Skip to main content

Just Do It

 

Have you seen this post on social media lately?

"Howard County Office of Human Rights and Equity is conducting a Community Equity Audit in three key areas: racial & social equity, opportunity, and quality of life. The goal of the community equity audit is to identify institutional and structural practices that produce inequities in services, policies, and access.

The Equity Audit matters because every resident (child, youth, family, individual) in Howard County matters. We are doing this audit because we are on the path to building a more caring, compassionate, and inclusive county.

Please take the time to complete the survey and share the link with others: http://bit.ly/3hXIL1r

Survey closes: August 27, 2021. 

I am here to tell you that I took the survey and was pleasantly surprised. Most surveys are either too long or too boring for me. I am perpetually starting out with good intentions and then quitting in frustration after page seven when I realize I’m nowhere near the end. 

This survey asks about things I really care about: 

  • racial & social equity
  • opportunity
  • quality of life
Best of all, it’s balanced between multiple choice and short answer questions where I could put things in my own words. And it was not too long! This is an anonymous survey and all answers are voluntary, so, if you really feel the need to skip something, you can. I didn’t find the need to skip over anything, for what that's worth.

The Equity Audit is an initiative of the Equity and Restorative Practices Unit of HoCoOHRE. I was interested to read about the seven core beliefs that guides their equity and restorative practices work. It gave me a clearer picture about the driving force behind the creation of the Equity Audit and their goals in reaching out to the community for their input.

You can check out Howard County Office of Human Rights and Equity on Facebook, Twitter: @HoCoOHRE, and Instagram: hocoohre. Truth in advertising: I have not checked to see if they are on TikTok.

The more people who complete the survey, the more informative and comprehensive the results will be. They don’t just want to hear from one segment of the County. They are hoping to get responses from many people and many different kinds of people. 

How can you help? Take the survey and share the link, not only with your immediate friends, but with local social media groups you belong to as well. If other folks are anything like me, you might want to reassure them that it’s easy to complete, not mind-numbingly tedious, and, most of all: it’s not too long!

Please note: today is August 17th. You have until the end of the month to get this done and share it around. I reached out to HoCoOHRE and they confirmed the survey will be open until then. Here’s a handy-dandy reminder:



When it comes to surveys, I am rather like Mikey in the old Life Cereal advert. If I liked it, it’s probably worth a try.



Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Getting Fresh

One of my favorite days in the Spring comes when this year’s list of Farmer’s Markets is released. That happened this week. New this year are markets in Old Ellicott City and the “Merriweather Market” which, according to the address, will be located here . I mistakenly thought at first glance that it was in the new-construction part of the Merriweather District. I find the name confusing considering its actual location. I’m going to guess that this market is an initiative of the Howard Hughes Corporation because the name seems chosen more for branding purposes than anything else.  Alas, the market in Maple Lawn is gone. The thread on the markets on the County Executive’s FB page will provide you with quite the education in who actually runs the Farmers Markets vs what people often think is going on. Short answer: they are not  chosen nor run by the county. Each market is an independent entity, sometimes started by community volunteers, other times supported by local businesses...
1 comment
Read more

Teacher Gifts

Today is the last day of school before the Winter Break. It’s a good time to remember the far-reaching nature of our public school system. You may not have children. You may have sent your children to independent schools. It matters not. You will be impacted one way or another. Yesterday I read a long thread on Facebook about several waves of illness in the schools right now. There’s influenza A and norovirus, I believe. And of course there’s COVID. Apparently in some individual schools the rate of illness is high enough for school admin to notify parents.  When I was little the acceptable holiday gift for a teacher was one of those lovely floral handkerchief squares. (I don’t know what it was for male teachers. They were rare in my elementary years.) These days the range of teacher gifts is wider and I have fond memories of Target gift cards which I have written about before. I think it’s safe to say that giving one’s teacher Influenza, norovirus, or COVID is not the ideal holiday...
1 comment
Read more

They Can Wait

This is not a typical Saturday post. That’s because, in my community, it’s not a typical Saturday.  Oakland Mills High School, after years of deferred repair, needs massive renovation. It’s pretty simple: when you don’t fix a problem it gets bigger. The school system itself said the the OMHS school building was  "no longer conducive to learning" back in 2018.  2018 .  But Thursday the Boad of Education voted to push it out of the lineup of important projects which will be given the go-ahead to proceed soonest.  In my opinion it’s a terrible decision and sets a dangerous precedent. To explain, here’s the advocacy letter I sent in support of Oakland Mills High School. I was rather proud of it. I am writing to ask you to proceed with needed renovation at Oakland Mills High School in the most timely and comprehensive manner humanly possible. I have read the letter sent to you by the Oakland Mills Community Association and I am in complete agreement. You are extremel...
1 comment
Read more