Radical hospitality and welcoming; Key practices and changing terminology; An atheist goes to heaven.

Welcome to the October edition.

In SAVVY, I discovered this month a term I had not known before: “radical hospitality.” “Radical welcome” is a process that engages people in partnerships for healing health equity.

In SKILLS, ten key practices to consider as you prepare to create an inclusive event environment. Suggestions for changing stigmatizing terminology to more welcoming words for people suffering from addiction.

In SOUL, an atheist goes to heaven and gets some interesting answers to his questions. I hope you are more effective in whatever is your spiritual journey, than I was at learning and growing from my roots in Fundamental Christianity.

Last month, I ended the SOUL section with “Could we all take a moment to walk in the shoes and feelings of the people we serve and make the routine procedures a little more warm and welcoming?” As if to continue the conversation, my email inbox delivered an article in the October 3 edition of Open Minds: “Radical Hospitality For Addiction Treatment.”

I had never seen the term “radical hospitality” before.

Tip 1

What is radical hospitality?

The Metropolitan Council is the regional policy-making body, planning agency and provider of essential services in the seven-county Twin Cities metro area. “Our mission is to foster efficient and economic growth for a prosperous region.” Their definition: https://metrocouncil.org/About-Us/Who-We-Are.aspx

• “Radical hospitality can be defined as a practice of putting extraordinary effort and emphasis on making people feel welcome. This concept is often referred to as 'radical welcome,' and focuses on breaking down barriers that prevent people from participating in an effort, campaign, or community.”

In the Open Minds 

• “Radical hospitality — a method of welcoming consumers with 'extraordinary warmth, generosity, and unconditional acceptance'... designed to offer consumer-oriented training to provider organization staff on how to welcome the consumer and then deliver services that will best address their needs and interests.”

Tip 2

Also known as "radical welcome," this approach engages people who are labeled and blamed for their conditions.

In a paper titled “Radical Welcome: Unexpected Healing Spaces in Community-Researcher-Clinician Partnership for Health Equity” the authors’ objective was to “describe how a virtual community engaged in community-clinician-researcher partnership for health equity became a healing space.” 

They wrote (I bullet-pointed some text for clarity):

“Voices of those affected by disparities must be included to address health equity, yet health systems suppress engagement by creating unwelcoming environments.

• How do health systems practice exclusion and what impact do unwelcoming environments have on both patient and clinician experiences?

• A Radical Welcome approach invites people who are traditionally labeled and blamed for their conditions — e.g., homelessness, substance use, incarceration, sex work — to co-create change in healthcare setting.”

Reference: Letcher A, Biery N, Mitsdarffer M, Moeller C, Kieber-Emmons A, Bersani A, Johnson M. (2023) Radical Welcome: Unexpected Healing Spaces in Community-Researcher-Clinician Partnership for Health Equity. Ann Fam Med. 2023;21(Suppl 1):4041. doi: 10.1370/afm.21.s1.4041. PMCID: PMC10549640.

SKILLS

Tip 1

Practice Radical Hospitality with these key practices.

These are the Metropolitan Council’s suggestions. All the content below and more detail is in their article.

Following are ten key practices to consider as you prepare to create an inclusive event environment:

1. Make your space feel positive and high-energy with meaningful wall displays, posters or handmade welcome signs.

2. Develop clear and inviting signage so that people know where to go and aren’t confused.

3. Always make sure that the space is as clean, well-lit and comfortable as possible before participants arrive.

4. Make sure there is a volunteer or event staffer with the designated job of greeting and welcoming people.

5. Train all event staff to understand that welcoming people is a priority.

6. If serving refreshments, clarify dietary restrictions with participants on the front end if possible.

7. Demonstrate empathy to all participants.

8. Consider the special needs of your participants and be prepared to accommodate people.

9. Celebrate success!

10. Continually summarize and bring participants back to the big picture. Demonstrate the value of what has been done and articulate that the conversation is going in the desired direction.

Tip 2

Words matter. Use terminology that is more welcoming.

• It is still common to hear “Alcoholics and addicts with Substance Abuse Disorders abuse alcohol and drugs.” It perpetuates stigma to say “addict” and “alcoholic,” instead of saying “a person with addiction or a substance use disorder” — Use person-first language.

  Because we associate “abuse” with child abuse, sex abuse, elder abuse and other negative behaviors, using “abuse” in relation to addiction adds to stigma — Say “the client uses alcohol and other drugs addictively” (Remember, alcohol is a drug too, so it is alcohol and other drugs).

The Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of the American Psychiatric Society (DSM) has criteria for Substance Use Disorders, not Substance Abuse Disorders – Use the correct diagnostic terminology.

SOUL

As I was preparing to write the SOUL section, an email popped up with my daily dose of humor. I could relate to this piece because I was born and raised in a family that embraced a Fundamentalist Christian church. For years in my younger days, I struggled with opening myself up to a world of diversity and people of different cultures and beliefs. During this season of political division and rhetoric, I wish for you the peace, love and power that comes from embracing diversity and our shared human spirit.

“An atheist goes to heaven. Baffled and full of questions he is being shown around by God. “Why am I here? I am an atheist.”

“That does not matter, all good people end up here.”

As they pass by a gay couple kissing the atheist wonders “Isn’t that a sin?”

“That does not matter, all good people end up here.”

They come by a Buddhist Monk, silently meditating. “Wait, so you even take in people who believe in other religions?

“That does not matter, all good people end up here.”

Surprised, but intrigued the atheist looks around – when one last question comes to his mind

“But where are all the Christians?”

“They’re behind that wall over there. They like to think they’re the only ones here.”

I hope you are more effective in whatever is your spiritual journey, than I was at learning and growing from my roots in Fundamental Christianity.

UNTIL NEXT TIME

Thanks for joining us this month. See you in late November.

David