5 Ways to Center Your Neighbor
At See What I Mean we talk a lot about “Neighbor Centered Practices” which are a list of practices that food banks, their agencies and other organizations can implement to better serve their neighbors. The list continues to grow because different groups of people have different needs. We encourage organization leadership to select 5-8 practices to focus on implementing through data driven decision making and what they know to be true about the people they are serving.
Making the decision of what practice to focus on or what group of people to focus on can be tough. SWIM can walk alongside you as you explore the different options, and decide what’s best for your organization. The most important thing is to get started with these practices and know that your neighbors will notice. A great example is this quote from a neighbor at Loudoun Hunger Relief in Virginia that they received after implementing some neighbor centered practices and listening to their neighbors.
"The volunteer on the phone who took my information when I first called in was sweet and kind and compassionate and made me feel valued. The efficiency of the food bank pick up was amazing. The extra thoughtfulness regarding my dietary needs and my baby were extremely kind and unexpected and I was so grateful to have been given choices and provided things my family will truly be nourished with."
If you’re not quite ready to take a deep dive into neighbor centered practices we thought we’d give a couple of broad ways that you can practice putting the people you serve at the core of everything you do.
Review Community Data
We know you love listening to the neighbors you see on a regular basis, but what if they’re not representative of your community as a whole? Reviewing community data can help you understand the barriers those in your area might be facing, that hinders their ability to access your services. Data can also help you see other disparities in your community that you may be able help eliminate or advocate for in other areas.
Listen and Prioritize Feedback
The best way to learn about the neighbor experience is to ask your neighbors about their experience - and then make sure they know you’re hearing them. This can be done through active listening practices in conversation, by capturing their feedback and repeating it back to them to know you heard them correctly. Or it can be done through annual or bi-annual neighbor surveys. Surveys are a great way to measure changes from year to year and capture the voice of many neighbors.
Don’t Over Use Their Time for Feedback
It’s honorable that you want to know more about your neighbors and their needs but remember that they are there to receive a service and continue on with their day. So be mindful of how often you’re asking them to complete a survey and compensate them for their time and knowledge when you do.
Use Human Centered Language
Show your neighbors that you care about them by treating them with respect and dignity as well as empowering them through the language you use. Using person first language acknowledges your neighbor’s strengths rather than defining them by the conditions they are currently experiencing.
Person first language adoption could look like the switch from identifying someone as “homeless” to “experiencing homelessness” or “an addict” to “person with a substance use disorder”
Include Neighbors in Design Choices
Having neighbors included in your decision making process is an easy way to center their voice in your operations. This could look like a neighbor council that you invite your guests to sit on year round, or to have a few neighbors join an existing committee when discussing big changes to be made. When looking for ways to include neighbor voices, remember that they are not obligated to say yes and to meet them where they are with the time that they have available to share their experiences. And of course, their time should be compensated for the opinions and resources they are sharing with your organization.
Take a look at your current service model, whether it is food distribution or another type of service and think “who is this designed to serve well?” and then think “who might we be missing with this service design?”, read the practices above again and start looking for ways to improve.
Feeling overwhelmed? Don’t worry - this is our area of expertise! Schedule a discovery call today to learn more about how we can help your organization learn about who you are serving, decide on the practices that are best for your organization and follow through with adoption.