Building Bridges to Traditional Nonpartners
Roca staff describe building relationships with police, courts, schools, and social services to support young people. Hearing how other participants see the system can expose assumptions that keep organizations apart.
THE IDEA
BUILDING BRIDGES TO TRADITIONAL NONPARTNERS
Partnering with those who are different is a core strategy at Roca, the Chelsea, Massachusetts, service organization. Roca focuses on “building bridges across boundaries” that otherwise trap young people in systems ill-attuned to their realities and needs. “Our work is always about building networks of transformative relationships, so we can start to understand the patterns behind problems in our community,” says Omar Ortez. “These networks of relationships start with kids on the streets, but they have also extended gradually to other organizations like police, the courts, the schools, and DSS [the Massachusetts Division of Social Services]. This starts to create new systems that can work in favor of the kids.”
“We used to give organizations like the police a hard time because we were always trying to protect the kids,” says Molly Baldwin. “Then I discovered something remarkable. When you start to see the system from the viewpoint of people who are in very different parts of it, you become more responsible. You start to see that your prejudice, your attachment to your point of view, was really a way of protecting yourself. It also helps others look at themselves and their biases.
“Sometimes little miracles happen. Officer Pete was a cop who came to one of our circle trainings. During the training someone told a story about starfish. The story goes that someone sees an old man standing on the beach among hundreds of starfish that have been stranded by the tide going out. When the old man picks up a starfish and throws it back into the sea, [the person] yells at the old man, ‘What difference will that make? It’s just one starfish.’ And the old man yells back, ‘It made a difference for that starfish.’”
“Two days later I was walking up the street,” continues Roca staffer Anisha Chablani, “and I bumped into one of the detectives and he said, ‘What did you guys do to Pete? He keeps talking about some story about starfish.’ Unbelievable. I almost died. Officer Pete! It was the coolest thing I ever heard.”
When to use it
A nonprofit working with at-risk youth seeks to collaborate with local police to reduce tensions and improve outcomes.
A school district aims to partner with social services and mental health providers to create a more supportive environment for students.
A business leader wants to build trust with community activists who have opposed company practices.
Healthcare providers and law enforcement collaborate to address the root causes of frequent emergency room visits among vulnerable populations.
FROM THEORY TO EVERYDAY LIFE
In practice
Officer Pete and the Starfish Story
After attending a Roca circle training, Officer Pete kept talking about a story in which an old man saves individual stranded starfish. A colleague’s report delighted Roca staff, who saw it as a sign that the training had reached him.
Roca's Network Expansion
Omar Ortez describes Roca’s relationships expanding from young people on the streets to police, courts, schools, and social services. He presents these connections as a way to understand recurring community problems and build systems that better support the young people.
A MOMENT TO REFLECT
Put it to work.
Think of a group or institution you currently view as an opponent or obstacle. How might adopting their perspective change your approach?
What boundaries exist in your community or organization that could benefit from deliberate bridge-building?
How can you use storytelling to shift perceptions and build empathy with someone from a very different background?
CONTINUE THE CONVERSATION
Source texts
- The Fifth Discipline The Art Practice of the Learning Organization (Peter M. Senge)