Community Visioning Workshop Feedback
In November 2019, Ramsey County hosted three workshops in the community to learn more about our resident’s values and their vision for the future. These workshops consisted of multiple small group discussion covering a variety of topics. The information we collected was combined with feedback from other community engagement efforts around the county to develop community indicators. Below are themes and highlights from the community conversations, as well as the indicators we are considering.
Transportation, housing and environment
Accessibility
- Ease of access for people with different abilities.
- Ability to live near or have accessible transportation to key locations (e.g. work, school, grocery store, etc…).
- Multi modal transportation options.
- Accessibility of public resources, including location and eligibility.
Affordability
- Cost of living – especially housing costs – are so that Individuals and families can pay for their basic needs in the areas they live.
Housing
- Mixed income neighborhoods supported by the presence and availability of affordable, supportive, subsidized, and market rate housing option.
Community
- Community is inclusive and welcoming for all people.
- Community has strong relationships and people know each other.
Climate change
- Ensuring the health of the environment for future generation.
Civic engagement and government accountability
Community engagement
- Respectful engagement of community who’s input significantly impacts policy and practice.
- Viewing community engagement as community investment rather than solely data extraction.
- Bring together government leadership and community to demonstrate transparency and support trust.
Equity
- Proactive outreach to engage individuals – especially populations traditionally excluded from engagement.
Voting
- Increasing accessibility of voting for different populations.
Youth, families and education
Relationships
- Prioritizing relationships across youth, between families and schools, and between teachers and youth.
- Ensuring opportunities to heal relationships with youth, especially those of system actors within education, human services, and justice system.
Equity
- Racial and ethnic representation across teachers.
- Supporting youth and families who’s first language is not English.
- Eliminating bias against youth and youth with IEPs and race.
Health
- Increasing mental health provisions for youth.
- Recognizing the connection between health and education and valuing clinics in schools.
- Recognizing IEPs and a health opportunity rather than stigmatizing.
- Additional research on IEPs and its effectiveness for children within the status.
Justice system engagement
- Demonstrates failure of the community and education system to support youth.
- Intentionality about avoiding the displacement of youth and their families.
- Actively working against the school to prison pipeline.
Economic prosperity and opportunity
Mobility and access
- Opportunities should not be limited by place and income.
- Communities deserve access to services and programs without barriers to access or arbitrary ceilings.
Livable wages
- Earning at least enough to cover basic needs.
Equity
- Restorative justice economically for communities that have been torn apart by systems and institutions.
- Restoration of wealth and asset acquisition in low wealth communities.
Public safety and justice
Definition of public safety
- Traditional public safety entities are recognized as unsafe by some communities.
- Disagreement with traditional response to crime (increase policing).
- Restorative alternatives rather than traditional incarceration.
Equity
- Need to protect black and brown boys from system engagement.
- Investing resources in high crime areas rather than solely increase patrolling.
Transparency
- More transparency in the way resources or used and ways to hold public safety institutions accountable.