with a list of topics for the meetings. We explained the attendees would decide on the topics and speakers based on their interests. However, she had other ideas of what parents should know. When it was clear she was not going to budge, I submitted a calendar of the six topics she suggested without listing the speakers.
......Twenty-one families attended the first neighborhood gathering at Frank Love Elementary in Bothell, Washington. All the parents signed in, completed a checklist that inventoried their strengths and assets and agreed to share their information so they could be connected. About half in attendance were interested in gleaning information and socializing. They were caring people who shared their stories and had some great ideas. The other neighbors’ lives had been impacted by alcoholism, domestic violence, job lay-offs, health issues, parenting frustrations and vandalism. Even my neighbor, who would have dinner with us on occasion, never indicated that anything was wrong. It was in this moment that I understood the value of creating sacred space where magic could happen.
......The families got tips from local agencies and accessed resources to better their situation. At the end of the six weeks the ten neighbors remaining agreed to meet monthly at different homes and organize activities that were fun for everyone. Our lives got busy and we stopped organizing gatherings, but the bonds between us were strong. From time to time we’d call each other to check in or asked someone for a helping hand. It felt comforting to know people cared.

Passionate action: Take responsibility for what you love

......Organizing the neighborhood gathering was more complicated than we anticipated. We hoped local agencies would be more receptive to having us organize a support network involving their clients, but they declined. Why was it so hard to volunteer and make what we thought was a valuable contribution to our community? Oh how naïve we were back then - but this brings up a pertinent point. Many people do not understand how social service and health care agencies function and the restrictions placed upon professionals by policies and procedures, confidentiality laws and professional ethics boards.
......Sitting around a coffee table one afternoon with Bea tossing around some ideas, we decided to start-up an organization called the Family Support Network (FSN). We chose the name because our intension was to grow an extended family who supported one another and networked resources. This is what we felt happen to us at our gathering.
......We knew people were capable of helping each other if they just had a way of getting connected. Our mission was to network neighbors to together who shared our vision and values to strengthen families and community. Within a few months after filing paperwork, assembling a board of directors, and setting up an office in my basement, the Family Support Network was born. Without a gathering place, we began signing up Good Neighbors and inventorying their strengths and assets. I volunteered as the Community Coordinator and organized promotional materials and signed up Good Neighbors. Bea met with local agencies and helped organize neighborhood gatherings at schools, churches and community centers. We published the “FSN Happenings” newsletter and distributed it into the community through the Good Neighbors to promote the FSN and keep everybody informed of our progress.
......As requests for assistance came in, Both Bea and I connected Good Neighbors together and to resources in the FSN Resource Treasury as needed. Good Neighbors provided assistance in person and over the phone. We averaged 40 matches a week and tracked what services the Good Neighbors were providing others that first year of operation. The Good Neighbors mostly listened and provided a lot of encouragement. They also helped people move, fixed cars, fixed toilets, repaired electrical wiring, mowed lawns, babysat, shuttled people to appointments and airports, gave health tips, and invited people home for dinner.
.....The activities organized by Good Neighbors attracted more people into the network. Not only did they host neighborhood gatherings, but the outdoor types organized rafting trips, campouts, bowling nights and picnics.. The home business types hosted makeovers, candle parties and health fairs. Bingo nights, paint ball competitions and dances were organized by youth. The city funded neighborhood improvement projects initiated by Good Neighbors. At the end of the year we gathered all the Good Neighbors together for a big FSN Christmas Party where we celebrated accomplishments and told stories. There was an abundance of wisdom from our experiences there that night and socio-economic barriers seemed to disappear. It felt like a family.
In our third year things began happening unexpectedly. Our story about the FSN was published on the front page of the Seattle Times in an article entitled: “A substitute for welfare? Volunteer help a better way?” The story raised awareness about our effort across the state. By the end of the year we had over 300 Good Neighbors in the network. Our goal of being an all-volunteer, self- self-sustained organization funded by private contributions was achieved.

Courage to change: Open to outcome

......Concerns were raised about the legitimacy of an organization with no paid staff. Others felt Good Neighbors were inadequately trained. Our initial thought was how crazy that sounds – training neighbors how to be neighborly? However, when we actually thought about it we realized there was more truth about this observation than fiction. Some people are too opinionated, controlling and judgmental. There are nosey people; people who want to fix everything; people who are well intentioned, but don’t follow through; and gossipy people who can’t keep their mouth shut. There is also the issue about liability – whose responsible if someone gets hurt? In our infancy, these were not major concerns, however, our effort had grown and agencies were eager to tap into our pool of resources. It was time to address these safety issues to build our credibility.
......The Family Advocate volunteer was conceived out of these concerns. Family Advocates were trained to provide higher levels of volunteer service to agency referrals. They provided direct services and recruit the help of Good Neighbors when needed.
......The term Family Advocate was used because they would be mentors and advocate on behalf of families, friends, and neighbors. We anticipated agencies and businesses would be more responsive to Family Advocates than to Good Neighbor volunteers and our hunch was correct.
......Family Advocates were recruited from culturally diverse community sectors to expand the array and access to culturally relevant resources. This made the FSN a more valuable asset to the community and triggered a paradigm shift in our approach to Family Advocate recruitment and training. Agencies began designating staff to be trained as Family Advocates and negotiated inter-agency agreements with the FSN for on-site trainings. The fees collected for the Family Advocate trainings paid for materials, facilitator fees and liability insurance.
......To accentuate their capacity, Family Advocates would be authorized to obtain resources from local businesses in the form of vouchers and free services on behalf of those they serviced. This new aspect amplified the scope of service offered by the FSN.

Cultivate Partnerships: Get plugged in

......The King Co. Chapter of the Red Cross, Children’s Home Society, and Child Protective Services partnered with the FSN, as well as local business, schools and churches. FSN Partners offered free space for gatherings, helped recruit Good Neighbors; provided materials about programs and services; made referrals; and made presentations at neighborhood gatherings.
......FSN partners began referring clients to the FSN who would be woven into the support system. We provide peer support for the most part, but on occasion, the Seattle/King County Chapter of the American Red Cross would refer disaster victims to FSN for assistance. In turn we would place them into the homes of specially trained Family Advocates because they were not coping well on their own. Child Protective Services (CPS) used Family Advocates to assist with parenting classes and supervise visitations of children in foster care when there was a shortage of staff.

Enrichment Experience: Collective Consciousness

The Family Advocate training curriculum was developed based the experiences of Good Neighbors and the feedback received from focus groups representing the broader community. We incorporated the materials provided by professionals such as personal inventory tools, characteristics of healthy communities and Mazlow’s hierarchy of needs. The training was 16 hours and was held at various locations around the community. Each Family Advocate’s strengths and assets were assessed and learned peer support guidelines, how to prioritize needs, access resources, and make referrals. A foundation was laid providing Family Advocates with a basic understanding of the root causes of societal problems and the characteristics of healthy communities. They signed agreements to abide by policies and procedure and personal safety guidelines and completed background checks for certification.
......It was clear the FSN’s approach to volunteerism was unique due to the community building aspects of the approach. FSN volunteers shared a spirit of camaraderie that set the FSN apart from other organizations. The FSN guiding principals of unity, equality, inclusivity, reciprocity, mutual respect, partnership, participation and service were incorporated into the curriculum. Family Advocates learned the principles of Family Support, Asset-Based Community Development, Service Learning, and transformative leadership that underpinned the FSN’s community building practices. Family Advocates were asked in the trainings what unique contributions they would make to enrich the lives of others. This information was posted on the FSN website and published in the monthly Happenings newsletter that was distributed to the community. These commitments, no matter how big or small, was what grew the FSN’s capacity and benefited the broader community.

Documentation: Tracking outcomes

......To keep track of all the matches, contributions and volunteer activities, Community Weaver software was developed and used for volunteer tracking and management. Volunteers completed activity logs that were compiled into reports that measured outcomes and the flow of referrals between formal service delivery systems and the FSN grass roots system of support. This system enabled us to track: demographics, type and frequency of participation; type and scope of services rendered, and total volunteer hours served. The information was useful in recruiting and engaging more volunteers; further developing FSN partnerships; leveraging changes in public policies, generate funding from private sector to grow community capacity and validating benefits of Community Weaving practices.

Impact on individuals:

......There are many ways people were impacted by the Community Weaving aspects of the Family Support Network. They were impacted in varying degrees, in many different ways and on many different levels. The prevailing outcome reported by participants was they experienced a positive change in the life and that they felt supported. The FSN environment fostered resiliency among participants who completed surveys that they had experienced increases in their sense of hope, purpose and belonging.
......One of the parents from the Parenting Class organized by Child Protective Services expresses the impact a Family Advocate had on her life in a letter. Gayle was a meth addict who had her 2-year-old son removed from her custody the year previous year. She completed treatment and had been clean and sober for a year when she started the Parenting Class. She writes:

......Hi. My name is Gayle. I met Pam at the Parenting Class my caseworker told me to attend. After the class I get to visit my son Delon which I always look forward to. In times past I would have to wait from three to four months to see him because my caseworker was either on vacation or I was assigned a new caseworker.

......When I first met Pam I thought she was a case aid. I was surprised to find out she was a volunteer who was helping me in class and supervising my visits with my son. I was surprised when she invited me to a FSN dinner party at a family advocate’s home for one of my weekly visitations with my son. At first I was nervous but then I started meeting people they accepted me and my son, like I was a part of the group, like I belonged there. Pam invited me to her daughter’s birthday party for my next visit. It felt more like a friend inviting me over than an “official” visitation.

......I feel much better about myself and I want to get back on my feet so I can get my son back. I miss my son so much. I need him in my life. I will do whatever it takes to get him back in my custody.

......Pam took me apartment hunting and I thought that was really cool. She gave me the phone number of a family advocate who helped me look for a job. I am beginning to see the light at the end of the tunnel. I feel better now than I have felt in a long time because I feel there is someone who really cares. I hope to continue to be supported by the Family Support Network.

......I am looking forward and thinking it would be great to become a family advocate and help somebody else someday, like the network has helped me. Happiness is the outcome of it all.

......Thank you for your support,

......Gayle.

......Impact on Community

......Between 1993 and 1996, this grassroots volunteer mobilization strategy grew to over 800 pairs of helping hands across five states. FSN volunteers spearheaded change initiatives, started-up small businesses, responded to requests for assistance, and created furniture warehouses, childcare co-ops, clothing exchanges, and community gardens.

Accomplishments

Expect the Unexpected

......Agencies sent both clients and staff to be certified as Family Advocates. This impacted the professional/client relationship in the FSN environment because all participants were viewed as equals. The only difference was the knowledge and skill sets of the individuals. The guiding principles offered by licenses professional case managers, counselors and social workers enhanced the FSN’s scope of service delivery because professionals mentored the Family Advocates to increase their knowledge, strengths and assets. This was a tremendous resource for FSN volunteers and boosted the competency of the volunteers and credibility of the organization.

Do-overs

Reflection on experience

......The evolving FSN model was fostered by the board’s management style and openness to outcome. By filtering feedback through critical reflective practice the board was responsive to the feedback received from FSN volunteers and the agencies who supported the effort. Training evaluations guided the refinement of volunteer training curriculum that evolved into a leadership training for agency staff. A local community college granted 16 hours of continuing education upon completion of the Family Advocate Certification Training.