Recruiting Conversation Participants July 11, 2013

Quick overview of the National Dialogue on Mental Health Recruiting Conversation Participants Planning your start point: Who, how many and how to recruit Developing your message Effective ways to reach targeted groups Ways to recruit the hard to reach Making it logistically as easy as possible to participate Today We Will Discuss

Panelists Larry Schooler Community Engagement Consultant, City of Austin President, IAP2USA Gloria Francesca Mengual Program Officer Everyday Democracy

Presenter Matt Leighninger Executive Director, Deliberative Democracy Consortium

Poll Questions

National Dialogue on Mental Health "Only 40% of people with mental illness receive treatment. We would not accept that for any other disease...." President Obama "We have to change hearts and minds..." Secretary Sebelius

What is Creating Community Solutions? Effort to organize hundreds of community conversations and action plans Ten lead sites Wide variety of other events: small discussions, online dialogues, large planning processes

Goals of the Conversations Break down misperceptions and promote recovery and healthy communities Find innovative community-based solutions to mental health needs, focusing on young people Develop steps for communities to move forward, complements existing local activities

Benefits of Having Multiple Conversations Generates awareness Builds relationships Generates ideas for action Involves many kinds of people Community-wide impact

Conversation groups Each conversation group: Includes 8-10 people Includes diverse participants Has two facilitators Uses the Community Conversation Discussion Guide to help structure the conversation

Sequence of the Conversations Starting the conversation Identify challenges Focusing on youth Community solutions

Conversation Format One day event One half or full day event at large venue Conversations happen throughout the day with opportunities to share ideas Multiple conversations over several days or weeks Large events to launch dialogues and share ideas Small groups meet four times for two hours each -or-

I can’t make the meeting! How about a “Meeting in a Box?” Used by hundreds of groups, big and small At one event, dozens of meetings took place all at once! Similar models in New Hampshire, Arizona, Seattle, and Desoto, Texas! “Desoto Dining and Dialogue” (DDD) Helps with – Convenience – Flexibility – Safety – Honesty

Poll Question

Advice on Recruiting Conversation Participants

Start Point: Who, How Many & How Who do we need to involve? Which groups? How many do we need to involve to reach our goals? What might keep some from these groups from participating? Who from our team can reach out to these groups?

Develop Your Message Inspire who you’re speaking to and motivate them to join the conversation. Localize your message. Your invitation should answer these questions: What are we doing? What are we trying to accomplish? Why does this matter to the person you’re speaking with? (Answer “What’s in it for me?”)

How many participants do we want ? How many people do we want in the conversations? 15 participants How many need to sign up for that number to show up?20 sign up How many need to have expressed an interest?60 interested How many do we need to have reached out to?300 heard about it

Effective Ways to Reach Out to Potential Participants Face-to-face conversations Phone calls Presentations Traditional media Social media Sample conversations

Take Extra Steps to Recruit From these Groups Youth: Think about creative ways to recruit from youth-led groups, as well as schools, clubs, sports teams or other organizations that serve youth. People who have lived experience and recovering from mental health problems: Think about reaching out to recovery groups, support groups, and organizations that support people with mental health challenges and their families. Culturally and economically diverse groups: Find a spokesperson or leader in these communities who can help spread the word. Also, seek out informal leaders from local businesses or community clubs.

Some places to Reach The Hard to Reach Corner store in low income neighborhood Barber shop/beauty parlor Social hour following a religious service Social service agencies serving targeted group Festivals/Fairs – using interactive means (sample dialogue)

Extra, extra, speak all about it! “Speak Week” Engaging the un-engaged by focusing on: – Convenience – Safety – Anonymity – Different levels of input/time

How do we engage? Go where the community is YouTube and municipal TV as community engagement tools: Overview videos shown at Community Forum Series, on municipal TV, on DVD, etc. Overviewvideos Live chat/SMS/voic inclusion in broadcast meetings (including Ustream) Live chat

“Champions”—Long-Term Activities Task Forces, Working Groups, Boards and Commissions “Neighborhood College” (Hickory, North Carolina) AustinCorps ConversationCorps Youth Councils (Boston, MA; Novi, MI; Hampton, VA) Block Clubs (Cupertino, CA) International Leadership Academy (Skokie, IL)

Make it Logistically as Easy as Possible to Participate Trusted, accessible location Convenient time for participants Offer child care Offer translators Provide refreshments Transportation Arrangements for hearing- or visually-impaired participants

Questions?

Thank You! Larry Schooler Community Engagement Consultant, City of Austin President, IAP2USA Gloria Francesca Mengual Program Officer, Everyday Democracy For any questions, please contact: Matt Leighninger Executive Director Deliberative Democracy Consortium Today’s Panelists: