P&P April Issue 2018

editor‘s note By Jessica Garon

Changing the Narrative

W hat it takes… I’m sure this state- ment creates a laundry list of thoughts for all of us. Many of these thoughts would probably overlap with others, while some are unique to each of us based on our present and past experiences. A caseworker’s mind might be drawn immediately to the vital “here and now” and to thoughts like empathy and courage. For me, not getting to interact daily with those we all seek to serve, I think of what could help make my communication work more effective and one of these things aligns with Tracy’s column in this issue—a discussion of our Strategic Playbook, which was shaped by APHSA’s new vision and mission statements. Framing. We’ve discussed framing before in Policy & Practice. It’s a process that is so critical to our work that it helps to revisit it fre- quently, especially because it’s so hard to accomplish. As defined by the FrameWorks Institute, framing is a process of making choices about what to emphasize—and what to leave unsaid. Using some of their original research in the health and human services realm, we know that human potential is something that we all value. We also know that we all share a common desire to build a good life for ourselves and those we love. By using construction metaphors, we can tap into things like the importance of having the necessary tools to build a strong foundation which proves to be an effective way to show (i.e., frame) how health and human services can promote well-being. Thriving Communities. Through working with you, our members, we know that providing a wide range of services and support to help all people

As champions for change, we must put our heads together to ensure we get a little closer to that place every day. And by changing the narrative from “safety net” to “well-being,” from “entitlement” to “common needs,” and most important, from “them” to “us,” we might just get there a little faster. Have you and your team employed effective framing recently? What else comes to your mind when you think about “what it takes?” As always, we’d love to hear from you—let’s build our thriving communities together!

be healthy and well can ultimately result in thriving communities. As health and human services profes- sionals, you have the ability to help build and maintain these thriving com- munities from the ground up. By combining all of this, a new, effectively framed vision statement guides us to what we want to become: THRIVING COMMUNITIES BUILT ON HUMAN POTENTIAL. Sure, our work could continue without the proper framework, but why go down that road when we now know a better way? To influence policy, we must first shift mindsets with new narratives that show the true impact of health and human services on all of us. It’s not just an investment in one person, or one family, but an invest- ment in our communities. Finding and sharing more productive ways to understand this will help drive us to our desired future state.

Jessica Garon , Communications Manager at APHSA, can be reached at jgaron@aphsa.org.

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April 2018 Policy&Practice