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