Racial Equity Commission

Cityof MASSACHUSETTS www.cityofmalden.org Gary Christenson, Mayor Racial Equity Commission Minutes of October 26, 2023 Committee Members Present: Nate Bae Kupel, Carey McDonald, Abraham Ndiwane, Ralph Long, Janne Shahan, Bwann Gwann and Cassandra Davis Also in attendance: Maria Luise, and representatives from HCH Enterprises: Attorney Robert Zametske, Candy Castaldi, and Dr. Maritsa Barros 1. Roll Call of Committee Members 2. Approval of Minutes: Once a quorum was achieved, the August 30, 2023 minutes were approved. The motion to approve was made by Nate and seconded by Janne. All voting members were in favor. 3. Update on RFP Process and Selection of HCH Enterprises o The RFP process was completed by the Controller’s Office and the City has signed a contract for consulting services with HCH Enterprises to support the REC’s outreach and recommendations. o A focus will be on understanding whether residents and city staff and leaders feel like they belong in the community, and what barriers and opportunities exist for equity and inclusion. 4. New business • Attorney Robert Zametske, Candy Castaldi, and Dr. Maritsa Barros from HCH Enterprises introduced themselves and talked about their backgrounds, etc. • The group discussed areas they would like to learn more about and what they would like to focus on as far as the audit: o It was mentioned how the City has grown and changed so much in the last decade and we need to catch up. o There have been huge disproportionate impacts from the pandemic, the public health realities are front and center; what health care resources do we need to have access to? Maria will provide the CHA data to the consultants. o Better understand the needs and access barriers for our diverse residents, to improve overall well-being. o City and community resources should be accessible in an equitable way for all residents. o Trust is an issue for marginalized communities interacting with institutions, trust building would be a good goal. 1|Pa g e  o How do we help first generation immigrants navigate our systems and culture? This is a major issue in Malden, and we recognize the impact of generational wealth/poverty/trauma. o Malden’s scale of diversity is different than most places; can we make this visible through signs, etc.? It takes more work from leadership to fully engage the diversity of the community, i.e., language access in the 7 major languages of Malden takes planning and investment. o Want to establish the paradigm for how we talk about racial equity going forward. o Racial equity work is episodic, it goes in waves and is never complete. Malden has been through 2-3 waves in the last few years, this commission’s work is to discern the next wave of racial equity work for Malden. • Cost of housing might be another key issue for us to focus on: o Have been working recently on more affordable housing with the city. o Need to engage Malden Housing Authority (MHA) residents and those in income- restricted housing in city conversations, i.e., town hall meetings o Need a sharper understanding of equity dimensions of the housing crisis since so much is based on generational wealth and intersects with other issues like climate action planning and environmental justice. o Cambridge Health Alliance Community Needs Assessment identified housing as a top barrier to better health outcomes. • Looking for broad principles and models to apply, rather than just a laundry list of concerns; structures, procedures and systems that will last beyond the Commissions work. • HICH asked about the current infrastructure: o Maria gave an update on the hiring of our DEI Coordinator. The interview panel was completing second interviews of candidates. A Language Access Coordinator is currently on staff. o The Human Rights & Fair Housing Commission does good work, but is not staffed, positioned, or empowered to lead. o There are several community partners. • Part of the goal of this process is to create leverage to show this is important and essential, not just symbolic. • Outreach and information gathering from HCH o Meet with city department heads; o Invite various committees and commissions to an REC meeting (Disability Commission, Human Right and Fair Housing, MHA, new Police/Community Advisory Council, Climate Action Plan Steering Committee); o Important community groups to engage: o Malden Chamber of Commerce o CHA, Eliot Human Services o Housing Families, Bread of Life, Malden Warming Center o Immigrant Learning Center, GMAACC, CCC o Interfaith group o School officials and leaders, but Malden Public Schools is in process of implementing their own equity process. o Need to make sure racial equity commission is part of upcoming master plan process, get an update to the REC; this is a huge opportunity to advance DEI goals. 2|Pa g e  • Implementation: o Commission can set timelines for implementation, and hoped-for impact. o REC will be the institutional memory for the new DEI coordinator. o Prepare department directors to receive leadership from the DEI coordinator. o Hope to have a new REC, resident commission for the DEI coordinator to work with. o Need a plan to evaluate and assess our work, a “Diversity or Racial Equity Scorecard.” o Need a bias response system with DEI coordinator and resident involvement; what is lingering harm in the community? o Beyond city staff, also need strategies to engage other elected officials on City Council and the School Committee Adjournment at 7:55 PM. Next Meeting: November 30th, at City Hall in Room 105 3|Pa g e