Invent Session 2: Census-Based Community Data

Moderators: Lorraine Ralston, Partnership Specialist at U.S. Census Bureau

The challenge: To work with communities to promote and make the Census more accessible, approachable, and usable

The session: Julie Pham introduced this session to frame the challenges of capturing Census data.

• Hard to count communities were represented in the room
• Census data is publicly available and can be leveraged by our organizations
• Visualize the data to see the relevance and impact to our lives
• How do we make this relevant to for those who could be trusted messengers?

Major themes of the conversation:

• Trust (or the lack thereof) with the Census
• Accessibility by diverse audiences (making sure the information is readily accessible in all necessary languages)
• There’s a need for empowering younger generations to represent their communities. Maybe this should start in schools
• Asking how the data is being used and how to best utilize it should be a consideration.
• How many people have access to the programs around this data? Are communities of color being actively engaged in this process
• How do we reach hard to count community? Why are communities of color hard to count?

Key takeaways:

• Target as participants trusted messengers who are students (high school and college), nonprofit leaders, small business operators, community leaders
• Recruit volunteer instructors from communities of color and provide stipend
• Include in the content an understanding of how Census data is collected and how it is collected, used, stored
• Think about how these workshops can be part of a longer-term effort to educate the public on how data is collected, used, stored, and be used by the public for the public and not just talk about this every 10 years
• Leverage existing educational content used by Census
• Use stories and relevant examples to target community when teaching the data
• Use public spaces  e.g. libraries to engage youth

Plays:

• 2a. Involve and engage youth in a Census awareness campaign, e.g. “Rock the vote”
• 2b. Build trust with businesses so they help raise awareness. Make it very easy for businesses and organizations to share this information. Share it with their partners
• 2c. Create partnerships with strong media and a contest to develop/attract trusted speakers/gathering good examples from communities
• 2d. Work with partners like the City on building out the infrastructure: public wifi, kiosks, digital literacy, Census kiosks with- internet, etc. to make sure everyone can take the census.
• 2e. Educate people on the upcoming workshops surrounding the City grants for community organizations to help spread the word about Census
• 2f. Spread the word about the City of Seattle training opportunities for Census

Sound bites:

“Consider the long-term as well as the immediate future”

“Build empowerment, education, trust”

Invent Session 3: Companies and Schools Unite

Moderators: Suzanne Ames, Vice President of Instruction at Lake Washington Institute of Technology and Brianna…

The challenge: How companies and schools can work better together to build a more skilled and diverse workforce in WA that meets the demands

The session: In this session, employers, schools, and community partners engaged to unite tech education and hiring practices. The demand for tech talent in the area continues to grow; however, students are still seeing barriers to entry. Employer challenges include lack of soft skill training and keeping up with recruiting changes that are becoming less seasonal and predictable.

Plays:

• 3a. Companies and schools collaborate to create and build the right access and pipelines to opportunities that reaches students of all backgrounds, e.g. rural and various skill levels
• 3b. Schools to create programs, training, workshops, for students to grow and understand the importance of soft skills
• 3c. Companies to create clear practices, policies, and mission that integrate diversity and inclusion into hiring and recruitment

Sound bites:

“Motivate for life-long learning”

Invent Session 4: Future of Work

Moderators: Bryan Hockaday, NW Public Policy Manager at Lyft and Abby Solomon, Executive Director at SEIU 775 Benefits Group

The challenge: How to best leverage and support the “gig” worker to keep pace with a changing economy

The session: This session took a broad topic and endeavored to find potential solutions for a collective future. Many seek and turn to work that allows for self-governance and flexibility and is more than app-based work. The gig economy is global and with the rapid progress of integrating technology into everything we do across all sectors, there is a lot to consider supporting gig workers and how they/we can participate in the 21st century economy as a peer to full-time employees. This activated the group to the design challenge of “How can we create policies, practices, and culture that protect workers, maintain flexibility, and adapt to the changing nature of work?” that constructed the following plays.

Plays:

• 4a. Create a space/resource hub for the gig workers to come together for opportunities, educate/training,  and build advocate community
• 4b. Create a gig worker bill of rights
• 4c. Create new categories of business for gig work
• 4d. Create new opportunities and infrastructure that support and make it easier for gig workers to participate in economy

Sound bites:

“Lead with people”

Invent Session 5: Community Health Innovation

Moderators: Michelle Guerra, LMHC, Sr. Clinician and Team Lead at Premera Blue Cross and Janet Sowards, LMHC, Sr. Clinician at Premera Blue Cross

The challenge: To create programs and access to mental healthcare differently to improve outcomes for the business and person

The session: This session emphasized the importance of cross-sector collaboration to bring behavioral and physical health back together; behavioral issues can provoke physical conditions. To do this, behavioral health needs to be referred to as a medical condition that needs ongoing care.

• Mental illness – impacts a person’s emotions that affect their daily life to function
• Substance abuse – can cause navigational changes in a person’s emotions and behavior

People need to be educated on available resources and understand the important connection between the person who needs help and their families.

Plays: 

• 5a. Create curricula, games, and programs in schools that encourage students to empathize and build healthy attitudes towards behavioral health
• 5b. Establish safe set of practices at home that allow for behavioral health discussion and openness
• 5c. Create dedicated role within company, e.g. “De-stress Evangelist,” to build programs at work that encourage employees to seek and leverage help and wellness benefits

Sound bites:

“Mental health is physical health”

“Tell your story”