[OPEN-ILS-GENERAL] Seeking volunteers to address potential Code of Conduct violations at Evergreen conferences

[Kathy Lussier]

Thanks Jane!
> This will be my first Evergreen conference, though, so I know you may
> be looking for folks who are more seasoned members of the community.
> Let me know either way. :-)
In this case, I don't think we need volunteers with a long history in 
the Evergreen community, and I, for one, would love to see new faces 
helping out in this role.

I've received emails from several people interested in helping out, but 
I haven't had a chance to respond to anyone directly. I hope to be in 
touch with everyone by the end of the week.

Many thanks to everyone who volunteered!

Kathy

On 01/14/2015 07:01 PM, Jane Sandberg wrote:
> Hi Kathy,
>
> Thanks for sending this out -- it is great to see the eg community
> taking this seriously.  I'd be happy to help out with this.  I don't
> have a counseling background, but I do feel pretty well equipped to
> de-escalate situations and support folks who are experiencing crises.
> I have taken a lot of workshops on active listening and have a Mental
> Health First Aid certification, and would be really looking forward to
> this training as well.
>
> This will be my first Evergreen conference, though, so I know you may
> be looking for folks who are more seasoned members of the community.
> Let me know either way. :-)
>
> Best,
>
>      -Jane
>
> On Wed, Jan 14, 2015 at 3:45 PM, Kathy Lussier <klussier at masslnc.org> wrote:
>> Hi all,
>>
>> Last March, the Evergreen Oversight Board approved a Code of Conduct for
>> Evergreen events - http://evergreen-ils.org/code-of-conduct/.
>>
>> Since that time, the Board has been working on developing procedures for
>> handling potential Code of Conduct reports if they should occur. These
>> procedures are still a work in progress, but the procedures do call for
>> trained safety staffers to be available at conferences to handle incident
>> reports.
>>
>> The role of the safety staffers is to meet with the reporter of the incident
>> to gather all relevant details, meet with the alleged harasser, work with a
>> team that includes somebody from the conference planning team as well as a
>> rep from the Board to determine what action should be taken, and to
>> communicate those final actions to the people involved in the incident.
>>
>> The Oversight Board is committed to providing training to volunteers, to
>> developing a clear set of procedures on how such incidents should be
>> handled, and to assisting these volunteers in any way they can.
>>
>> The qualities we are looking for in volunteers are people who listen well,
>> are approachable and are non-judgmental. Discretion is also an important
>> quality for any volunteer. We would be particularly interested in finding
>> people who have a background in counseling or something similar. It also is
>> important that volunteers are people who are regular Evergreen conference
>> attendees.
>>
>> If you are interested in helping out or just have questions about the role,
>> feel free to contact me. Also, if you know somebody in the community who
>> possesses the above qualities, please encourage them to get in touch with
>> me. Sometimes, it's easier to see those qualities in others than it is to
>> see them in yourself. :)
>>
>> I think the Code of Conduct is important for creating a welcoming
>> environment for all people in the community, regardless of gender, sexual
>> orientation, disability, physical appearance, body size, race, or religion.
>> However, if we don't have strong procedures for Code of Conduct complaints
>> and volunteers dedicated to ensuring that complaints are handled fairly and
>> quickly, the Code of Conduct will have no meaning. My hope is that we never
>> have an incident that warrants putting the procedures into action, but if
>> there is an incident, we want trained people to respond to it appropriately.
>>
>> I know we have a great community out there, so I hope to hear from some of
>> you that you are interested in helping to maintain a safe and welcoming
>> community.
>>
>> Thank you!
>> Kathy
>>
>> --
>> Kathy Lussier
>> Project Coordinator
>> Massachusetts Library Network Cooperative
>> (508) 343-0128
>> klussier at masslnc.org
>> Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/kmlussier
>>
>
>

-- 
Kathy Lussier
Project Coordinator
Massachusetts Library Network Cooperative
(508) 343-0128
klussier at masslnc.org
Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/kmlussier