PBN DIVERSITY & INCLUSIONS 2020 AWARDS
Social-Services Agency: Big Brothers Big Sisters of Rhode Island
AS AN ORGANIZATION devoted to providing children in Rhode Island communities with professionally trained and supported adult mentors, Big Brothers Big Sisters of Rhode Island understands the value of diversity and inclusion in its operations.
“Particularly when it comes to the mentoring program, the [youths] that we serve [are] extremely diverse, which is great. And so, we want to make sure our employees and our board of directors [match] that so that we’re coming to the table with shared experiences,” BBBSRI Executive Director Katje Afonseca said. Finding adults that match the lives of the children in the program is key to the organization. Afonseca said one of the things the organization looks for in employees is proficiency in multiple languages. That helps to match mentors with those living in a Spanish-speaking household.
While the COVID-19 pandemic impacted plans to grow both the staff and board of directors, Afonseca said diversity and inclusion are prioritized when adding new people.
“As we think about growing in the future or even adding people to the board, [diversity and inclusion are] top of mind,” Afonseca said. “So, what are we doing when we’re hiring or onboarding mentors or board members? What are we doing that could possibly stop someone because of something that might be systemically wrong?”
One example of that is checking a resume for grammar. Afonseca noted that if someone’s first language isn’t English, their grammar skills may not be the best but that person may be the perfect social worker. It is thinking about where people are coming from and finding the right person to fill necessary positions to serve the children that the organization does.
Grant writer Shelley Peterson said BBBSRI mentors have a great network of resources and support from the parent organization to learn about diversity and inclusion, which includes trainings. Afonseca said the leadership team has read “How to Be an Antiracist” by Ibram X. Kendi and has paid for other trainings.
Peterson said she enjoyed a conference last year that dealt with trainings in Washington, D.C.
“Being able to have that extra training and being able to sit and listen in with like-minded professionals that work on this day in and day out from organizations like MENTOR or My Brother’s Keeper and others all over the United States, it’s great to be seeing what they’re doing,” Peterson said. “Their organizations are doing something perhaps a little bit different or tailored a little bit differently, and just being able to have availability to all of these different workshops, it was great. It was eye-opening, really.”
BBBSRI is a diverse environment, Afonseca said. She works with people who are both like her and different from her.
“We accept everyone, their quirks, and we have some quirky people that work with us and we have some really formal people,” Afonseca said, “and they can all sit in a room and laugh together, which shows that there’s ‘no sense’ of you have to be one way to work here. You just have to be an honest, hard-working person and you’re pretty much golden.”
Afonseca said social and racial injustice, as well as COVID-19, have presented their challenges. But the social workers’ jobs are to provide positive opportunities for children and keep them safe. That may align with one political party or another, but it’s not a political position; it’s sticking to the social worker code of ethics.
“Mentoring is not a right; it’s a privilege and we’re very happy when people want to assume that privilege. But if you want to do that, you have to realize that we serve children who are oftentimes victims of social injustice and we’ll train you to ensure that you don’t contribute to anything like that in a child’s life and support them,” Afonseca said.
This training ensures that mentors realize that it’s not about them or about political parties, Afonseca said. “This is about the little. That’s all it’s about, this child as a person, and here are the tools that you can help that child grow,” she said.
