Dear Ms. Ross, Thanks for your question and for your community improvement interest and work. I take it from your brief comment that you are mainly looking for ideas to recruit and facilitate more community engagement, and especially more diverse participation, on the issues you mention. Please reply with more specific needs or questions if the following is not as helpful as you want or need.
First, it is very good and important both that you are seeking more people of color to participate and that you are working on the critical needs of community health and housing and doing so with a multigenerational view. Fortunately, some good ideas and resources on the topics of Increasing Participation and Membership and Developing Strategies and Action Plans can be found in the following chapters and toolkits on this website:
Consider these chapters on Communications that promote interest and encourage involvement:
Chapter 6. Communications to Promote Interest
Chapter 7. Encouraging Involvement in Community Work
And this one on recruitment and training:
Chapter 11. Recruiting and Training Volunteers
There are also chapters (27-29) on cultural diversity and how to strengthen multicultural collaboration—see https://ctb.ku.edu/en/table-of-contents
If you need examples of different approaches to community health intervention, see Chapter 2. Other Models for Promoting Community Health and Development
There are some resources on community housing organizations in some sections of: Chapter 26. Changing the Physical and Social Environment
You mention sustainability, which is important. See the final CTB: Chapter 46. Planning for Sustainability
Finally, here are some relevant Toolkits:
8. INCREASING PARTICIPATION AND MEMBERSHIP: https://ctb.ku.edu/en/increasing-participation-and-membership
5. DEVELOPING STRATEGIC AND ACTION PLANS: https://ctb.ku.edu/en/developing-strategic-and-action-plans
And if those participants doing the recruiting of, or working with, people of color might benefit, you can find a toolkit on 9. ENHANCING CULTURAL COMPETENCE and other action/change strategies here: https://ctb.ku.edu/en/toolkits
Good luck with all your efforts and remember that grassroots change usually takes time and persistence!
