Table 3 Collaborative practices: sharing decision-making; championing autonomy and addressing barriers to trust
Sharing Decision-Making; Championing Autonomy & Addressing Barriers | Exemplary Trust-building Quotes | Building Relationships and Engagement | Embodying Core Values |
|---|---|---|---|
Bolstering resiliency & hope; Championing autonomy, voice & choice | “I think there’s this whole concept of universal precautions and do we just assume that everybody has some traumas in their lives and treat people with kindness and let them know that when people have traumas, we have resources, and you’re going to be okay. [Y]ou’re not broken, and we can help you. And then, just be kind and caring and look at people and recognize them instead of just handing them [off].” | -Meeting people where they are at -Providing support | -Embodying benevolence -Being authentic, genuine & personal |
“[B]eing there for community members when they need a resource already starts building trust, and then they’ll come back to you whenever they need some other resource. [I]t’s an evolving relationship and it starts with that initial support or trust that that they felt… I also trust my staff and I know that our partners are doing what they’re supposed to and my staff get to also be transparent and provide that safety and be kind to community members. [T]hat’s how we end up being trustworthy to the community and transparent.” | -Creating safe spaces; Providing support -Being appreciative -Demonstrating trust | -Being transparent & honest -Embodying benevolence | |
“I think it has to start individually first because then that kind of translates into the work that you do in the community. I was watching the staff interact with the community, have conversations and I would hear some of the messages that we had been talking about. [I]t’s the role modeling, it’s the being patient, it’s the being transparent, the consistency part. [D]oing what you say you’re going to do is very important in the communities…. Don’t just tell me you’re going to do this; show me you’re going to do it. [T]hat goes back to leading by example. [O]ur peer navigators, our staff, even our psychiatrists – all of them follow that same [recovery model]. It’s about holding folks accountable, it’s that self-responsibility, allowing natural consequences.” | -Providing support -Listening well; Creating a common language; Engaging in mutual conversation -Being patient | -Being transparent and honest -Demonstrating integrity, reliability & consistency; Sticking to commitments | |
-Having shared goals & vision; Sharing decision-making -Bolstering resiliency & hope; Championing autonomy, voice & choice | “When our CAN interns came onboard, they [said]’I don’t understand what’s being discussed at this meeting’, but I [said] ‘I want your voice to be included. You have an input. Anything that’s mentioned, you can give your feedback, give your suggestions. [Y]our voice matters.’ [D]efinitely including them in the decisions that we’re making. And, hearing their feedback since they are the feet on the ground working with community members.” | -Listening well; Creating a common language; Engaging in mutual conversation -Demonstrating Trust | |
“I may not be from a neighborhood that they’re from or may have grown up in a different way [than] they grew up, or have lived a different life than they have, I can still say: ‘Hey, I got you. You know, we’re here for you, and you can continue to share with me. Thank you for opening up to me, and I appreciate that. [F]eel free to express that with me when you need to. What are some things that we can do to talk about this more and make you more comfortable?’[T]o me, trust is vulnerability.” | -Creating safe spaces; Providing support -Listening well -Meeting people where they are at -Being appreciative -Demonstrating vulnerability | ||
-Addressing existing distrust & systemic inequities with cultural competence and humility | “I’ll use a specific example of why we think our role is so important to trust. [T]he black community in [our area] are very untrusting of the government. [W]e’ve been looked at as the liaison, the relationship people, to try to defuse some of the distrust with the government, especially people that have been in the system for a really long time. So, our trust is through follow-through. Our trust is doing what we say…not disappearing. [B]eing there, even if we haven’t heard from them in a while. [W]e don’t promise our clients a whole lot and then not deliver. [T]hat has certainly been a challenge because people…have learned to distrust ‘the system’ for all of these years.… It’s more [about] building a relationship and a bond, which takes time.” | -Meeting people where they are at; Being flexible and open; Embracing diversity -Being patient | -Demonstrating integrity, reliability & consistency; Sticking to commitments |
“[T]rust, it’s a very powerful word and I think that is one of the reasons why even our young people are like ‘I don’t trust you. Why would I trust you? This entire system has done me wrong. So, why would I assume different from you?’ So, really being able to build that trust and see a young person say like ‘Okay, cool, you’re not trying to harm me,’ even when something goes wrong. Really taking that opportunity to unpack that and dive into it.” | -Creating safe spaces -Meeting people where they are at | -Embodying benevolence | |
“I think without that transparency…folks don't feel safe...it's also being mindful of the power differences and dynamics in my role.” | -Creating safe spaces | -Being transparent | |
-Championing autonomy, voice & choice -Addressing existing distrust & systemic inequities with cultural competence and humility | “We started a recent collaboration with a new organization, and they were doing what they were calling a ‘coronation’, which was basically a debutante program for young black girls… [S]ome of my staff [were] like, ‘what are we doing?’ I'm like, ‘This might not be comfortable for us. We might not have called it a coronation and done a crown, but culturally, that works for them. Let's go with it.’[I]t turned out to be a fabulous collaboration and that takes some convincing sometimes for my staff who's more traditional in how social services does its work. I try to push them that it's okay to do it a little differently because, in that culture, that's how they do it. [Y]ou are trying to be a reliable member of the community.” | -Meeting people where they are at; Being flexible and open; Embracing diversity -Creating a common language | -Demonstrating integrity, reliability & consistency |