Community Voice

Our Why

The Community Information Exchange (CIE) received a wonderful opportunity to include and integrate community voice as part of our governance structure, ongoing development, and future expansion. We convened a group of community leaders, who champion for different causes, impacting vulnerable populations, across San Diego County.

We recognize the importance of meaningfully engaging community members with lived experience and we are committed to elevating the work of grassroots and culturally diverse organizations in San Diego.

In continued partnership with the CIE: Community Voice Advisory Board, we have co-created and co-designed the best practices for engagement, with grassroots and culturally diverse community members and partners as stated below:

Best practices for engagement with grassroots/culturally diverse CBOs/People with Lived Experience:

Not tokenizing or making individuals representatives of entire groups
Compensating clients/community members for their contributions
Creating a gathering space where participants/partners/clients and people feel safe to express themselves authentically and show up in their truest form so, they don’t feel like they have to “code switch”.
Community Principles created by the Community Voice Advisory Board to ensure equity, inclusion, and some level of participation.
Being willing to receive any form of feedback so, we can grow and create action-oriented steps to make this ecosystem better for others.
People with lived experience are the experts and are fully aware of rising/ongoing community needs, we should listen to understand and take action-oriented steps to make systems change. Using our organizational positionality and access to uplift and link people to opportunity.
Constant communication and transparency with partners/people with lived experience to foster trust.
Language matters and we should be okay with changing it up (ex: Meetings = Gatherings) or (incarcerated individuals= people who are justice-impacted).
Ensuring that we are bridging the gap for people who may be food insecure, it is important to be mindful of having food/snack & drink options available during meetings if they are scheduled for early morning, during lunch hour, or what would be considered dinner/evening time.

Power of diverse teams ensuring inclusion & equitable management:

Having a variety of lived experience perspectives is crucial to having a robust dialogue, diverse outlook & approach with a collective strategy, and implementation, as informed by all.
Engaging the community and having them provide a direction on equitable approaches and when community members take active leadership roles, together we are able to propel action.
Amplifying the voice of the community by showcasing initiatives/projects led by community, to a larger audience/network, provides more avenues for accessibility to opportunity.
Celebrating and honoring moments in history that impact our communities and recognizing the present (JUNETEENTH, Día de los Muertos, Lunar New Year etc.)
Creating opportunities for teams to come together and participate in a fun activity (karaoke, picnic at the park, relay race, rage room etc)
Remaining flexible as needs/life shifts occur and being okay with folks prioritizing needs by “passing the baton” to others who can fill that role/responsibility.