How I First Heard of Cheryl

I was referred to Cheryl by Adam Kovitz, Founder and Publisher of The National Networker, who - in obvious admiring tones - gave me a quick overview of her accomplishments. Of course I was eager to give her a call!

Although Cheryl was glad for the opportunity to be featured here, she suggested that (instead of replying to the usual questionnaire I submit to interviewees) I use her web sites to find the information I need. For this reason, my format here is a bit different from the more conversational tone of my previous TNNW articles.

Meet a Powerful Pioneer!

Cheryl Honey
Founder and President
Family Support Network, International
(206) 240-2241
(425) 820-2224
Email Cheryl
www.familynetwork.org
www.communityweaving.org

I’d like to begin with excerpts from Cheryl’s official bio:

"Cheryl Honey is a Certified Prevention Specialist and a pioneer of Community Weaving practices. She designed a community empowerment approach that taps grassroots resources and mobilizes the strengths and assets of caring people committed to creating a more civil society…

Cheryl founded the Family Support Network (FSN) in February, 1992. Over a period of ten years, she built the FSN into a nationally recognized "bottom-up" community mobilization strategy to weave a community web of support for all families and children across America. This exciting network was implemented in other communities around the country including Washington, Idaho and Colorado.

The FSN received a grant from the Institute for Civil Society for a pilot project to replicate FSN's through systems in 1997 and establish an FSN Institute in the Puget Sound. The Lifetime Channel featured a story about the Family Support Network in a segment for New Attitudes which aired January, 1999. Today she is the President of Excel Strategies, a Washington based corporation and consults around the country on how to create a more civil society through volunteerism.

Cheryl has trained and certified over 800 Community Weavers and Family Advocates and facilitated over 100 trainings, for volunteers and staff. She's had the privilege of presenting workshops at various conferences around the country and Canada…

…She graduated from Washington State University's Cooperative Extension Family Community Leadership Program, the Neighborhood Leadership Institute, a program of the Center for Ethical Leadership and Mediation Training at the Dispute Resolution Center in Everett, Washington …

She graduated with honors and delivered the commencement address at Edmonds Community College in June, 2003. She received certificates in Alcohol and Chemical Dependency Counseling; Mental Health Case Manager; Human Services Case Management; Mediation; A/DIS, and Family & Community Leadership. She received her Bachelors in Liberal Arts from Antioch University in Seattle in Transformative Community Building and Human Services in December, 2004. Her inspirational story about how she transformed her own life and her community inspires diverse audiences all across America."

Interconnectivity

Community Weaving and Family Support Network are powerfully interlinked: one is for profit, the other nonprofit. In large measure, they share the same goals and organizational history. One of Cheryl’s favorite mottos shines through both networks:

Family Support Network International

Family Support Network is an all-volunteer effort to create a more caring, just and civil society.

Cheryl’s underlying philosophy is:

Goals:

These are the goals listed on the FSN web site:

• Creating a network of support for families.

• Connecting families to one another.

• Empowering families to help themselves.

• Making resources more easily accessible and affordable.

• Making neighborhoods safer places to live and play.

• Saving families time and money through resource pooling with other families.

• Providing opportunities for kids and families to learn and have fun together.

"Our mission is to weave a grassroots web of support for young and old alike and create a more caring, just, and civil society. Everyone has something to offer! Even if you need assistance right now doesn't mean you can't help someone else down the road."

FSN Technology

Here’s how Cheryl describes the technology she and her communities have evolved over the years:

"This interactive social networking technology was developed as a tool for self empowerment and self-organizing. It weaves the human and tangible resources of the grassroots with the skills, expertise and resources of formal community systems. The technology empowers individuals from schools, churches, businesses, organizations and neighborhoods to self-organize and create Family Support Networks.

All participants are interconnected through the technology to weave a socially cohesive community and foster a village effect at all levels of community. Anyone can utilize the technology at no cost to pool resources, form groups, locate educational, social and recreational opportunities, post activities and web links, find support and resources and share great ideas."

Community Weaving

"A new solution for a new century"

Goals:

Again, from the web site:

"Community Weaving is an innovative approach to foster a community of responsible citizens who create Family Support Networks where they share their time, gifts, talents and resources with others. This community mobilization strategy increases civic engagement and social capital by tapping grass root resources resulting in the creation of healthy thriving communities….

Family Support Networks meet the needs of families and children in the old fashioned way, neighbor to neighbor. Through the use of telephones and a web-based technology families can easily and immediately access a myriad of resources to help themselves and others in the community."

As I worked my way through the various pages of information, a "curiosity question" came to mind:

How Do You Know When a Community Is Ready?

I was gratified to quickly find an answer on the site:

Community Readiness

"If we are serious about improving communities, we must be aware of the local community context and the readiness of that context for change. Even the best strategies will not be successful unless the community environment has a culture of acceptance for new ideas. Conversely, if we have a context of readiness then anything we do will have a higher probability of success...

In order to access the readiness of a community we must determine its ability to confront the conditions that inhibit growth and development. Are individuals open to the possibilities of change?... Can we accept each other’s differences and build upon what we share in common?

… Before we start we must internalize the importance of why we are entering into this complex area of work?... Why can’t we just go our separate ways and still be members of the same community? If can’t write on our hearts the answers to these why questions we will never succeed. Understanding the why is more important than figuring out the how...

…When the contextual culture of the community does not change then nothing really will change. Often we want to implement our ideas and we don’t recognize the level of readiness for the concept. When our ideas fail we are discouraged and lose energy. There was nothing wrong with idea; the community’s level of readiness was not strong enough to support the initiative. As we begin to work together differently we must recognize the present context and correlate or efforts to fit the degree of readiness."

What is a Community Weaver?

A Community Weaver is a trained volunteer or staff person who helps people create Family Support Networks in their schools, churches, corporations and organizations.

What Do Community Weavers Do?

Community Weavers recruit Good Neighbors and weave them into Family Support Networks. They also train Family Advocate volunteers.

Good Neighbors pool resources and lend assistance to those who need a helping hand. Community Weavers help them organize activities and prepare for disasters and respond to emergencies.

The Community Weavers Training

The phases of the Community Weavers Training are:

Certification Training

Community Weavers attend a 3-day Training Institute to start Community Weaving. They learn how to weave the human and tangible resources of the grassroots with the skills and expertise of formal systems to build and bridge social capital.

Community Weaver Certification Training

This Leadership Training gives participants insight into transformative community building theories and practices. They will:

• Learn how to engage citizens to build social capital and receive the tools, techniques and technology to start Community Weaving.

• Create a customized recruitment strategy to recruit Good Neighbors who pool resources and post educational, social and recreational activities on the FSN web site.

• Upon completion, receive a volunteer training manual to train Family Advocate volunteers who provide direct services to referrals.

Training of Trainers

A 2-day Training of Trainers of Volunteers follows this training.

History: The Evolution of Community Weaving:

Here is how Cheryl Honey begins her story:

"In the Fall of 1993, I was an unemployed mother of four struggling to make ends meet after an unforeseen circumstance impacted our lives. Feeling isolated and alone with no family to turn to, I searched for help and discovered I didn’t fit the profile and didn’t need to be fixed. In lieu of applying for public assistance, I organized my neighbors into a support network based on the notion that poverty would not affect our quality of life as long as our family was connected to people who cared about us.

Local agencies couldn’t provide me with what I was looking for, so I asked some neighbors about getting together on a weekly basis to share a meal, have some fun, learn about issues affecting our lives and help each other out when needed. One of my neighbors, Bea Wilson really liked the idea, so we decided to organize a neighborhood gathering at the elementary school and opened it up to anyone who wanted to attend.

It took us three months to cut through the red tape and convince the principal to host the first neighborhood gathering. She provided us with a place to meet for six weeks, but wouldn’t authorize use until we provided her with a list of topics for the meetings."

And now – to fast forward:

...Twenty-one families attended the first neighborhood gathering at Frank Love Elementary in Bothell, Washington. All the parents signed in, completed a checklist that inventoried their strengths and assets and agreed to share their information so they could be connected. About half in attendance were interested in gleaning information and socializing. They were caring people who shared their stories and had some great ideas. The other neighbors’ lives had been impacted by alcoholism, domestic violence, job lay-offs, health issues, parenting frustrations and vandalism. Even my neighbor, who would have dinner with us on occasion, never indicated that anything was wrong. It was in this moment that I understood the value of creating sacred space where magic could happen.

The families got tips from local agencies and accessed resources to better their situation. At the end of the six weeks the ten neighbors remaining agreed to meet monthly at different homes and organize activities that were fun for everyone. Our lives got busy and we stopped organizing gatherings, but the bonds between us were strong. From time to time we’d call each other to check in or asked someone for a helping hand. It felt comforting to know people cared.

Passionate action: Take responsibility for what you love

…Sitting around a coffee table one afternoon with Bea tossing around some ideas, we decided to start-up an organization called the Family Support Network (FSN). We chose the name because our intention was to grow an extended family who supported one another and networked resources. This is what we felt happen to us at our gathering.

…We knew people were capable of helping each other if they just had a way of getting connected. Our mission was to network neighbors to together who shared our vision and values to strengthen families and community. Within a few months after filing paperwork, assembling a board of directors, and setting up an office in my basement, the Family Support Network was born. Without a gathering place, we began signing up Good Neighbors and inventorying their strengths and assets. I volunteered as the Community Coordinator and organized promotional materials and signed up Good Neighbors. Bea met with local agencies and helped organize neighborhood gatherings at schools, churches and community centers. We published the "FSN Happenings" newsletter and distributed it into the community through the Good Neighbors to promote the FSN and keep everybody informed of our progress.

As requests for assistance came in, Both Bea and I connected Good Neighbors together and to resources in the FSN Resource Treasury as needed. Good Neighbors provided assistance in person and over the phone. We averaged 40 matches a week and tracked what services the Good Neighbors were providing others that first year of operation. The Good Neighbors mostly listened and provided a lot of encouragement. They also helped people move, fixed cars, fixed toilets, repaired electrical wiring, mowed lawns, babysat, shuttled people to appointments and airports, gave health tips, and invited people home for dinner.

The activities organized by Good Neighbors attracted more people into the network… The city funded neighborhood improvement projects initiated by Good Neighbors. At the end of the year we gathered all the Good Neighbors together for a big FSN Christmas Party where we celebrated accomplishments and told stories. There was an abundance of wisdom from our experiences there that night and socio-economic barriers seemed to disappear. It felt like a family.

In our third year things began happening unexpectedly. Our story about the FSN was published on the front page of the Seattle Times in an article entitled: "A substitute for welfare? Volunteer help a better way?" The story raised awareness about our effort across the state. By the end of the year we had over 300 Good Neighbors in the network. Our goal of being an all-volunteer, self- self-sustained organization funded by private contributions was achieved.

Do-overs: Reflection on experience.

…By filtering feedback through critical reflective practice the board was responsive to the feedback received from FSN volunteers and the agencies who supported the effort. Training evaluations guided the refinement of volunteer training curriculum that evolved into a leadership training for agency staff. A local community college granted 16 hours of continuing education upon completion of the Family Advocate Certification Training.

Accomplishments: Expect the Unexpected

Agencies sent both clients and staff to be certified as Family Advocates. This impacted the professional/client relationship in the FSN environment because all participants were viewed as equals. The only difference was the knowledge and skill sets of the individuals. The guiding principles offered by licenses professional case managers, counselors and social workers enhanced the FSN’s scope of service delivery because professionals mentored the Family Advocates to increase their knowledge, strengths and assets. This was a tremendous resource for FSN volunteers and boosted the competency of the volunteers and credibility of the organization.

Conclusion

In spite of all the details and statistics I did not include in this article – simply because of concern over length – I’m clear there is an abundance of facts to show the admirable achievements of Founder Cheryl Honey and the countless Volunteers, Good Neighbors, local agencies, and all other dedicated community participants who have contributed such heartfelt support, who have shown just how much each of us can care for one another at a true grass roots level.

Contact Information

(206) 240-2241
(425) 820-2224
Email
www.familynetwork.org
www.communityweaving.org

Family Support Network, International
14316 75th Ave. NE
Bothell, WA 98011

Email requests are preferable for tracking purposes, however, if you want to talk to a human please feel free to call:

Phone: (425) 820-2224
Fax: (425) 814-9079

For consultation on Community Weaving practices and implementation:

Cheryl Honey, C.P.P.
Master Weaver
(206) 240-2241
Email

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