Best Practices - Building Support

Project:	The Streetworker Program
Organization:	United Teen Equality Center (UTEC)
	Lowell, MA

UTEC was able to turn a potential crisis to their advantage because they’ve made the following strategies an ongoing priority.

Be pro-active in reaching out to the police, the business community, civic and religious leaders—making sure they know what you do, setting up channels of communication and seeking their partnership. It’s no accident that UTEC’s new location in a church came after their appeal for help in finding a place and that the police call their Streetworker team to come when there’s gang trouble.

Take the community seriously. UTEC staff were well aware of the retailers’ complaints about the teens gathering outside. Even though they knew that claims of vandalism and graffiti were untrue, UTEC leadership considered their neighbors’ point of view. UTEC staff deployed to the sidewalk to urge the kids into the building and to ameliorate even the perception of a problem.

Use events strategically. When UTEC organized an open house in their new location, they carefully considered all their target audiences and what messages they wanted to project. First they created a welcoming after-school environment for teenagers and showed off UTEC programs to attract their participation.

The music and activities set the stage for a dinner meeting with the business community and city leaders. Neighborhood proprietors were invited to see the teens in action and then to voice any concerns about the impact UTEC might have on the area. Reporters were encouraged to cover every aspect. Even the food was strategically planned: students in the UTEC culinary arts program catered the appetizers and dinner.

Always include clients. No one can praise or clarify your work better than the people you serve. UTEC constantly introduces young people into meetings with adult opinion leaders. At first the way the teens dress may intimidate the uninitiated, but once these youth speak up they reveal themselves as at-risk young people who truly benefit from UTEC’s programs. UTEC lives their credo “by teens, for teens.”

Keep board members informed. When the city council suddenly convened a committee to hear more about the supposed conflicts UTEC clients might be causing in the neighborhood, UTEC’s board was up to speed and ready to make their case.

Welcome reporters. UTEC operates as an open organization, with no subject off-limits. This attitude encourages the media to want UTEC’s side of any story. UTEC’s executive director responds promptly by phone and even with written information when reporters call. He also refers them to additional contacts, such as a police officer who supports their work and keeps the statistics on downtown crime. See UTEC’s press coverage.

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