Learning communities
It is core to the mission of Dignity Best Practices that the lessons we learn from our work in the field should be accessible and shared freely, so that best practices can surface and be within reach of all. With our Learning Communities, we create a space where that collaboration happens in real time.
Our Learning Communities gather practitioners, program leaders, and experts in one room to share insights, challenges, and efforts from around the country. These virtual meetings are organized and facilitated by Dignity Best Practices staff who guide the conversation, provide insight from research and collaborations, and maintain connections between participants.
Each Learning Community has about 20 participants and meets once a month. Learning Communities are program-specific and have a limited number of spaces open to allow for deep meaningful engagement. It is completely free to join and participate. Explore the current and future Learning Communities on the page below. To inquire about openings, or recommend a new community, contact us at daniel.kornfield@dignitybestpractices.org.
Current Learning Communities
911 and Behavioral Health Services Integration
This is a Learning Community for behavioral health service providers (hotlines, mobile crisis teams, crisis centers, care coordination/ follow-up teams) and 911 call-taking managers who connect calls to those providers instead of or along with traditional responders.
Join us to learn about approaches to common challenges such as how to increase call transfer volume, improve protocols, collaborate with or without CAD integration, document and share information, clarify ethical and legal gray areas, and other topics of interest.
Field Mediation
Our team at Dignity Best Practices understands the value of mediation as a tool to address dispute and disturbance calls. Whether conducted by mobile crisis responders formally or informally, use of mediation techniques promotes improved relationships, problem solving, and the ability to free up law enforcement for more urgent calls.
This is a Learning Community for civilian first responder teams who utilize field mediation skills and/or respond to dispute calls. Also welcome are mobile crisis teams and community leaders who intend to build a field mediation capacity.
Join us to learn more about field mediation practices and training, to share learnings and challenges, and discuss topics such as dispatching, field protocol, and generating buy-in for such programs.
Share your story
As a learning organization, we are always looking for new insights and experiences from programs across the country. We value hearing from a variety of programs and perspectives. If you have lessons learned or innovative approaches, we would love to hear from you.
With dignity as our core value, we want to encourage individuals who have encountered a crisis response or alternative response program to share their learning. If you have recommendations to improve the lessons or advice we share with others, we welcome your input.
To share your insights or get involved in a learning community, contact us at contact@dignitybestpractices.org.