Consumer voice and engagement are core values of the Consumer Health Foundation. We believe that everyone, especially in low-income communities and communities of color, has to be heard and engaged to eliminate health inequities and build healthy communities. By virtue of our position as a funder, we do not often get the chance to directly talk with community members and instead rely on our grantees to inform us. This compromise has not been enough for our organization.
About five years ago, our board expressed a desire to engage more deeply and directly with communities involved in complex social change initiatives. In response, we researched and learned of a strategy that allowed us to do this – learning journeys. The purpose of learning journeys is to “allow participants to break-through patterns of seeing and listening by stepping into a different and relevant perspective and experience.” The board and staff decided to go on a day long trip in a community where one of our grantees had a strong presence.
We embarked on our first learning journey to Langley Park, an “international corridor” settled between Prince George’s County and Montgomery County in Maryland, just a few miles away from our office. The trip (consisting of a tour of the community by van and foot) was arranged by our grantee partner CASA, an organization that advocates for policies and programs that promote economic and social justice and equity.
The most powerful moment of the journey was the dialogue between community members and CHF’s board and staff. Residents told stories of the fear of displacement with the planning of the Purple Line, a new line on the Washington Metro transit system, and racial and ethnic profiling. They also told uplifting stories about the many small businesses in the community. Board members had voted on funding based on summaries of grantees’ work developed by staff, but it did not compare to experiencing the place and listening to community accounts firsthand.
Since that learning journey, CHF staff and board visited Cooperative Home Care Associates in the Bronx to learn about how 2,000 mostly Latina and African-American home health aides experience work within an organization that values cooperative decision-making and ownership.
Last Thursday, we went on yet another learning journey to Bread for the City’s Southeast Center located in D.C.’s Ward 7, a predominantly African-American community where the effects of structural racism in employment, housing and access to healthy food are evident. BFC offers food, clothing, social services, and a legal clinic at this center. We had the chance to not only tour the center but also the neighborhood where clients live and play (most residents have to venture into the city for work). We were joined by two residents who were also members of BFC’s client advocacy council, which serves as a liaison between the staff and clients, and they provided insightful commentary as we explored the neighborhood. (Learn more about CHF’s work with BFC.)
Similar to previous journeys, the most rewarding part of the day was hearing from the community leaders and staff. We heard about their experiences after attending an “Undoing Racism” training and coming back to their community transformed and eager to share what they had learned; how empowered they felt when they realized that they had rights and a powerful voice. We also heard from an organizer who told us of her experiences working with community members and their efforts to successfully pass legislation. The room erupted when community members jokingly chanted, “All we do is win!”
At CHF, we strive to be more than a funder. We work hard to be a resource and a partner, which means taking a closer look at the issues that we fund from the perspectives of people directly impacted. The learning journey, among other strategies, is one opportunity that we value in order to respectfully and responsibly engage.
Yanique Redwood is President and CEO at Consumer Health Foundation, a 2016 NCRP Impact Awards recipient. Kendra Allen is Administrative and Communications Assistant at CHF. Follow @chfprez and @CHF_News on Twitter. Photo by Bread for the City.
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