Brainstorming Outreach Strategies

Summary of June 22, 2005 Meeting Notes

The purpose of meeting was to get ideas about how to get more public participation related to the safety audit findings required by the county’s Industrial Safety Ordinance (ISO). The goal is to have the public understand the audit findings and hear the public’s concerns. So far, participation has been low in public meetings.

The group agreed that all of the strategies proposed by Hazardous Materials staff (display board for events, fact sheets about the facilities, questions and answers about the Industrial Safety Ordinance (ISO), a video, a multi-subject panel discussion and the website) were good ideas. They are included below with comments.

To submit more ideas, use the convenient email form at the bottom of the page.

Comments regarding the requirement for public input/meetings

Awareness is key -- is a meeting necessary?
Should the ordinance be amended?
Public meeting is to provide a forum for input -- there are other methods such as comment via email, call
Bring issue re: "public meeting" to Haz Mat commission in guidance document (maybe BOS?)
How many participants are realistic?
Recognize that unless there’s a disaster, there may be few people at meetings

Events and other public comment strategies

Multi-subject panel discussion to include other topics besides safety audit findings.
Have something interactive -- hands on -- fire response/pumpkin carving, card and a king.
Tie into seasonal happenings: allergy season
Provide incentives for attendance -- raffle/door prizes give away.
Something fun for families.
Spaghetti dinner to build mailing list.
Link to what people can do/how it affects them.
Describe what action they should take
Update on what’s happened since ISO; describe what ISO has accomplished and how unusual it is
Have group critique presentation.
We don’t know why people attended the meetings already held

Outreach to Promote Events

Placards in yards Multi lingual (Tonight's the Night!)
Use Community-based organizations (CBOs)
Use Union health and safety committees for outreach to help
Need to do a better job of determining who the target audience is. Possibilities: sensitive receptors (people who will be affected), seniors, students
Make phone calls
Do face-to-face outreach
Make attendance by invitation only
Partner with use CBOs, CAPS, CAGS to spread information and invitation.
Public service announcements per sec/60/10 minutes

Methods of Raising Awareness

Display board with ISO information -- needs to be in Spanish too
Video -- on DVD, could have multi-language options and a menu with other options including full text of the ISO and questions and answers; send the DVD out to libraries and CBOs.
Website -- make it multi-lingual; link to CBO sites and others
Put audit online
Partner with use CBOs, CAPS, CAGS to spread information and invitation.
(CCTV/Comcast)
Go to schools/colleges/Environmental Science courses
Hold forum at college
Comic book -- low literacy
Use newsletters from others -- create "evergreen" articles
Display boards in BART, ball fields
Movie theater ads
Newsletter, colorful/pictures.

Please submit any questions, comments or ideas below.

Content provided by Contra Costa County Hazardous Materials Programs of Contra Costa Health Services.