Thank you to all who attended the DC Legal Aid Transformations Network's quarterly convening on September 13! Our intentions going into this meeting were to reset and reestablish connections with the network and gain clarity on the direction of DC LATN. It was a highly productive meeting that led to fruitful and positive conversations about what is next.
The day started with Curtis Ogden, senior associate at the Interaction Institute for Social Change, and Tanya Tucker, chief of national engagement and partnership at the Full Frame Initiative, leading a micro discussion on the domains of wellbeing and how the principles can be applied to what we do throughout the network and at our organizations.
As we moved into the town hall portion of the convening, we discussed what the network has done, what's currently in progress, and how new ideas may be planned and implemented.
The most impactful part of the day happened during the forum and roundtables. During this time, we asked two questions:
1. What is the moment asking us to do in legal aid, social services, and the District?
2. What is one possibility that we want to see as we move forward?
Attendees shared how they want to engage with the network and ideas on moving forward. From this, we established several people to take the lead (known now as Initiators) on the identified initiatives, and the plan is for each Initiator to provide an update during the December convening.
During the last part of the day, we worked on redefining the DC Legal Aid Transformations Network and had a call to action to identify who would lead newly defined efforts. We identified six initiatives for the network: pay equity, boot camp training, relationship and knowledge sharing, clients, advocacy, and a service provider map. While we might be unable to address each of these, this breakthrough was important as we begin to reestablish what the network looks like going forward. If you are interested in sharing in the work we are doing, contact Michanda Myles, DCBF's network program manager.