As the highly emotional debate over national immigration policy and the role of the state government swirls across Colorado, a number of innovative communities have chosen to avoid political posturing and rancor. Instead, they are reaching out in positive ways to make newcomers feel at home.
The Lakewood City Council has passed an “inclusiveness resolution” developed by the National League of Cities and signed so far by 66 cities across the U.S. Council President Ed Peterson says, “The reality is that people are coming legally to Lakewood from around the world. We want them to feel they belong. We want them to become citizens and get involved in the life of our community.”
In addition to passing the resolution, Lakewood has established a Commission on Cultural Diversity and Human Relations made up of appointed volunteers. Monthly meetings of the commission, attended by key city staff and the mayor, have led to establishment of a series of community dialogue sessions. Karen Nakandakare, the commission’s chair, says the sessions are designed to “identify, celebrate and address citizens’ diverse backgrounds and needs.”
Lafayette began its inclusiveness effort by funding a study of the issues faced by immigrants. Months of meetings with concerned community members and Latino leaders led to a number of recommendations to the city council. The council has since passed the NLC’s inclusiveness resolution and also established a Latino Advisory Board that will advise the city council about issues important to Spanish-speakers in the community, including immigrants.
Another approach has been taken by Commerce City, which is focused on ensuring that its staff is competent to work effectively with people from diverse cultures. Jaime di Paulo, community relations coordinator, says the city held a series of focus groups with citizens and city workers who interact most often with immigrants. The resulting information was used to develop an intensive cultural sensitivity training curriculum for all city employees.
Brighton has adopted a broad “inclusive community” initiative. Juanita Nevarez, policy analyst for the city, says Brighton wants to ensure that all groups, including young people, people with disabilities and immigrants, feel welcome in the community. The city’s staff has been charged with examining all of Brighton’s services, programs and projects to ensure fairness and accountability.
Longmont may have the longest-existing inclusiveness effort in the metro area. It was 2002 when the city began working on a five-year strategic plan to become a more inclusive city. Four community meetings established a city-wide vision and led to a series of task forces to carry out action steps. One task force has worked with a public health clinic to train Latino leaders as peer counselors and has co-sponsored a full day of cultural sensitivity training for employees of Longmont United Hospital. Another has initiated a series of community dialogue sessions and grassroots gatherings in residents’ homes. Still another is working with the school district to address the achievement gap between Latino and other students.
Longmont is also participating in a wider initiative that is under way in Boulder County. The emphasis is on bringing together established community members and immigrants to discuss how to integrate new residents. “Dialogue Groups” bring together as many as 15 people for a series of five or more two-hour discussions, while “Dialogue Days” have attracted as many as 200 people for a one-day event. Participants in either dialogue activity are encouraged to participate in follow-up action planning. Leslie Irwin, coordinator of Boulder County’s initiative, says that in other communities where the dialogue approach has been tried, participants have created mentoring programs, community centers and neighborhood groups.
Leaders in each of the communities working to be more inclusive will tell you they are engaged in a long-term, sometimes-difficult effort. But they’ll also tell you that changing attitudes, building mutual understanding and putting a human face on immigration is essential to prevent the development of “us vs. them” communities. Think how much stronger this state could be if instead of demonizing immigrants, communities everywhere focused on reaching out to immigrants and building on the strengths they bring to Colorado.
Susan Thornton (smthornton@aol.com) served 16 years on the Littleton City Council, including eight years as mayor. She is chairing a citizens’ initiative for immigrant inclusiveness in Littleton.
