Encouraging All Voices

How do we work together as a community? How can we encourage and hear from all voices? 

One theme that came out of the conversations on September 21 was the need to value and embrace the many diverse communities, neighborhoods, and individuals who make up St. Joe. As the notes from that meeting show, not all feel welcome here.  Some have experienced disrespect and hostility. Others have found places of welcome and support. How might we more consciously, as a community, welcome newcomers and celebrate all of the diversity in our city?  A number of ideas were generated such as a multilingual welcome center, showcasing different communities through the “parties on the parkway”, or an annual celebration of our many different cultures. One of the Vision 2040 goals is that “We will create a place where people choose to be and want to stay.”  What needs to happen to make this a reality?

As participants noted, many people – youth, professionals, and others – are currently not choosing to stay.  Someone shared that the population had declined from 76,780 in 2010 to 72,481 in 2020, and then dropped to 70,656 in 2022. Resistance to change, negativity, and frustration with City leadership were all cited as factors.  Numerous ideas relating to the structure of government were raised including staggering elections, changing to a Council – City Manager form of government, hiring a professional administrator, and limiting the amounts spent on elections. How might our city government become more open, transparent, accountable, and engaged with its residents?

We have young people all over the city who are leading in their schools, in their neighborhoods, and in their faith communities.  Would they be more likely to stay if they were engaged more in meaningful ways  in shaping their future? Would a Youth Service Corps be useful here? What might a Youth Coalition or Community Coalition for Youth  look like?  There are many organizations working with youth in St. Joe.  How might we raise awareness among youth and connect them to those? How might we work with our youth as a community to impart the skills of civic engagement?

And what if all of us engaged more? How do we encourage voter registration and participation?  Or better publicize and boost turnout at city sponsored events like Coffee with the Chief or the recently launched STEP (Sharing Thoughts and Engaging People) meetings?  How might we better collaborate, not only with our city government, but with each other to strengthen our community? What should be our primary areas of focus?
There is much to discuss and we need your thoughts and insights. Please join us on October 19 at InterServ, 5400 King Hill Ave, as the conversation continues.

Photo by Nick Fewings on Unsplash