Learn How to Build Inclusive Communities with QCH

Emmie D'Amico: How did Queens Community House come to life? What is your mission?

‍

Takiyah: Circa 1976, the Queens Community House originally came to life because there was a community dispute that actually involved public housing in the Forest Hills neighbourhood. As a result, the community members got involved and advocated for themselves which led to a compromise and the creation of an organisation that was born out of the solution, the compromise solution. This organisation was the Queens Community House. Through this organisation we serve the Forest Hills as well as the surrounding queens, neighbourhoods, and really provide services to a diverse community. We are really proud of this and we take the mission to our heart and truly try to embody the mission in all of the programs under our umbrella.

‍

Emmie D'Amico: There was a conflict and out of that rose this community effort not to tear each other down, but to build each other up. How have you experienced that in your work at the Community House where community and bringing people together is the solution for conflict? 

‍

Patrick: We look at everything from a strength based perspective and always look to come up with solutions and support people in that regard. So bringing people together, convening them and figuring out ways in which we can move forward in advance and grow together. Those services work, and we are right in the middle of it.

‍

Emmie D'Amico: What are the different kinds of communities that you serve, and what are the different programs that you are running? 

‍

Patrick: The communities that we serve are primarily low income, immigrants, and children of immigrant families. Our program model seeks to make connections across race, ethnicity and class. Many of our activities bring together neighbours from different backgrounds, hence diversity is present. It has been well documented and recognized that Queens is the most diverse place on Earth. At prominent houses at prominent community centres, we have low to middle income families. They reside in the New York city public housing community and so we provide a variety of different programs from after school to our senior centres. So we have programs for the younger generation all the way up to the older adults. In between we have the teen program for our teens, the Youth Built Construction Program, and the Family Support Program for the whole family. We try to move forward in our mission of holistic approach meeting people where they're at and supporting them with their needs. 

‍

Emmie D'Amico: I am struck by the fact that there are so many people who come and participate in different programs, and then you put them in positions of leadership in other programs to help other people. Thus, there is so much intersectionality. How do you get all of these people who are coming to get these services and allow them the space to give back to the community at the Queens Community House?

‍

Takiyah: What we really do is make a range of services available to the entire family and we actually coined that under our integrated service model which is pretty much comprehensive support. This basically includes community building, participant leadership, social justice, and democracy. We piloted that through prominent houses since we really want to be able to support individuals, families, and the entire community in a way that obviously speaks to their needs. We take into consideration what it is that they're expressing to us regarding what they need and build programs around that, and thus it is really important to be able to engage the staff and make sure that they are being responsive to what the community says. It is also important to get the community involved and get them to be leaders. As much as they get support from us, we are actually getting support from them as well. 

‍

Emmie D'Amico: Who was it that we spoke to, who said that she uses every single skill that she has? 

‍

Patrick: There were a number of people in the staff who were saying that. You know the work that we do, it is part of the skill set and the knowledge base to have as much information and resources available to provide to the people we work with. 

‍

Emmie D'Amico: What have been your learnings from working in this space? Have you worked in a Non-profit before the Queens Community House and what have you brought and learned from the community there? 

‍

Patrick: As Takiyah stated earlier we recognize all community members as leaders and stakeholders, and they have the need and want to participate and contribute to their community. It is their community, their community centre and we also just want to aid that, practice reciprocity and help people to help each other. It is important for us to identify more opportunities to help that happen and we have family support coordinators that provide that kind of support as well in house, at one stop shop, in the hub, at our community centre because many people want to buy multiple organisations and agencies to deal with those kind of challenges. This makes it even more challenging. So they come here, at Queens Community House and get everything they need. We have wraparound community services that support that. 

‍

Takiyah: I would just add to that by saying that like Patrick, I also worked in other non-profits before coming to the Queens Community House. I have actually worked for another Settlement House and the settlement House model is over 135 years old. It's one that prides itself on being able to utilise the community and go indirectly and support the community where they are. I have been so impressed by the Queens Community Centre because it really takes the mission and the settlement house values to heart. I have not worked in a place where I have found that every single staff person embodies those values in some way, shape or form everyday and it is so humbling to say that I am part of an organisation where the community has actually felt the impact and continues to say that. They also come back in and want to be a part of the staff themselves once they have been supported through the Queens Community House. 

‍

Emmie D'Amico: How are you implementing this model in the Pomonok community?

‍

Patrick: We have a really hands-on, interactive and engaging approach in terms of meeting people where they are at and what they need and want. We have developed an established community engagement team with the purpose to bring people together into that space to experience all the services geared towards them. We go to them, their buildings, knock on their doors, put on doorknob hangers, and post flyers everywhere. We really work to provide resources that address the needs through internal and external referrals. So when the come to the centre, they are also able to connect with someone that could provide them with some more support. Hence it is just the holistic approach around everything that is very intentional and purpose driven so that we can reach our goal.  

‍

Emmie D'Amico: What kind of reception did you receive from the public, or any corporations for your work in this space when you canvassed the entire town with flyers? What was the reaction like? 

‍

Takiyah: I think that overall the Queens Community Centre has been really well regarded. Besides having the history of being a settlement house, and as I mentioned earlier one of the solutions to the conflict in the seventies, I think people's take away of what they experience through us has been overwhelmingly positive. Folks get to see firsthand what our impact is in the community and I think that has certainly helped us to gain a reputation for providing quality service. Corporate entities, other partner non-profits, and communities themselves have felt that we have done a really good job of providing the services that we make available. We are looking to continue to build our capacity and expand those services and I think that corporate entities want to be a part of it. We have got folks who want to be founders, folks who want to be a part of our board and also people who want to volunteer and actually lend a hand in their free time. It has been a multipronged effect and I do hope that as we move forward people will see the work that we do and they would want to be involved in one of those ways or some other ways.

‍

Emmie D'Amico: The message that keeps repeating itself is that there is a place for everyone and everyone has something they can do. Have you found that to be impactful in the community giving people a sense of purpose? 

‍

Patrick: Absolutely! We see all the time how the community centre is so important to everyone. They come in and they have a chance to meet their neighbour, whom they might have not seen, or even connect with someone that they did not have an opportunity to connect with earlier and just build more relationships and work with each other. So, it is community in every sense of the word. 

‍

Takiyah: To add to that, there is also advocacy. We are helping people to have a voice. Members of the community often don’t know that they have the power that is theirs and we want to make sure that they have a platform to be able to express what it is that they need. QCH has been really able to amplify their voices and let them know that they too have a stake in making a change in their community. As part of the advocacy groups on our own, we have also tackled real issues that may have political implications because we understand that it is not just changing people’s lives on a daily basis but on a long term basis also. Hence, we know that means action has to then kind of be propelled forward past the Queens Community House and on a broader level. Hence, we want to make sure that we engage residents of Queens in that type of action as well. 

‍

Emmie D'Amico: By all accounts, you are a very successful Community effort. So do you have any advice for other non-profits that are trying to better their community centres?

‍

Takiyah: I think, from our perspective we always want to remind other organisations that they need to be responsive to their community. So trying to always listen and get a sense from participants what it is that they should be focusing resources on and so it is not just about coming into a community and saying, “we think people need this”. It’s really putting our ear to the ground and asking, “What are folks telling us?” and how can we use the resources that we have as an organisation to be able to provide that. It is also about making sure that our staff and teams are thinking deeply about how they provide service, making sure that it is trauma informed and diverse so that everyone who wishes to come to the organisation feels respected and like they belong there. So, you always want to make sure that you are leaving folks feeling like they were heard. 

‍

Patrick: We talk a lot about the community and its community. Further it is community within community. Our staff, the volunteers, everyone is a part of the community and we are all working together. We're all here for this, a lot of the same reasons, and really moving forward to try to advance and grow together. So again, it’s community and every sense of the word is communing and communicating. It’s unity, it’s all of that. 

‍

Emmie D'Amico: Have you had any corporate groups that have supported you in any way? Have they been successful? 

‍

Takiyah: I would say that there are many corporate groups that have partnered with us in some way. It’s too long of a list to really carve out specific names. However, I will say that corporate donors are always welcome or even corporate volunteers. We also use corporate companies in terms of thought, partnership and ways in which we can continue to move our initiatives forward. In our strategic plan we have members of our board who are from the corporate industry, and they really provide us with a different perspective in terms of how we can better use and attract resources. Of course, you cannot get this work done for free. We do need to have budgets attached to programs and so sometimes it's good to be able to hear as a nonprofit things like what are some things that we could be considering to be able to sustain this work and to build capacity? So they have been really helpful in providing us with suggestions. However, at the end of the day, I think, w`e obviously see our corporate partners as partners and we want to make sure that there's a give and take in that relationship as well. So yes, we do use corporate entities pretty consistently.

‍

Emmie D'Amico: If people who are not part of corporations, but just individuals who are looking to volunteer, then how important is employee and community engagement in this space when you bring volunteers in from the community? Are they an integral part of the services you offer? What are your experiences about volunteers in this space? 

‍

Patrick: Volunteerism is a huge part of what we do. There are a lot of people in our staff that were once volunteers. We employ many volunteers. We open the possibility, and provide opportunities for them to come as an employee and work with us in more depth. Integrated service model is our social capital that is to provide the opportunity for people to make more connections, build more relationships and have more associations with each other. We look at each person as a resource. They are a resource to each other, with skills and knowledge base, that they continue to bring into the centre and even outside the centre because it pours out from the centre into the community. We recognise that people bring something new to the table and contribute new activities to our centre, so we've had a number of activities that volunteers have led, run or co-facilitated. Our food pantry was started by a community stakeholder, a pomonok community resident. We worked closely with that person to get it done, and to get it established without any government support. That was all grassroots from people coming together. This is just one example, but there are many different examples that we have at our community centre. Our community engagement team, with which we work, our main purpose is to get the word out, utilise our  marketing and outreach efforts to try and get more volunteers to come in. As I said before, it's their community centre, so they need to feel the welcome and inclusive environment and know that they can contribute in their own ways. 

‍

Emmie D'Amico: How do we amplify this impact? You know, Patrick and I spoke about the efforts that you made during the pandemic and the progress that you have made since then. Now we are a little bit post pandemic still dealing with the repercussions. What is the future for the Queen's Community House? What is the growing impact that you have in your vision boards? 

‍

Patrick: I will start by saying that I think it's extremely important for us to continue providing opportunities and looking to identify more opportunities where the community can come in and help shape the offerings of what we have here. We're not creating the schedule and the program, and they're coming in and telling us we we need this. We like to see that. Can you guys help us with this? Can we move this forward? Again, because it's their community centre and they are the stakeholders of everything that we're doing. We really believe in the capacity of the community helping itself. In many ways, we are stewards and assistants helping that move along, grow and make it sustainable at the same time. We are really looking at more ways in which we can engage community members as leaders. I think if we continue to do that, that will amplify the work that we're doing and we will continue to grow.

‍

Takiyah: I will just add that, we want to continue to build the capacity and push the integrative service model forward. To do that, what we want to do is to increase the intergenerational activities that we provide. So really trying to make sure that every member of the family can come and participate in the events that we hold. That includes little children, those that come in after school, teens, adults, older adults,etc making sure that everyone can participate and that everyone has a voice. Adding to Patrick's point about having participants make their own decisions, our participant advisory will hopefully include the entire demography of families, all being able to have a voice in the plan for how we use the centre moving forward.

‍

Emmie D'Amico: Do you have a specific story  about something that you've experienced at the centre that stands out? Something that really kind of made you think that this is why we do this.

‍

Patrick: We have an event called a Community Crafts Fair. That was something that was brought forth by community members who are directors to community engagement. This happened during the pandemic and we have been trying to continue to grow it. It gives the community members an opportunity to showcase their skills. Some of them will have their own businesses that they're building, so it can be something related to craft, maybe food, or a variety of different things. It has been great to see the number of people that come to the event and also for them to get inspired and encouraged to really move forward with their own aspirations and goals, and with what they want to do in their own lives. So again, it's like providing the space and opportunity to them and figuring out how we can help them move forward. There have been conversations about making it a full fledged street fair, and doing a variety of different things with it now, and it all started with 5 to 10 tables and people coming and showcasing what they do. So, this is the power of community and the power of us being involved, connected and working with the community and having it being a part of what we are doing. 

‍

Takiyah: May I just add that for your first question, I forgot to say what our mission is and I am just going to read that now. The mission of Queen's community houses is to provide individuals and families with the tools to enrich their lives and build healthy, inclusive communities.That is what we try to do every day. 

‍

Emmie D'Amico: Can you give us one tip on how we can amplify impact in this space? So if we're going into our own communities, what is a tip from Queens Community house that we can incorporate into our own communities?

‍

Patrick: First of all, thank you to your wonderful team for the work that you all are doing and the work that you have done. I would like to say, keep doing this, keep promoting and helping to raise the awareness around organisations like the Queens Community House and the work that they are doing. The more people that know about us, the more people will be able to connect with us and get involved. It helps move our mission forward, and it helps the overall mission of really working with people and providing opportunities for them to be successful in their lives. So, keep doing what you are doing!

‍

Takiyah: I would just like to say, continue to listen to your communities about what it is that they want,they need and bring folks to the table to be a part of the process.

‍

Emmie D'Amico: If you enjoyed this process we would love it if you could shout out maybe 3 or 4 other nonprofits that you want to challenge to get heightened in this way as well.

‍

Takiyah:  I would shout out the entire Settlement house model. We have so many across the city. We're actually united under an organisation called United Neighborhood Houses and that hopefully, helps us to be able to share with each other best practices and get a sense of what else is going on in other parts of the city, so I would certainly reach out to UNH to get other settlement houses spotlighted as well.

‍

Patrick: I second that. I think United Neighborhood Houses is our umbrella organisation with so many different community based organisations that are doing this work under them so definitely, maybe starting there.

‍