Community Conversations: Mobilizing Local Communities to Make Change Happen Saturday, June 2, 2018 10:00 - 10:45 am
Diego Guerra Diego Guerra is the Community Engagement Coordinator at the National Deaf Center on Postsecondary Outcomes. They is responsible for Engage for Change | local, a community model that brings people together to promote stronger networks within local communities to provide quality access for deaf individuals. Diego holds a bachelor’s degree in history from The University of Texas at Austin. They is currently the president of Manos de Tejas, and serves on the board of Council de Manos.
[Image description: A photo of Diego, a non-binary Chicanx, sitting on a bench. They is smiling slightly at the camera. Their brown hair is down to their shoulders with light brown glasses. The photo was taken outdoors by a building.]
Community Conversations: Mobilizing Local Communities to Make Change Happen Diego Guerra Deaf Latinx students face many barriers and challenges as they move from high school into college, training programs, and the workplace. Currently, 64% of Deaf Latinx individuals graduate with a high school diploma compared to 71% Latinx individuals who are hearing. For employment rates, Deaf Latinx are at 52.4%, compared to hearing Latinx who are at 71%. There is no simple solution to these challenges, but the National Deaf Center on Postsecondary Outcomes (NDC) believes that the path to improved outcomes includes actively involving the communities surrounding deaf youth, including being culturally responsive with intersectional identities. One of our goals is to build models of community networks to leverage social capital available at the local level, starting with community conversations. The community conversation model invites community members into the process of identifying critical needs and potential solutions, thus increasing buy-in and the chance for successful impact on improved postsecondary outcomes. This presentation will provide an overview of the NDC community model, Engage for Change | local, and the key ideas and solutions that emerged in conversations across the nation: Austin, TX, St. Louis, MO, Seattle, WA, Milwaukee, WI, Honolulu, HI, and the DC area. At this workshop, we work in solidarity to affirm, celebrate, and collectively uplift our disabled Latinx community through community building, gathering resources and education. This workshop will facilitate break out sessions to discuss key ideas and solutions that emerged across the nation, and how these can be applied to participants’ own local communities at home. Participants will gain knowledge of the community model and its strategies of bringing locals together to make an impact. They also would identify possible strategies and solutions to increase postsecondary outcomes in their own communities. We believe that change can happen when everyone is involved in the push for change.