Guest blog by Johanna Marttila, Mari Luolamaa, Laura Leino, Mia Kivioja, Antti Lehto-Raevuori
Parents from multicultural / immigrant backgrounds are isolated and segregated. That´s why parents are not adapting into society.
Meri-Rastila is facing a large-scale urban renewal project which will see the construction of new homes for up to 4, 400 new residents and also there are plans as well as revitalizing services. The area is home to many immigrant families. We focused especially in the area of Meri-Rastila and Kallahti in Eastern Helsinki where areal differentiation development has been identified (see Picture 2 below).
Picture 1. Our multidisciplinary working team Nine to five
Picture 2: The deviation of the socio-economic sum index in Helsinki (Urban Information Unit, Helsinki, S. Saarimaa 30.7.2021)
The real concern is that it’s very difficult for immigrant parents to support their children and youngsters in the same way as native Finnish speaking parents. Therefore, immigrant parents’ need support to be more empowered and have the opportunity to get involved in various aspects of the society and in the community. The issue is important on many levels. By helping parents adapt and integrate into a new society, children and young people are indirectly supported as well. It’s important to comprehensively support the well-being of immigrants and strive to prevent especially young people from drifting into crime.
Progress we made and insights we had about our problem through this process
Picture 3: Mapping our identified issue through a fishbone diagram.
Using a fishbone diagram (see Picture 3 above), we started to outline sub-problems, but eventually, we focused on the issue that not all immigrant parents integrate into society. Specifically, we directed our attention to stay-at-home mothers, who remain invisible in society.
We began seeking out people who could tell us more about immigrant parents and their real challenges. We were particularly interested in hearing the thoughts and experiences of individuals who work with the immigrants. All the people and contacts we talked with recognized the need we were addressing. Mothers face challenges in participating, and while the challenges may seem small to us, they are significant in their daily lives. For example, the mothers who are attending language courses need often some support and help in getting all the practical issues in order that they can attend the courses available. Surprisingly these mothers can be quite judgmental and harsh to each other’s when it comes to taking care of the children.
We found a good practice in the field, which we began to implement in collaboration with the local early education centers. That is, if you get the connection build between KOTIVA instructors (KOTIVA is Finnish-language courses for stay-at-home parents of toddlers) and the family, mothers usually end up into course – this is promising and makes us hopeful that small steps might grow to something bigger. KOTIVA course brochures are now on the library bus which is present in the events which our target group parents are participating in with their children. Also, the information is delivered and shared out in Early Education Centers in the eastern part of Helsinki.
We will continue our collaboration with the KOTIVA instructors. They are coming to visit Intensive family work teams in East part of Helsinki, and we wish to schedule visits to other teams as well, so we can discuss possibilities of how we can co-operate together across different division of the Helsinki City in the future. The mobile library and the library gained new contacts, for example the organization Save the Children. Through these contacts, we were able to participate in events and working groups related to new immigrants in the city. The library can participate more broadly in these activities.
Picture 4. One small step we got done through the process was to share information in the library bus about the existing organizations in the area that work for teaching language and civic skills. (Photographer: Maarit Tonteri)
Our training program was so intensive that we didn’t have time to directly interview our target group. Our goal is to, in the future, reach out to the area and try to engage is discussion with those mothers, who for various reasons, find it difficult to participate in society. We really want to hear them too.
The Key Learnings from PDIA: it changed our way to tackle problems
It’s possible to build something reasonable out of an unclear situation when everyone acts responsibly. Talking together and listening to others is important. In the team you’re not alone and if there’s a difficult task on hand, lean on your teammates. By using fishbone diagram, it’s possible to focus on the essentials one piece at a time. We have created new contacts and crossed the boundaries of different divisions of city organization and cooperated well.
As one solution to reduce segregation and the isolation of parents with immigrant backgrounds, we envision an outreach worker. This person would be from within the community and would communicate in their own language and through their own channels. They could build a trusting relationship with the immigrant community and through trust reach out to stay-at-home mothers.
Usually, problem solving is approached from the narrow perspective of our own fields of profession which leads to a thinking model that complex problems are impossible to solve and not our responsibility. This course however helped us to gain understanding on complex issues from various and multidisciplinary points of views that gave us also the confidence in tackling complex issues in collaboration with others and to gain understanding of the importance of our role in the process.
Picture 5. Kids reading in the mobile library. (Photographer: Maarit Tonteri)
How we are using, or we will use the strategies and tools we have learned in this course
We will use some of the tools (especially the fishbone diagram and the learning diary) introduced in the program in our everyday work to have more ways and time for reflection and to document small steps of progress. Documenting small steps to realize that things are progressing is important and helps you to celebrate also the small steps and to learn from setbacks. Keeping a diary (sprout of ideas and also the triumphs and the setbacks) helps to structure things and to look back at appropriate points and helps in making the work done visible. We’ll share our expertise in regional collaborative networks and seek partners across different divisions and sectors. We want to promote within organizations the idea that it’s possible to work together to solve common problems, and it’s not always necessary to pursue massive changes right away. Instead, we can gradually address issues from different perspectives and take one step in time.
Words of wisdom to share with fellow PDIA practitioners around the world
A common conversation builds a shared story, and a common dialogue builds shared understanding and reality among different stakeholders. Be encouraged to discuss challenging issues with many people and also involve your target group in the conservation at some point.
Your team is your gift, and you can lean on them in time of need, and they can lean on you and the team when they need assistance and support.
Picture 6. Skateboarder in the area. (Photographer Lauri Rotko)
This blog was written by participants who completed a 12-week PDIA for Child and Youth Safety in Helsinki online action-learning program from March – June 2024. 24 participants successfully completed this program.