Human Relations Committee

Laconia Human Relations Regular Monthly Meeting October 12, 2021 3:30PM – 5:00 City Hall Rm 200A also via Zoom Agenda Welcome and Roll Call Review and Acceptance of September 13, 2021 Meeting Minutes Old Business • Homeless Task Force • Community Fest – October 16th New Business • 2022 Forum Strategic Plan o MLK Celebration • Refugee Status • Other business • Next Meeting Room 200A, Monday November 8, 2021, at 3:30pm also via Zoom Public Comment – The public is invited to offer their opinions. Initially, they will be limited to four minutes until all have had an opportunity to speak. Each person is constrained to their time period or to ask questions of the committee. Everyone is expected to speak respectfully. If on Zoom, the public will be visible but muted until unmuted by the chair. Members of the public wishing to speak will use the “raise hand” option. ------------------------------------------------------ Note: The meeting will also be held online through Zoom and will begin at 3:30pm although people are encouraged check in early. Contact David Stamps, 387-4382 or email at dbstamps@dbstamps.com if you are having trouble connecting. 31TU U 31T You are invited to a Zoom webinar. Topic: Human Relations Commission Please click the link below to join the webinar: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/82827286418?pwd=NFp5YUJYSWlvM2tKbzhzbjlVd2lldz09 Passcode: 284382 Or One tap mobile : US: +13126266799,,82827286418#,,,,*284382# or +16465588656,,82827286418#,,,,*284382# Or Telephone: Dial(for higher quality, dial a number based on your current location): US: +1 312 626 6799 or +1 646 558 8656 or +1 301 715 8592 or +1 346 248 7799 or +1 669 900 9128 or +1 253 215 8782 Webinar ID: 828 2728 6418 Passcode: 284382 International numbers available: https://us02web.zoom.us/u/k8Zqyz6ja  Laconia Human Relations Committee 2022 Strategic Framework Proposal This proposal focuses the LHRC on providing regular, themed events throughout 2022 to support our vision and reach our objectives as outlined in our Vision & Mission document that the committee authored and approved in December of 2019. In the past, we have supported specific initiatives as well as provided annual programming for the Martin Luther King, Jr. Day Celebration. Other programs and initiatives were created and executed on an ad-hoc basis. I propose that we approach our activities in a more structured, strategic manner. Quarterly Programming I propose that we execute a program each quarter. Each program will have a sub-committee that plans the event, presents the program and budget to the LHRC, incorporates the feedback from the LHRC into the event plans, and summarizes and submits the final plan to the LHRC for voting and acceptance. The Q1 2022 program will be the MLK Day Celebration. We need to start planning this immediately. Theme: Equity and Inclusion I propose that we use a single theme throughout the year to frame and focus each of our programs. This way, we can present this theme to the community, set expectations for our programming, and drive continued engagement, and draw new people to our events. We’ve spoke a great deal about diversity and democracy. However, ‘diversity’ tends to polarize the far-right into thinking that all we focus on is race. Instead, I propose we try to include everyone in the conversation. Thus, I propose the theme of Equity and Inclusion. Equity and equality are not the same. Our Declaration of Independence says that “…all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.” But being equal doesn’t mean that people have the same opportunities, the same access to education, the same ability to live above the poverty line and have their basic needs met—access to safe shelter, good nutrition, quality education, and employment that can help people grow beyond their basic needs. Equity, on the other hand, means that people have equal access to those basic needs and beyond. Equity means that a person has the same chance for “life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness” as others, that they are afforded the same opportunities that others may have regardless of their gender, their race, their sexual orientation, socio-economic background or any other ‘disqualifying’ factor. We want everyone to be included and afforded a chance to live and prosper in this country. To that end, I propose we embrace this theme of equity and inclusion for our programming in 2022. The focus isn’t how people have been excluded; instead, let’s create programming to showcase how people CAN be included. Some example programming: • Showing of the film (part or whole), “What the Constitution Means to Me” and ensuing discussion https://www.amazon.com/What-Constitution-Means-Me/dp/B08KRB3FQ4 30TU U30T • What does equity mean to Laconia? Panel discussion consisting of different types of people in our community and the challenges they have in access to safe/affordable housing, food, jobs, etc. • Inclusion: Making everyone welcome in Laconia. What does this mean? Budgeting We receive $2,000 every July as our budget for programming. When/if the Multi-cultural Marketplace Day is held, we usually donate $1,000 of our budget towards that event. If we take that into account for 2022, our total available funds for 2022 and 1H 2023 is $3800. If we reserve some funding (let’s say $800) for items like yard signs and other misc items, that leaves us with a $500 budget per event for the next 18 months. This isn’t much, so we might want to either ask the Mayor for additional funding for the LHRC, or find sponsors for each of the events we plan.