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Community Healing and Economic Recovery Listening Session.
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On February 5, 2021, the City Administration will facilitate a community healing and economic recovery listening session among the Mayor and Council. The purpose of the listening session is to seek to understand the collective vision of the Council for community healing and economic recovery in the near-term and long-term. Specifically, the Administration aims to hear and capture the outcomes and results the Council aspires for the San José community.
This listening session is a critical step in the City’s journey towards racial equity. As has been stated many times, the impacts of COVID-19 have impacted our community hard and exacerbated pre-existing health and economic disparities particularly for communities of color and east San Jose neighborhoods. Economic harm coupled with the loss of life and challenging health effects from COVID, in addition to the overall social-emotional trauma experienced by stay at home orders call for a healing-centered approach. At its core, the journey to address systemic and institutional racism is an uncomfortable and necessary conversation that will require trust and courage to move towards community healing. Community healing is the concept of making the community well again following a traumatic experience. By introducing community healing as a tool, the City Administration seeks to prepare the conditions and climate for courageous, safe, healthy dialogue. This process is being offered to ensure that the City’s decision-making process for recovery is inclusive of Council from the start.
Kim Walesh will act as the Session Manager. The goal is to spark conversation about citywide aspirations and needs with a focus on being one team developing a shared, collective vision for community progress and impact. To this end, Council is requested to submit in advance a one-page document to answer the question, what is your vision for community healing ...
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