At Inclusity, we strongly believe in the power of inclusive communities – that’s why we were excited to support Hancock County and its IDE efforts through culture assessment, consultation, and inclusion training!
Inclusity conducted a series of interviews and focus groups with a variety of members of the Hancock County community, including (but not limited to) young professionals, members of the clergy, the superintendent of schools, high school students, the mayor, and community leaders. Through this process, we gained a more solid understanding of the existing community culture, the specific benefits of inclusion for the community, and leadership’s role in becoming more inclusive. Inclusity then provided recommendations for actions Hancock County could take to become more inclusive, as well as led Cultural Humility and Health Equity and Conscious Inclusion Training. In addition, we developed an Inclusion Toolkit for Hancock County, which includes fundamental unconscious bias training, tools to help them create/amend policies to be more inclusive, and templates for climate survey
As a result of these efforts, The You Belong Campaign, a program spearheaded by the Hancock County Leadership Class of 2022, was launched. They have also partnered with the Hancock County Cultural Humility & Health Equity Delegation for the annual project. The delegation is comprised of local community members, establishing a Community of Belonging in Findlay and Hancock County, focusing on ensuring accessibility of all things and designing a code of humility.
One of the key goals of the You Belong campaign is to create a more accessible community. This means making sure that all individuals, including those with disabilities, have access to the resources and opportunities they need to thrive. This includes everything from accessible transportation to inclusive community events.
Hancock County has recently hit one of its Inclusive Milestones. The Hancock County Board of Developmental Disabilities has agreed to turn over daily operations of the preschool at Blanchard Valley School, 1700 E. Sandusky St., to the county’s public schools in the fall, ensuring all children with developmental disabilities in Hancock County will be served by their home school districts.
In April of this year, You Belong grantees participated in a Poster Gallery Session at the Findlay-Hancock County Public Library’s annual CommunityREADS event. It was inspiring to see and hear about each organization’s commitment to creating a Community of Belonging in Findlay-Hancock County.
Inclusity is proud to partner with Hancock County and so thankful to be a part of the community’s journey. We look forward to collaborating with other organizations and individuals to promote these values of inclusion, diversity, and equity – and to create positive change in Hancock County and beyond.
