Models in Intercultural Effectiveness and Sensitivity

Presentation by Janice Benton and Donna Grimes

Facilitated by Tina BalderaCatholic Charities USA

Annual Meeting October 6, 2014

Workshop Focus

• Examine Challenges and Effective Practices

• 2 Perspectives- Workforce at Catholic Charities- Service to Clients of Catholic Charities

• Intercultural covers Culture and Disability

Prayer for Inclusion• Creator God, we are your people. We look to the future with optimism and

with faith in You, as we pursue our call to provide justice and fullness of life for all people.

• We pray that every man, woman and child may develop their potential and meet You in themselves and in one another.

• May we enjoy a totally welcoming community, with You as our center, joined hand in hand with our sisters and brothers. We ask this in Jesus' name.

Amen

Based on the Pastoral Statement of U.S. Catholic Bishops on People with Disabilities, 1978

Life & Dignity of the Human Person

• “In the Catholic social vision, the human person is central, the clearest reflection of God among us. Each person possesses a basic dignity that comes from God, not from any human quality or accomplishment, not from race or gender, age or economic status. The test of every institution or policy is whether it enhances or threatens human life and human dignity. We believe people are more important than things.”

- USCCB, A Century of Social Teaching, 4

Rights…

“People have a fundamental right to life and to those things that make life truly human: food, clothing, housing, health care, education, security, social services and employment.”

USCCB, A Century of Social Teaching, 5

…and Responsibilities

• “Corresponding to these rights are duties and responsibilities – to one another, to our families, and to the larger society, to respect the rights of others and to work for the common good.”

- USCCB, A Century of Social Teaching, 5

Disabilities…Disabilities are the normal,

anticipated outcomes of the risks, stresses and strains of the living

process. (NCPD—Mary Jane Owen)

One person in five has some form of disability…one family in every three

has a member with a disability.

Intercultural Competence is

Capacity to …

• Communicate

• Work

• Relate

… across boundaries

“People with [differences]are not looking for pity. They seek to serve the community and to enjoy their full [citizenship] rights as members of the [community].”

- USCCB, Pastoral Statement on Persons with Disabilities, 1978

“I want us to say YES”But how?

A Pastor’s Vision

What does it take to say “Yes”?

• Identify fears that hold you back• Recognize the dignity of every person and treat them

with respect• Be aware of your mindset before approaching people• Maintain a balance between setting appropriate

boundaries and being present to an individual• Affirm and encourage—never give up on a person or

presume they can’t accomplish a goal

People Who are “Different” Experience

• Barriers – Physical and Attitudinal• Negative assumptions• Exceptionalism• Exclusion/Ridicule• High unemployment/High poverty rates• Threats to their very lives

Prejudice, Stereotyping & Discrimination

Stigma remains prevalent, and we must fight throughout our lives to…

• Stay alive—appropriate health care & safety

• Be born—Prenatal diagnosis

• Live in the community with accessible housing & services

• Be accepted, valued, presumed competent

• Not be asked prematurely to donate organs

• Die a natural death—threat posed by assisted suicide

• In-Group and Out-Group Dynamics

• Prejudice, Stereotyping, and Discrimination

• Ways We Judge the “Other”

Obstacles to Effective Intercultural Relations

Ways We Judge the “Other”

˚ We generalize about them

˚ We demonize them

˚ We see them as helpless children

˚ We trivialize their painful differences

˚ We make them invisible

Comparative U.S. Data on Adults with/without Disabilities

• Employment 19.3% with disabilities employed vs. 69.3% without disabilities employed

• Unemployment12.9% with disabilities vs. 6.1% without disabilities

• Living in poverty 29.2% with disabilities vs. 3.6% without disabilities

Behavior/Action

Assumptions

Material Objects

Values

Attitudes

Beliefs Thought Patterns

Concepts

Perceptions

Iceberg Concept of Culture

• Collectivism vs. Individualism

• Hierarchy vs. Equality

• Low Tolerance vs. High Tolerance of Ambiguity

• Gender Roles

• Time Orientation

Gert Hofstede’s Culture Consequences

Parameters of Cultures

Collectivism vs. Individualism

This is the most fundamental parameter for understanding cultures; applies to how we think about groups and individuals in the groups – whether the group or the individual has priority in our thinking, our values, and our behaviors.

Communications Styles

Individualist Collectivist

Equality

Language code - verbal

Context – low

DirectYes means yes

Hierarchy

More body language

High context

Indirect Yes can be yes or no

Collectivist Decision-Making

• Establish and maintain harmony and good relations

• Elders/status speak first; young members may not speak at all and will not contradict

• Group caucus used to raise issues, questions and make decisions

• Spokesperson speaks for group so decision is group

voice

Individualist Decision-Making

˚ Plan purpose and agenda

˚ Time-bound

˚ Clear rules of order or process of participation

˚ Everyone is encouraged to speak

˚ Open discussion and debate

˚ Decision is made

Intercultural Competencies

Six Stages of Intercultural Sensitivity

• Denial

• Defense

• Minimization

• Acceptance

• Adaptation

• Integration

- Milton Bennett, “Toward Ethnorelativism: A Developmental Model of Intercultural Sensibility”

The Mutual Invitation Method (Eric Law)

R: take RESPONSIBILITY for what you say and feel, and speak with words others can hear and understand.E: use EMPATHETIC listening, not just words but also feelings being

expressed, non-verbal language including silence. S: be SENSITIVE to differences in communication styles.

P: PONDER what you hear and feel before you speak.

E: EXAMINE your own assumptions and perceptions.

C: keep CONFIDENTIALITY.

T: TRUST the process because we are NOT here to debate who is right or wrong but to experience true dialog.

RESPECTFUL COMMUNICATION GUIDELINE

Communicate Effectively

• Speak directly to the individual• Listen attentively• Offer assistance, and follow instructions

(including accepting a possible decline of your offer)

The 10 Commandments of Communicating…www.youtube.com/watch?v=zpPhQl4seqk

Everyone has something to contribute.

When we value and include everyone’s gifts, our communities

are greatly enriched.

Diversity Resources - Publications

• Building Intercultural Competence for Ministers (BICM), Washington DC: United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, 2012.

• Brothers and Sisters to Us: U.S. Bishops’ Pastoral Letter on Racism in Our Day, Washington DC: USCCB, 1979

• What We Have Seen and Heard: A Pastoral Letter on Evangelization from the Black Bishops of the United States. Washington DC: USCCB, 1984

• Zinn, Howard. A People’s History of the United States: 1492 – Present. New York: Harper Perennial Modern Classics, 2005.

Disability Resources - VideosMinistry Foundations: Disability in Parish Life DVD• 60-minute training video produced by the National Catholic Partnership on Disability (NCPD), available for

purchase at www.ncpd.org

NCPD YouTube Channel• https://www.youtube.com/user/NCPDChannel/featured?view_as=public

Ten Commandments of Communicating With People With Disabilities • 26-minute video with accompanying downloadable resources.• Preview at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zpPhQl4seqk• Order from:

http://www.disabilitytraining.com/product-info.php?Ten_Commandments_of_Communicating_With_People_With_Disabilities_DVD-pid111.html

The Truth About Disability – Part 1• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MJ4JOomkyNI

The Truth About Disability – Part 2• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cBFwGSCxLq4

Disability Resources - PublicationsMinistry Foundations: Disability in Parish Life Presenter GuideNational Catholic Partnership on Disability (NCPD), available for purchase at www.ncpd.org Pastoral Statement of U.S. Catholic Bishops on Persons with Disabilities, USCCB, 1978, available for download at www.ncpd.org A Loving Justice: The Moral and Legal Responsibilities of the U.S. Catholic Church under the Americans with Disabilities Act, Janice L. Benton, editor, NCPD, 1995. Purchase from www.ncpd.org/resources. The Theological Voice of Wolf Wolfensberger, William C. Gaventa and David L. Coulter, MD, editors, Haworth Pastoral Press, 2001; co-published simultaneously as Journal of Religion, Disability & Health, Volume 4, Numbers 2/3 2001.

Resources - WebsitesUnited States Conference of Catholic Bishops, Secretariat of Cultural Diversity in the Church• http://www.usccb.org/issues-and-action/cultural-diversity/

National Catholic Partnership on Disability (NCPD)• www.ncpd.org NCPD YouTube Channel• www.youtube.com/user/NCPDChannel/featured?view_as=public U.S. federal government website for information on disability programs and services nationwide.• www.Disability.gov Mathematica Center for Studying Disability Policy• www.disabilitypolicyresearch.org/disability-research-consortium/mission

Resources – Disability Statistic Sources

www.dol.gov/odep/topics/DisabilityEmploymentStatistics.htm (U.S. Department of Labor) www.disabilitystatistics.org www.disabilitycompendium.org