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Fund for an OPEN Society |
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because separate can never be equal. |
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While OPEN continues directly consulting with communities seeking to become stably integrated, an approach that works, in order to reach exponentially more communities and fulfill our mandate as a national organization, other programmatic models were needed. The programs below and listed on our New Initiatives page represent this growth. |
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Programs |
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Stable racially and ethnically integrated communities are an essential component of a strategy that promotes equity and access to opportunity for all. OPEN’s community consulting is premised on a belief in the importance of organizing for robust and stable racial/ethnic integration in community markets for housing, schools, and civic life. We recognize that re-segregation creates separate and unequal environments and that sustained integration and equality benefits people of all races. Our approach is comprehensive, working in every area from economic development to inter-group relations, and hands on – with consultants trained in a variety of disciplines to bring expertise to any community’s issues. |
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Community Consulting |
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In the past, OPEN has been invited into a community after concerns about racial change have created instability and white flight has begun. We are now proactively approaching communities where diverse populations exist in order to have a more preemptive involvement, and we are implementing a regional approach because regional solutions acknowledge big picture implications of segregation (e.g. sprawl) and lead to more sustainable communities. Our initial focus is on older suburbs – first suburbs – many of which are in the midst of substantial racial and ethnic change. Organizing these communities into networks to pursue policies that will strengthen participating communities is an important step in stabilization. |
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First Suburbs |
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An exciting outreach campaign, Reclaiming Integration seeks to recapture both the power and spirit of the word - rekindling the passion for just communities and recognition of integration as a civil right. We are working to communicate that passion through print and electronic media, including a journal-in progress- in which contributors share their vision for a better integrated society, and scholars provide context and suggest opportunities for advancement toward an integrated whole. |
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Reclaiming Integration |
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To help communities become stably integrated, we are focusing on a key pathway to integration: civic participation. We seek to actively engage all members of a community in community problem solving, leadership development, and democratic practice. Working with the Professional Development Institute at Rutgers University’s Edward J. Bloustein School of Planning and Public Policy and Prime Directive Consulting Group, OPEN has created a curriculum, LeadershipMatters™ which takes this commitment to scale. LeadershipMatters™ engenders civic engagement and community building, especially reaching persons of color, immigrants, and low-income individuals – those most often not “at the table.” |
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Leadership Matters™ |
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Contact Us
Email: open@opensoc.org NJ Office: 973.821.4198 PA Office: 215.546.0511 |
