Event:2015/07/19 Challenging Dominant Culture

Challenging Dominant Culture Working Group (CDC WG) 19 July 2015

Attendees

• Sarah P, Niki, Dusty, Gwen, Cere, Yar, Matt, Libbie, Julio (notes)

Agenda

• Recurring Potluck +
  • More Community Circles +
• Lynice Pinkard talk on burnout (summary?)
• Bottomliner transition (Sarah > Dusty + Julio?) +
• SEEDS mediaion - Julio will pay for it with some people $20 each ++
  • Diana (and others that are not too involved) could mediation
• Visioning + Planning Process +
• Mental health de-escalation training
• Welcome Orientation Project

Regular Potlucks

• Sarah: talked with Ziji Collective about hosting a weekly meal (open to Omni members and neighbors), partner with Phat Beets or FNB?
• Niki: maybe having each week with a different activity: RJ circles, theater one monthly large gathering?
• Sarah will talk with Phat Beets and FNB about their involvement
• Sarah will schedule meeting with Ziji (late August)
• Julio: what does Ziji get out of it?
  • Libbie/Sarah: They are a sect of Buddhism that is interested in social change, and ressonate with the mission of the Omni
• Matt: schedule a trial "planning" meal? +++ (late August)

Lynice (Burnout) Report Back

• Niki: Lynice is willing to participate in regular community circles
  • Libbie: in conjunction with
• Other ideas she had for the CDC could tackle
  • Structurelessness creating a lot of confusion; accumulations of power, amorphous
  • Suggestion for addressing the lack of structure...
  • connection to visioning and planning / welcoming and orientation
  • Dusty: disconnect between vision/values and structure; does Lynice actually know or support our values?
  • Niki: she isn't proposing a "program", but just sees that our values are not implementable in our current structure
  • Matt: RJ practice: paradigm of establishing a circle with a strong intention: show strength (community building) and deal with conflict (harm)?
  • Julio: circle for to deal with the core values of RJ?
  • Sarah: bringing real solidarity and trust
  • Matt: who would you expect to attend?
  • Niki: depend on the circle. E.g. orientation discussion on values and expectations
  • Matt: so it's a placeholder for addressing a specific issues, that will be predetermined later. Propose a trial run
  • Libbie: It is also about creating a culture that manifests our values... Could be part of visioning process, use the form of circle to demonstrate
  • Sarah: would attract more people who do not want to do meetings, but can offer up their open heart instead.
  • Niki: potential to require people to attend a meeting of this
  • Duisty:Shame that so many people who come to the Omni all the time who don't know what the Omni is
  • Matt: Support regular space to deal with issues. Concerned with the idea that this idea could lose steam; prep so that doesn't happen. Monthly would be good. I see now that the motivation for an orientation circle.
  • Dusty: monthly?

RJC training

• Libbie will follow-up with Amgo about payment for Julie
• Libbie will follow-up with Julie about future involvement

Bottomliner

• Julio willing to do some meetings, not all.
• Libbie can tag team with Julio or whoever
• Dusty will be gone for the first two weeks of August ... then will move Aug 30 (for a year)

• What are the duties?
  • Sending out email notification about meetings
  • Make sure there the meeting is on the calendar
  • Make sure notes are taken and disseminated

• Dusty will own the PP role for next week (July 26)
• Julio/Libbie will update the calendar

Visioning and Planning

• Libbie hoping to tackle visioning and planning
• working with Laura T, who has experience in facilitation and specifically this topic
• Niki: Is it an open meeting?
• Libbie: was inviting people specifically one on one
• Dusty: might be better to be safe than sorry
• Yar: should be able to meet individually or with groups. Important discussions happen all the time informally
• Julio: no real decisions... so only planning the actual class and effort... no need to make it open to everyone
• Niki: We are always going to meet in individual
• Dusty: Agree with everyone; just has a fear of non-transparency

Orientation and Welcoming Project

• Dusty
• Having many informal decisions
• Leaving soon, so don't want to overcommitt and underdeliver
• Maybe Visioning process will drive orientation
• Orientations are very cool.
  • Julio to add the orientation to the calendar (2 weeks left)
• Libbie can print Niki's copy
• Niki to share it with the group

Mental health de-escalation training

Libbie did some research

• the Coalition for Alternatives to Mental Health

http://www.berkeleydailyplanet.com/issue/2011-08-17/article/38254?headline=Berkeley-s-Drop-In-Center-A-Client-Run-Help-Center--By-Lydia-Gans

• east bay community recovery project:

http://www.ebcrp.org/about/agency-history

• Alameda county mental health alliance community orgs:

http://mhaac.org/support/mental-health-resources/community-mental-health-resources.html

• Libbie: What is the ask?
  • Niki: need to identify techniques and strategies for handling situations with
  • Dusty: Hard to grasp the
  • Yar: There's a problem with the framing, and it might affect the execution
  • Libbie: Encountering a conflict with people who may not be able to cope with the situation... how to be helpful rather than harmful
  • Libbie: also could get

• Niki has a friend whose sister was murdered

Mediation

• SEEDS training
• Ask for a general fund?
• Julio: Talk to SEEDS
• Julio: reimbursement request later

Matt, Libbie, Julio