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 SchoolerCommunity Engagement Consultant, City of AustinPresident, IAP2USA

Gloria Francesca MengualProgram OfficerEveryday Democracy

Presenter

Matt LeighningerExecutive 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 groupsEach 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 FormatOne 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 MessageInspire 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-engagedby 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.• Live chat/SMS/voicemail inclusion in broadcast meetings

(including Ustream)

“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 SchoolerCommunity Engagement Consultant, City of AustinPresident, IAP2USAlarrypschooler@gmail.com

Gloria Francesca MengualProgram Officer,Everyday Democracywww.everyday-democracy.orggmengual@everyday-democracy.org

For any questions, please contact:Matt LeighningerExecutive DirectorDeliberative Democracy Consortiumwww.deliberative-democracy.netmattl@deliberative-democracy.net

Today’s Panelists: