Building and Sustaining Relationships

Relationships are the building blocks for all community organizing activities 2

Why do we need to build and sustain relationships? Community building To win allies To give meaning and richness to our work and lives

When do you build relationships? You do it all the time. 4

But you can also… Establish relationships before you need them Establish relationships even in a crisis 5

An 11-step program Build relationships Be friendly Ask people questions Tell about yourself Go places and do things Accept people 6

An 11-step program (cont.): Make connections Overcome rejection fear Be persistent Invite people Enjoy people 7

Building relationships among different cultures Learn about the person's culture Put yourself in another person's culture Take a stand against the person's oppression 8

Building relationships with people who hold positions of political power Don't get intimidated Listen to them and withhold judgment 9

Sustaining relationships Attention to people Communicate openly Appreciate each other Extend yourself Volunteer to do work Challenge each other Back each other up 10

When relationships get messy Take time to listen Put on the other's shoes Look at what is true Emotions does not equal reality Appreciate and respect Speak from your heart Don't give up principles Hang in there 11

You can disagree and still build relationships with individuals who belong to organizations that are working against yours 12

Set up a dialogue group to listen to your adversaries 13