SWOTDC Kickoff; January 22, 2010

Survey Wall & Small Group Meetings

Survey Wall
Final Results:
Largest Barriers to Ward 1 residents receiving services
1. Limited Resources
2. Lack of cooperation/availability of partners
3. Lack of communications/information about services
Largest Service Gaps in Ward 1
1. Housing
2. Employment/Job Training Readiness
3. Substance Abuse Services
Number of SWOT participants today – 75

‘Raw’ Data
What are the 3 largest barriers to Ward 1 residents receiving services?
(# of votes)
• Limited Resources/Funding 20
• Lack of cooperation or availability of partners/referrals 15
• Lack of Communication/information about services 11
• Local Political Climate 8
• Mismatch between residents and program objectives 4
• Organizational Policies/Internal Conflicts 4
• Lack of client motivation 2

Identify the Service Gaps in Ward 1 (# of votes)

• Housing 11
• Employment-training and readiness 5
• Substance Abuse/Intoxicated/Vagrants/Homeless 4
• Child Care 3
• Adult Education 2
• Domestic Violence Prevention/Intervention 2
• Food 2
• Small Business Assistance 2
• Arts 1
• Coordination of Adolescent Service 1
• Homelessness 1
• Matching Fund Policies 1
• Outreach & Engagement 1
• Post Office 1
• Quality Education 1
• Legal Assistance 0
• Services for Disabled 0
• Service for Seniors 0
Characteristics of Effective Service Providers:
• Consistent
• Devoted
• Respectful
• Honest
• Bilingual
• Friendly
• Ethical
• Clear Mission
• Genuinely interested in being helpful
• Intentional
• Empowering
• Effective listeners
• Instructive
• Advocates
• Conscious
• Secure
• “Nurture and Support”
• Informed to clients actual needs/services
• Solid Infrastructure
• Long Term Planning
• Sustainability
• Engaged Constituency, not just clients
• Wrap around support
Small Group Discussion Results
***Number to the right represents how many groups included this particular point

Needs
• Housing (affordable, safe, foreclosure prevention), 4
• Tenant Education (preservation of community residents)
• Utility assistance, 2
• Senior Housing
• Jobs (readiness, placement, search, training, job/employ training, funding to
train, mentorship), 3
• Homeless Services
• SUD
• Sense of community & (individual and collective) empowerment
• Employment, 2
• Keeping small businesses open
• Domestic Violence services (including temporary housing), 2
• Neighborhood Crime
• GED Training & Adult Education, 2
• Apprenticeship/ Employment Training, 2
• Cooking classes
• Computer Training
• ESL
• Adult Literacy
• Financial Literacy (including youth), 2
• Better Schools, 2
• Community Schools/Learning Centers
• Childcare/education
• Teen Programs
• Expanding youth/student wrap around services, 2
• Youth Division Services (including truancy programs), 2
• Parent Services, (support, engagement) 3
• Parent Community Resource Center in schools
• Child support help
• After school programs
• Youth Violence Prevention
• Professional development for teachers
• Collaboration among visual artists
• Language access, (breakdown language barriers), 2
• Breakdown barriers among service providers
• Simplifying coordination of funding process
• Networking/ access to services, 2
• Awareness of what other organizations are doing
• Metro security outreach to services
• Crime Task Force + Economic Development
 • Legal Aid
• Mental Health Services (too long waiting periods)
• Living Wages

Assets
• Numerous (strong) Organizations/nonprofits ( including businesses, schools,
churches, etc), 9
• Multicultural/Diversity, 5
• Rootedness, History (activism and cultural), 2
• Coordination among agencies results in increase and quality of service
• Numerous Events (opportunities for info sharing)
• High Development (leads to employment, investments), 3
• Community partnerships have strengthened
• Empty school buildings
• OAR- Offender Aid & Restoration (D.C) (Juvenile Services)
• Columbia Heights Development Corp
• Benefits Agreement
• LAYC
• Mary’s Center
• Centronia
• Columbia Heights Youth Center, 2
• Public transportation
• Walkable community/ accessibility
• Human Capital (can organize, teach & volunteer)
• Commitment
• Diversity of incomes
• Federal resources: museums, zoos
• Housing\landlords interested to participate (untapped)
• Jubilee Jumpstart/Jobs (Spanish catholic ctr/cc; new business resources-urban
league, partnerships), 2
• Georgia Ave. Crime Task Force
• #10 Boys and Girl’s Club
• New HD Cooke Elementary school
• Parkview + other recreational centers
• Neighborhood Black Clubs
• CCYVP
• CHSFSC
• PROUrban Youth
• Council members

How to Better Serve

• Meetings such as this to meet once a month for information sharing
• Information & resource sharing (problem solving, awareness), 3
• Directory of Ward 1 and Ward 2 services/guide
 • Listserv, flyers, outreach
• Create a listserv from today’s group
• Directories
• One-Stop Drop in Centers
• In-service on the blog: etiquette of the blog, info sharing
• More collaboration/coordination
• Annual/Quarterly networking events
• Diversity trainings/cultural sensitive
• Juvenile Justice Workshops to bridge gap
• Collaboration/coordination (including family support), 3
• Involve, recruit, train youth as advocates
• Address youth’s common concerns and needs
• Training for workers in triage
• Priority referrals between partners
• No more waiting lists
• End cronyism/rationing services
• Improve websites/ create message boards
• Use text messages
• Community Vision and mission
• Respect
• Internship Programs
• Community Partnerships-crossing the lines
• Mayor’s Conservation Corporations
• Employ 50% of workforce from Ward 1
• 20 % Housing for low income
• Truancy-strong partnerships (students, parents, social service orgs, families,
enhancements)
• Better communication leads to better collaboration
• Info on what’s happening with other community agencies, not just governments
agencies
• Bilingual sharing- knowing where there are places where people can really talk to
each other in their languages
• Job Placement-youth and adults
• Housing
• Diversity training
• Healthcare related referrals
• Parenting/family strengthening, particularly youth related
• We serve more than Ward 1, include all of DC
• Creative leisure time management/recreation

Next Steps
• Discuss “regional-ness” of money/Simplify funding, 2
• Announce a CHAC planning meeting
• Monthly Meeting (troubleshooting what is working, update, consistent), 5
• In service on blog (blog use-individual organizations, updates), 2
• CHSFSC-workshops, committees
• Better networking- sps & government
• Leverage new investments- program managers, residents & businesses
• Bilingual communication
• Share info about what organizations are doing
• Simply funding/collaboration (create culture, not competition), 2
• Blog (directory of services, universal blog), 2
• Subcommittee, structure into work, issues, saving youth
• Inventory resources- referenced DCFF (including mapping)
• Awareness of development- hiring in Ward 1
• Much larger vision of community- get beyond crisis
• Greater communications between organizations
• Post information on blog about our organizations and keep it updated!
• Helping to break barriers to improve coordination, possibly workshops
• Diversity Training
• Send out contact information of meeting attendees
• Use the strengthening of Ward 1 to strengthen all wards.
• Help to increase business investments in community
• Implement ideas (sometimes ideas generated but no action)
• Meetings with everybody together
• Collaborate on a specific project
• Meeting with Mayor’s Office
• Attending meetings at ECAC, COINNS
• Pull together similar non-profits
• Do things bilingually
• Publicize each other’s programs
• Universal listserv
• Meeting places available, schedule of contacts
• Results base, networking groups
• Ward 1 Fact Sheet
• Ward 1 Website (Include matrix of services and hyperlinks for resources)
• Inventory Resources
• Matrix of services among organizations
• Media Buy-In
• Subcommittee to explore pooling resources and services
• Involve youth advocacy groups ASAP
• Networking among providers
• Directory of Ward 1 providers, updated constantly
• Advice on communication
• Affordable housing + amenities
• Advocacy
• Leverage new investments for long-term residents + all residents
• Collaborate on seeking funds
• Inventory of resource, ongoing updates
• DC Food Finder
• Map of Social Service agencies
• Time line
• End results