VOICES FOR THE COMMON GOOD Community Conversations Key Findings United Way of Southern Nevada March, 2012
“Just always believe in yourself, and not having low self-esteem, because having low self-esteem is going to stop you…always having faith, always believe in yourself…I am going to be better than that.” -Sixteen-year old boy
Methodology
Adhering to the Harwood research plan, yet with some specific adaptations, United Way of Southern Nevada embarked on five “Community Conversations” with unique audiences, all of whom face community challenges in different but powerful ways. Given the sensitivity of the topic matter, respondents were divided up into groups with their peers, resulting in an open and comfortable dialogue.
Adaptations to the Guide were made in particular for the youth audience, so as to encourage this group to visualize and use color, shape, words, and pictures to explain their ideal community and the challenges in attaining such a life. The two youth groups embarked on a collaging exercise which very powerfully told the story of their hopes and dreams for their future.
The adult groups were broken into 2-3 person teams to generate community-wide solutions. Groups contained six to eight participants and were 90 minutes in duration and were divided as outlined below.
February 15, 2012
At-Risk Youth, ages 15-18
February 16, 2012
At-Risk Youth, ages 12-15
February 22, 2012
Non-Profit Leadership
February 23, 2012
Non-Profit Leadership
February 29, 2012
Community Leaders
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Key Findings
All five groups were eager participants in these conversations. Many asked how the findings would be used to impact future agendas or efforts in the community. The youth groups, in particular, were exceptionally grateful for the opportunity to be heard. While these kids have the benefit of the environment offered by the Boys and Girls Clubs, and articulate the appreciation they have for the Club, they felt that these groups engaged them in a different way. They were able to dream, vent, share, imagine, and generate solutions of how their worlds could be better.
I.
The Ideal Community
This area of discussion yielded markedly different results. Our youth eagerly jumped into the exercise asking for more time to complete their collages demonstrating the care that they took in creating them. At the core of their ideal community were basic human needs, such as safety, education, peace, a clean environment, a good job and a nice home. A young man bluntly told us that he simply wanted a world where, “I don’t fear getting jumped every time I leave the Club.” Another young woman pined for a new and different neighborhood, for a chance for her two brothers to get off drugs and her family to have a new, clean start. This same young woman also said that for her, “a nice office job where I wouldn‟t have to get my hands dirty,” was the epitome of a good life.
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These kids knew the value of a primary, secondary and post-secondary education, and could easily articulate that a college education was the key to achieving success. Mature beyond their years, they were adept at assigning higher order values to their ideal communities, like a place with no money, equality, diversity, opportunity and freedom.
Several also identified the need to have legal status, and placed great value on having a social security number which would allow the fruits of their efforts in school to be optimized. “Why bother studying and doing well when without a social I‟ll never be able to have a good job?” It was apparent that these kids without legal status held it in in very high regard, and would do anything to become legal so that they could more effectively contribute to their own lives and the productivity of their community.
Interestingly while some of the adults groups talked about youth desires for a glorified stereotypical “NBA” lifestyle, that was not a common theme heard among our youth respondents, perhaps reflecting a gap in reality versus perception.
Finally, it is important to note that these young people were remarkable in their capacity to dream and desire a better life full of life’s simple pleasures, health, safety, family, and a career. There was so little apathy felt from them.
Similar themes emerged from both the adult non-profit groups. These respondents cited a variety of essential elements of their ideal community, yet what was most universally articulated and most emphatically felt was Voices for the Common Good 4
the need for a strong, effective and supportive educational system. With Nevada ranked nationally among the lowest in our educational system, it comes as no surprise that these respondents, working on the front lines with youth around a variety of needs, identified education as the most important element of their community.
The need for strong, supportive parents was also talked about at great length, as many felt a good education would only be effective with parents who both contributed and valued education. Another key theme which emerged was a sense of community, which could only be created without walls and with unity towards a common mission, “A place where the neighborhood helps groom and grow the children.”
Many harkened back to a simpler time, whether it be a Mayberry or an Old Las Vegas. A resounding theme was the ability to have equity, to have equity distributed among resources, for all people to be valued equally, for there not to be the “have’s and have-not’s.”
Our respondents had difficulty talking about their ideal community without immediately going to the obstacles preventing such a community. The majority easily imagined their Utopia, yet felt there were countless barriers preventing us from creating it. Only perhaps two people felt that we were on the “right track” to succeeding, though we’d never achieve Utopia. “We recognize the problems, the issues, and I think we are doing everything we can to solve them. Solving them and creating Utopia is probably never going to happen.”
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Our Community Leader group articulated their ideal community differently, perhaps given their different level of community involvement. Utopia was defined as a place with lots of opportunity, namely employment diversity, a trained workforce, and a healthy housing market.
Focused leadership was also mentioned as a key to a healthy community. This is a theme that was heard throughout the adult groups, all coming back to silos and an uncoordinated, competitive environment in which nonprofits competed for dollars and political officials worked on differing agendas. These groups also came back to community and neighborhoods, a simpler time like the 1950s or Mayberry, where, “Neighbors knew each other,” where “we protected each other; we didn‟t lock the doors…you trusted people.” Education was not identified initially as a key theme in this discussion.
II.
Obstacles preventing us from achieving the Ideal Community
As cited before, all respondents could easily access their impressions of why the ideal community would be difficult to achieve. Many had difficulty isolating the discussion around their ideal community without connecting it instantly to the reasons why it would not be attainable. Only for the youth groups was it felt that the exercise of imagining a Utopia was a joyful, energizing exercise.
For our youth, most cited issues at home as the key factor preventing a better future. While they did not openly say “parents,” many issues they did cite came back to life at home. They talked about disconnected parents, working two jobs, with many children to feed and care for, who arrive home Voices for the Common Good 6
at night exhausted and in a bad mood. They discussed parents who could not find the time to spend just a few minutes a day talking or reflecting on the day’s occurrences.
The younger youth talked about apathy among parents, and fear of their children. They were able to see that there was very little discipline, and that discipline was needed. Sadly, as tough and mature as these kids were, it was apparent that they desperately needed to be nurtured and loved.
Additional barriers included drugs, violence, selfishness, welfare (as its an incentive to trade in for drugs and causes laziness), teen pregnancy, trash (an uncared for community), money, greed, poverty, lack of choices, pollution, too many casinos, not enough green open spaces, social media (as a distraction), boredom, and lack of equity. The older youth group obviously had a more nuanced and mature view of some of our community’s challenges.
They were in the throes of the same challenges all teens feel, feelings of being judged, not fitting in, looking different from other people, academic challenges and pressure to determine a fruitful path.
A younger girl from Louisiana spoke of a comparison of contrasts between her school in Louisiana and her experience with the schools here. She identified respect, rules and care of the teachers which helped build a more solid school, a markedly different experience in Las Vegas. . “When I went to school in Louisiana, everybody was scared of their teacher…But out here, the teachers don‟t care. They are like in the class, and the students Voices for the Common Good 7
will say, „shut the hell up‟, Oh, sorry for the bad word. Then the teacher will be like, „okay‟. They will be scared of them.” This is important to note as the issue of family, and life at school was so constant and interwoven through all the obstacles cited. As we know, family support is the backbone of so many youth issues, and that was felt in these groups without question.
As mentioned earlier, the key issue brought up time and time again among the non-profit groups was a failing educational system and a community which progressively devalued education. From this, many came back to the challenge of differing agendas, siloed approaches, and competing for dollars within a limited pool of funds. “We have all being doing great work here, and we have all been reaching out and working towards our visions of Utopia, but without community-wide buy-in to our work, it is not going to catch on.”
Our non-profit leaders, on the front lines and dealing with fewer resources, felt most passionately about the lost power of working separately, that together, the power of all the non-profits working together would be an enormous step forward in solving our community’s ills.
Those on the front lines of these issues see that lack of a family support system is a missing component to a healthy community. Many cited ignorance, that people “are too busy building their own little personal Utopias in their big mansions,” that they have the ability to be ignorant and close the door to issues they feel do not affect them.
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As this discussion continued, it refocused on the fact that our respondents feel that most don’t see a causal link to society’s ills and their personal happiness and contentment in their community. People in the community may not care about certain issues like schools or drugs because though they may not have kids or may not have a drug problem, they cannot see beyond their own selfishness to how these issues have a link to their own personal challenges. If not totally ignorant, than apathy and desensitization to help step up and fix these issues was yet another obstacle. Lack of resources, both financial, services and infrastructure were also commonly cited among the non-profit groups.
Interestingly, on the topic of obstacles, the Community Leader group immediately identified lack of community. They harkened back to a simpler time when neighbors knew one another. ”When I was growing up, you could leave your doors open and everything. Everybody knew everybody. You would borrow sugar and eggs. You would welcome new neighbors. I don‟t see any of that connectivity or sense of community. People go to work. ..we are transient….There is a lack of stability.”
It was felt that the transiency of the Las Vegas community caused many challenges, and the relative young age of the city attracted those who were looking for a clean slate and were not committed for the long term. Lack of infrastructure, joblessness and the city’s foreclosure rates were also cited. Despite the tragedies associated with foreclosures, many felt that foreclosures had caused some neighborhoods to come together and work for a greater sense of community. Lack of opportunities was also Voices for the Common Good 9
cited, in terms of a diversified community that offers multiple opportunities to its workforce.
Finally, this group talked about lack of quality, post-secondary options for our community members. This group did not talk about primary or secondary education as a key challenge. Only when it was brought up by the moderator was there a significant amount of discussion about this issue.
III.
Solution Generation
The youth audiences struggled a bit with the area of solution generation. Their voices rang loud and clear however on this topic, but it was more inferred through other fruitful parts of the discussion, namely in barriers to achieving their ideal life.
Just as many of our youth cited basic human needs as part of their Utopias, their solutions were equally as simple, humble and frankly, very sad to hear. Most of our youth, while they had tenacity and vigor, simply want hope that life will get better and that they will achieve their dreams of adulthood. “I feel like you just have to have patience and just keep looking at your dream, because I feel like a lot of people just give up, because they try so hard and it is so hard. We can‟t give up...if we really want something, we have to work for it, and it is going to cost a lot, patience and everything.” Parental love, care and time came up repeatedly as something so basic and human that would help immensely. “So the father, he always starts problems with family or the mom is always in a bad mood and that creates a bad aura in the house, and they take it out on the child.” Voices for the Common Good 10
At the time this comment was made, the moderator noted that nearly every child in the room was nodding emphatically. “Sometimes when you try to help, they are in such a bad mood that they tell you to just go to your room…because they are stressed out and can‟t pay the bills.” “Also because both parents work, so they barely get to see you. If you don‟t see your parent at all, they will probably try to buy your love or something.”
Anecdotally, this part of the Community Conversations was the most sobering part of the entire project. These youth were so desperate for simple love, time, and basic nurturing, yet had to be so understanding and mature to comprehend the deeper causes of their parents’ frustrations. They ultimately had compassion and even defense of their parents’ actions that demonstrated maturity and empathy beyond their years.
Legal status or lack thereof was also a sobering topic. Several of our respondents did not have legal status and placed great value on having that status. Without it, they felt that despite their hard work and focus, those efforts to succeed would be futile in areas of education or career. They felt legal status was something that was taken for granted by citizens, and was an issue that has gone unsolved for so long as it would never be supported. “You might be a genius and you might have the best diplomas and the best scores. You might be at the top of your class, and just being illegal will have the college choose somebody else over you.” “Not having a social security is going to stop us from succeeding, well, it‟s not going to stop us, but it makes our success come slower.” Legislation Voices for the Common Good 11
such as the Dream Act was felt to be an amazing possibility, which could solve many issues. Our youth also looked forward toward their futures provided there were jobs that offered growth and security.
The Boys and Girls Club, as shelter from the storm, came up repeatedly as a resource that was doing great things to help at-risk kids. Our kids asked for more resources like the Boys and Girls Clubs. Though some were clearly struggling in school, they asked for more defined work that fits in with their interests and teachers who really care for them. “Social Workers should be teachers, because they are so nice.”
In the face of violence, tagging and gangs, which both youth groups discussed, our youth asked for stricter law enforcement, and law enforcement that was blind to race. Our youth talked about inequalities and the need for a breakdown of the racial divide. They asked for peer advocates, youth that had been through what they had been through and could talk with them about their stories. They further suggested taxing the casinos and putting more funding back into schools.
The Non-Profit groups eagerly and adeptly tackled the issue of solution generation. Breaking into two to three person teams, each group was responsible for a different area, how “individuals” can help, how “businesses” can help, and how “government” and the non-profit sector can help. Several key themes emerged around the issues of pooling resources, talent and energy, and in the area of volunteerism.
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Building a culture of volunteerism and mentoring, from a very early age, was felt to be a key community solution that would offer great impact and relief. It was felt that citizens need a point of entry and a means to combat apathy and ignorance, and that education was the catalyst to get people involved and volunteering.
Through volunteerism, citizens could see firsthand what was happening in their communities. The non-profit groups felt very strongly about the need to educate the general public about the communities needs while making the link back to one’s own needs. While it was felt that the interconnectedness among people was perhaps waning, it was education and volunteerism that could rebuild that sense of co-responsibility among us.
Encouraging our public to register to vote was another thought as to creating greater empowerment for citizens and greater understanding that government represents a collection of our own values so that to advocate, we encourage those empowered to make the change the community envisions.
As far as what businesses could do, our non-profit groups felt businesses needed to support and fund schools and community recreation centers, and on a smaller scale that smaller businesses could begin community coalitions. More broadly, businesses need to go beyond just funding, but to engage and support community-wide initiatives so that they have greater engagement and thus commitment to the community.
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Volunteerism by businesses was also widely discussed as a good solution, and that businesses create a culture of values that begin with volunteerism instead of forcing employees to do so.
Businesses that could offer seasonal employment, internships or job shadowing for students to see new ways of using their talents and offer new entry points into and education about the workforce.
Our non-profit groups felt strongly that the role of government was to enable the local programs that were proven to succeed and to simply hold those programs accountable for success. “I think the role of government should be one mostly of fostering an environment where non-profits at the local level…can administer these programs and make sure they have outcomes and the follow up that is necessary. I am not so sure the federal government really is capable of doing that.” The discussion also focused around government and non-profits role to empower the school district via early childhood education, smaller class sizes, flexible and adaptive learning models and creating a feeling of being a more open, welcoming environment both to parents and prospective students. Finally our groups discussed the untapped resource of retirees as a group that needed to be supported and also engaged to help others.
Our Community Leader group offered several solutions as part of the exercise. Again, the issue of pooling resources against specific community needs came up. This idea was expanded upon by including both the nonprofit sector and the business community to work in teams to solve community issues. Voices for the Common Good 14
Utilizing government as a means of fostering introductions and making connections for people was felt to be one of the best ways of bringing in government.
Large scale community overhauls including reworking our existing communities to make them more open, walkable, without walls, all so that a greater sense of community could be fostered. It was felt that we should continue to use federal and state grants to create programs to build stronger neighborhoods that could get at-risk families into housing.
Our groups also felt that businesses needed to step up and support and fund improvement of green spaces and areas that could be part of a more vibrant business community, like the Arts and Downtown communities.
This group also agreed with the non-profits that educating the public was the key factor in getting them more involved. With more involvement, there would be the opportunity for those to stand up and demand better school systems, go beyond mediocrity and be the change that everyone wants to see.
Ultimately this group felt that change was very difficult to implement, from the non-profit sector back through government and the individual. “Change is really difficult. The more bureaucratic you are, the more difficult it is to make it happen. Governments and districts are easy to point out. Nonprofits are just as difficult. It is change, in general. People have a hard time
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changing. The more systems they put around themselves, the more difficult it is to make it happen.�
Finally our group felt that there needed to be a specific and focused effort to reach youth and their parents about the value of an education and the myriad of job opportunities that could exist in the real world.
It was felt that there was an extremely limited view of job opportunities that exist, from phlebotomy to x-ray technicians to advertising art directors to technical degrees. Overall, it was clear from this group that they felt parents needed to be more involved and to do a better job nurturing their children, but there were not specific solutions generated to help parents.
Conclusions
While this fact is widely known, it is evident that the Southern Nevada community is one going through many changes, both demographic, economic, and politically. A community desperately trying to keep pace with these factors and explosive growth coupled with recent contraction, it is one that is not without passion and care. It became evident in assimilating all of the findings that youth continue to be a key priority, and can be most served by a more accountable and flexible educational system with higher standards for its teachers and students, all which aim to nurture the student from preschool through graduation. Knowing that parents are the single most important influence of youth behavior and are taxed more so than ever, desperately trying to keep up with life’s struggles, parents must be
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given stronger support systems from which they can draw best practices, expertise and resources.
Youth need greater interface with mentors and volunteers, coaches and teachers, all of whom can help provide the supplemental support system that they may not be getting from home.
Our volunteer base must be empowered to move ahead with a more focused mission in helping youth, and must be given real opportunities to do so, despite what segment the volunteer comes from, be it child, parent, employer, business, retiree, or youth advocate. We must catalyze our citizens to take action today through volunteering, but this action will be more successful if seen through the lens of a focused initiative with very real outcomes.
We must also work to make a more causal link between our own successes and ills to that of the community. It is this inextricable link between people in need, versus those that can offer support, that must be dramatized. “If we pulled together, this community could be anything it wanted to be.�
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Acknowledgements
This report was authored by Vanessa Maniago, V.P, Branding and Marketing, United Way of Southern Nevada.The majority of moderation guide development, and analysis was also done by Vanessa Maniago. Special thanks to Laurie Mann, who moderated the youngest youth group, Walaya Rivera, and Joscelyn Smith and Joselyn Cousins, who insured the project ran seamlessly in a compressed time frame.
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