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 by: Yas Ahmed
When was the last time you had a play-date with a fellow co-worker? How about with all of your co-workers? Mine was a week ago, at the illustrious Glitter and Razz space in Oakland. The members of YDPN's steering committees and our staff (both of us) settled in for an eight hour day of Serious Fun. (Note the capitalization.) The entire retreat was based firmly in various arts and was inclusive of the multiple learning styles - which meant we were creating collages about sustainability, donning feather boas and toy binoculars for skits about organizational trajectory, and crafting poems to inform the creation of our mission statement. Aside from the multiple programmatic accomplishments of the day - due in no small part to the fluid facilitation of Lynn Johnson - the real success of the day for me was the deepening of relationships and commitment to this work that occurred among the people in the converted basement of a church in Rockridge.
I was reminded time and again that day that youth workers in the Bay are vibrant, thoughtful people who, at the heart of it, get that to work hard, you've got to be able to play harder. Not just for the sake of filling our bellies with laughter, but because you've got to be able to take a risk with those you call colleague. It was a profound moment for me to remember that even amidst the very harsh economic terrain prompting organizations to be in flux programmatically and financially, there are some certainties about what strengthens and sustains our work. Trust among colleagues is not a privilege anymore. It's the life blood of our work. With more and more research pointing to the recommendation-turned-mandate for organizational accountability, many of us are hard-pressed to find an organization that invests in its constituency the same way it does its workers and organizational culture. For example - can you think of one that consistently models transparency in its communications? Or how about one that really supports youth workers in taking risks, even if it means going against the grain of the traditional organization decision-makers? If you're thinking of the one you're at, hold fast - and schedule a play date very soon.
2009 has been about reframing for me, on several levels - particularly trying to come from a place of abundance instead of scarcity. Taking stock of the real resources - people, time, energy - available to us, and investing in what we value. After this retreat and a week's worth of reflection, as a youth worker, I know I'm not wont for resources.
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