The Urban Alternative/Institute for Educational Transformation hired ACT for a two-year period to help support their To Bridge and To Build Project in the Columbia Heights neighborhood of Arlington, Virginia (US). This community based project focused on increasing grassroots participation in community planning and decision-making and on increasing the number and skills of neighborhood leaders to effect positive social change in their community. ACT provided two inter-related services for the project, including facilitation of community dialogues and a leadership-training program. ACT Senior Members, Nike Carstarphen and Giselle Huamani-Ober were the lead team members, assisted in the second year by ACT associates Janet Murdoch and Catalina Rojas.

Community Dialogues

Beginning in 2000, Nike and Giselle facilitated a series of 13 community dialogues with a diverse group of community residents from a variety of ethnic and socio-economic backgrounds. The dialogue sought to develop a consensus regarding the vision of the community, the needs for the future Columbia Pike revitalization plan that was being undertaken by the Arlington county government, and action plans to implement specific goals. The project was also designed to give voice to often-marginalized groups, including poor residents and immigrants, into the political decision-making process.

The community dialogues were attended by 30 to 150 participants and were held at the Arlington Mill Community Center (AMCC). The early dialogues focused on developing a community vision. This involved small and large group dialogues to give participants the opportunity to share stories, experiences, dreams, hopes, fears and concerns. As participants told their stories and heard those of others, they began to build relationships across divergent identity boundaries and were able to envision a community development plan that embraced all their needs.

Once the community had a sense of their vision for the future, they focused on making that vision a reality. The decided to focus on three priority needs: increasing affordable housing, expanding public services at Arlington Mill Community Center in Columbia Heights, and influencing the Arlington County Columbia Pike revitalization plan to include their voices and visions. Several of the meetings included the Arlington County planners responsible for developing the Columbia Pike revitalization plan.

To make the dialogue inviting and conducive to helping build community relationships, each of the community dialogues included refreshments and many included a pre-dialogue dinner prepared by members of the community representing different ethnic groups. The opportunity to 'break bread' together or 'share a rice bowl' was an important ritual that helped strengthen community bonds.

Leadership Development Training

Nike and Giselle also conducted 10 training workshops with a small group of community leaders to give participants basic skills and knowledge in those areas in which they, as community organizers and leaders, were in most need and would use frequently in their work with the communities. The leadership training was also designed to prepare participants to facilitate future community dialogues.

The training workshops took place once per month for 3 hours each for a total 30 hours. The training methodology included introductory theoretical frameworks, discussion, and interactive application of skills, such as simulation, role-plays, group exercises, etc. Each workshop focused on a different topic (communication, facilitation, problem solving, negotiation, mediation, intercultural communication, team building, advocacy, community organizing, strategic planning).

First Year Successes

The community participants emerged with a vision for multicultural community that would be inviting and appealing to everyone.

During the first year of the project, the community achieved several observable results that were due to increased community cohesion and organization, and successful lobbying efforts and community action:

1. Increased County Budget for Affordable Housing. The Arlington County Board of Supervisors budgeted an additional $1 million for Columbia Heights improvements in affordable housing in Columbia Heights improvement and $500K for the Neighborhood Conservation Advisory Committee (NCAC).

2. Expanded Arlington Mill Community Center. The Arlington County Board of Supervisors voted to increase the budget to enable the center to be open on weekends and to expand the AMCC to about three times the current size.

3. New Neighborhood Newsletter. In response to a discussion on the need to increase community participation in AMCC, the AMCC Teen Photo Club developed an 8-page quarterly community newsletter, the "West Pike Post," to serve the Arlington Mill Community, especially youth.

4. Neighborhood Survey and Outreach Campaign. The AMCC ESL teachers and students (mostly adults) developed and conducted a community survey to gather information on residents' awareness and use of different AMCC programs, their views of the benefits and suggestions for existing programs, need for new programs at AMCC, and 'success stories.'

"Nike and Giselle were very important in facilitating a potentially explosive discussion between the county and the community in January 2001."
— Todd Endo, Director, Urban Alternative

Second Year

Building on the success of the first year, ACT continued to facilitate an additional 8 community meetings (dubbed "dinners" because they all included a pre-meeting dinner) in the second year and held 5 training sessions for a small group of community leaders. ACT associates, Janet Murdoch and Catalina Rojas, led these meetings and trainings with assistance from Giselle and Nike.

The community dinners focused on consolidating the gains of the first year, developing recommendations for the new expanded community center, identifying different ways to meet affordable housing needs, and identifying and meeting other community needs (e.g. protecting and enhancing small business). They also continued their focus on developing recommendations for the Arlington County Columbia Pike revitalization plan and lobbying/advocating to have their voices included in the final plans. Participants from the leadership development program also began to co-facilitate the meetings, with mentoring and assistance from Janet and Cata.

The training focused primarily on facilitation skills and strategic planning in order to help participants develop skills to lead the community dialogues and help the community develop action plans.

"There are so many groups doing so many things in Arlington Mill, the Community Dinners are becoming the only vehicle for them to share with each other what the various groups are doing, why and how it all fits together into the broad tapestry of a very diverse multiethnic community."
— Janet Murdoch