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About Street roots. (Portland, OR) 1998-current | View Entire Issue (June 24, 2011)
4 street roots June 24, 2011 Janet Byrd Getting the policy ball moving forward begins with how we craft the message BY ISRAEL BAYER choosing words and the order of the concerns raised. T anet Byrd is a walking brain trust on We’ve probably all been in a situation I housing issues and messaging. Working where the conversation we set out to have I behind the scenes locally and with isn’t the conversation we end up having. We Elected officials in Salem, she has helped may be trying very earnestly to answer a push forward a housing agenda statewide question and realize mid-stream that we that is supported by scores of organizations, have no clear idea of what understanding lay and individuals. behind the question, what viewpoint was Byrd is currently the executive director of shaping i t Neighborhood Partnerships, which works to That viewpoint is what the messaging create opportunities for low-income people. folks call a frame. It comes from the Byrd cu th er teeth in neighborhood recognition that humans aren’t blank slates. organizing in Chicago, working on housing We walk around with preconceived issues such as insurance redlining, understandings of the world and new neighborhood disinvestment and tenant information is slotted into pre-existing rights. “frames.” All too often we don’t stop to At Neighborhood Partnerships, Janet has think about what those frames are in our been central to the success of the statewide listeners. The result is that we’re talking, advocacy coalition, the Housing Alliance. but we aren’t really having a conversation. During her tenure, Neighborhood Where before we might end up getting Partnerships also helped launch the angry or polarized, we now know that it’s innovative multi-county collaborative to possible to step back, spend some time serve high-need homeless families, Bridges analyzing and listening, and then re-engage to Housing, and quadrupled the impact of in a different conversation. Sometimes the the Oregon IDA Initiative, a unique solution is , to re-connect to the values that statewide partnership that builds the assets motivate our concern about the issue, of low income Oregonians. because values shape thinking and create an Street Roots recently talked with Byrd . emotional connection. Sometimes the about the work she does, and the political solution is to offer a new way of thinking or climate we find ourselves in. naming something, so that you aren’t triggering a negative response. And Israel Bayer: C an you talk about the sometimes it’s thinking about how you want messaging a n d fram ing work you are involved j£ J tru c tu re a conversation — the order of STAFF W R ITER ' few years? . P H O T O B Y ISRAEL BAYER your points. Assistance to Needy Families. We must all Ja n e t Byrd: Neighborhood Partnerships has had the privilege of working with some wonderful experts in strategic communications this past year and a half, including Patrick Bresette of Pemos and Larry Wallack of Portland State. We’ve been training and supporting a group of more than 60 leaders and advocates from a broad swath of issue concerns in our trainings, our Leadership Salons and our Advocates College. We’re just coming to the end of the Advocates College now, and what I hear back from participants is that they’ve been able to use some of the new knowledge and skill in their work in Salem, in their communities, and within their networks. The most exciting thing we’re doing is honing skills to create the terrain for new conversations. Rather than getting stuck in polarized positions, we are now better able to move toward policy change by carefully I. B.: H ow has the H ousing A lliance done? J. B.: This Legislative session has been a disaster for low-income Oregonians. We’ve seen devastating cuts in essential services and supports, and we know that the impacts of these choices will hit hardest and be hardest felt by those who are already hurting. Our communities are stronger when we all have access to stable, safe and decent housing, and we have stepped backwards this session. Housing resources have been cut less than many other programs, proportionately, but there have still been cuts made in terms of the numbers of people who will remain stable in housing or be helped to find new housing. There will also be significantly less emergency rent assistance available this year, as federal stimulus funds dry up while the recession continues. Many people will also be hurt by cuts to other programs that provide support such as Temporary do everything we can to build up our voices, to work across specific issue concerns, and to help legislators understand the impacts of their decisions on the men, women, and children in their districts who need the opportunity that stable housing provides to be engaged members of the community. I. B.: The R ig h t a n d the Tea Party are becoming more successful in driving specific agendas with poor a n d working people. Does this have som ething to do with progressives always w anting to talk about policy specifics, instead o f delivering a message o f values? J. B.: We’re in a situation where working people are seeing their standard of living erode, their hopes that their kids will see a bright future are diminishing, and the information they get is confusing and overwhelming. People are afraid, and looking for things to hold on to. Freedom, liberty, the rule of law - those are powerful concepts, and they’re being used to move a conservative policy agenda. Progressives do forget to talk about values. Those of us who are religious rarely talk about faith. We may assert a “right,” but we usually forget to talk about the communal benefits of guaranteeing a just society. We also get really caught in the weeds, because policy is complicated, or we get so concerned with the nuance of the policy argument that we don’t reinforce one another in public. We have trouble articulating priorities, and we end up sounding conflicted, confusing, or bureaucratic. For folks who just want to downsize government, it’s a lot easier to talk about deregulation than it is to talk about how the housing subsidy programs all intersect or interact Reclaiming values helps us name what’s important behind the policy changes we w ant See BYRD, page 5 ou w a n t Jk FOOD CO-OP good food, free classe: r e a l c o m m u n ity AMion .net 3029 SE 21st. A m aS a open 8a~10p d a ^ l j j l £BT a c c e p te ra i (503) ORGANIC 1 www.peoplesxoop
