A Look at Accra’s Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Initiatives
A Discussion with Accra DEI Leader and Outreach Lead Mary Ngunu.
To begin, how does Accra define diversity, equity and inclusion?
Diversity
This term refers to the number of people with different characteristics that Accra has on staff, such as age, race, sexual identity or another characteristic. Diversity is really about the numbers.
Equity
Equity is demonstrated in how inclusive Accra is toward all people. This can mean providing accessible spaces for all people, changing the way Accra recruits and hires, providing fair and impartial treatment so that everyone is given the same outcomes and opportunities, and in general, simply catering to everyone’s different needs.
Inclusion
Inclusion is about the impact. It’s about how people feel and how they are treated at Accra. Each year, Accra conducts a survey to temperature check how its staff feels about DEI efforts across the organization. This helps us develop baselines for where Accra should be and identify any areas of improvement. The ultimate goal with inclusion efforts is to figure out how to make everyone feel a part of one large community.
Why is DEI important?
Accra’s diverse client base serves all 87 counties across Minnesota. We want to ensure our company reflects the communities we serve; and that our staff, community and families all feel included. I feel Accra’s DEI initiatives are working well when I am welcomed and don’t have to leave parts of myself behind to be accepted and invited into the workplace. At Accra, we want to celebrate diverse backgrounds and not make people feel like they have to leave a piece of themselves behind. It’s vital that our team members feel valued, reflected and comfortable being themselves.
What do Accra’s DEI efforts look like?
Recently, Accra has hosted several different expert speakers who shed light on topics such as disability inclusion and awareness. Accra’s staff members have also listened to speakers discuss cultural competency and talk about biases and how to identify them.
The employee engagement survey is crucial for Accra’s DEI committee to ensure they hear about the needs of all employees and what makes them feel most successful and comfortable in the workplace. This is something that the committee will be continuing on an annual basis. The survey helps everyone measure their progress each year and see what we can collectively improve upon. In addition, Accra’s DEI committee frequently temperature checks how its DEI efforts are working during their monthly meetings to gauge how they can improve.
Recruiting and hiring with DEI in mind is extremely important to Accra. We are always making sure that we are not alienating anyone and are using the proper vocabulary when drafting hiring and recruiting materials. Recruiting Specialist Laura Knutson has brought years of experience and expertise to Accra. She has ensured that Accra is attending diversity career fairs and has evaluated Accra’s job descriptions to make them more gender-neutral and inclusive. Laura has continued partnerships with the Hmong community and the State of Minnesota Veterans Community, among others.
I have been a speaker at new hire orientations so that people see a DEI representative right from the get-go as they begin their journey at Accra. During this time, I share ways new team members can get involved in DEI efforts at the company and educate new employees about our upcoming goals.
I value the African proverb, “If you want to go fast, go alone; if you want to go far, go together.” I believe that this is work that we all have to do together, across communities and workplaces. Accra provides services within many different communities, so this provides us with not just an opportunity, but a responsibility to push DEI efforts far for the staff, clients and families. At Accra, we are champions of homecare, but we can also be champions of DEI.
Reaching for Relief with Accra
Angelo is 17 years old and has received Accra services for four years.
“I don’t even want to think about what it was like before Accra,” Barbara said. “For the first six or seven years, he had bad behaviors, and it was just me taking care of him. He liked to be with somebody else, and I needed somebody I could trust, and a team behind me.”
Barbara registered Angelo with Individualized Home Supports (IHS) without Training, which is part of a suite of services under Accra’s 245D Waivered Services line. IHS without Training provides support, assistance and supervision to adults or children who live in their own homes. A staff person provides direct supervision, cueing, guidance, instruction, assistance with activities of daily living, or assistance with coordinating and attending community living activities.
A caregiver comes to Angelo’s home several days a week to help care for him and bring him into the community. Angelo’s caregiver assists him with daily tasks, and she takes Angelo to do some of his favorite activities, such as mini golf and bowling.
Angelo’s caregiver cared for him even before he received Accra’s services, and she switched over to Accra when the family started their services in 2020. Having support through IHS is a considerable relief to Angelo’s grandparents, who would not otherwise have enough time to do their jobs.
“We work in our basement. His grandfather is a psychologist, and I do all of the billing. I also file and scan stuff for him,” Barbara said. “It’s hard to work and concentrate on what he is doing at the same time.”
“So without her, he would not be having the amount of fun he’s having right now. Being that I have to work, he gets to do all of the things that make him happy and when he comes back, he’s excited.”
High-Five Hero
Marbles and trains are just some of Angelo’s favorite things. He has miles of marble tracks that he loves to play with at home, and he enjoys listening to Thomas the Train on the way to school. He’s also an expert on vehicles.
“He’s got a fantastic memory,” Barbara said. “He knows his grandpa is in a wheelchair because he has MS, so he is always looking for a new wheelchair van for him. If anybody needs a car, ask Angelo. Tell him the kind you like, and he’ll find one for you.”
Since teaming up with Accra, Angelo has just begun to break out of his shell, having small interactions with others like high-fives.
“At the end of last year, he just started doing high-fives with people he knows,” Barbara said. “But other than that, he will walk away and stay by himself. He won’t go in the lunchroom without a paraprofessional, he won’t eat there either, and he doesn’t think to ask anything like, ‘Where do you live?’. He doesn’t do that. But it’s not personal, not at all.”
One time, when his caregiver took him mini-golfing, Angelo noticed a woman struggling to putt the ball in the hole.
“He couldn’t see her from where she was, but he heard her yell, ‘Why can’t I do this?’” Barbara said. “He yelled and told her what to hit the ball against, and she got it in!”
The woman screamed with excitement, and she walked around the course outside of Angelo’s view to thank him.
“She came up behind him, and he just stared at her,” Barbara said. “Then, she put her hand up to do a high-five, and he went along with it. His caregiver told me, ‘I couldn’t believe it Barb, he was so happy. And he told her where to hit the next ball.’”
“He kind of dismissed her afterward and she went on her way, but I cried because he usually doesn’t do that,” Barbara said.
Hope for the Future
While it may seem like Angelo is displeased, he is actually very happy where he is, and he can’t imagine going anywhere else once he graduates from school.
“He loves it. That’s the only school he wants to go to. He doesn’t want to graduate. When it’s time to graduate, he wants to stay there,” Barbara said. “There’s a transition program after he graduates. He said he might go, or he might quit.”
As for Barbara, she feels a great sense of gratitude for the assistance she has received from Angelo’s caregivers in the last four years.
“Everybody should go to Accra and use them,” Barbara said. “I don’t know what to say other than they have been a savior for me. I’m grateful and I’m really blessed to work with them.”