Thank you for contacting Ask an Advisor. This is not an unusual challenge when persons from "outside" come to a setting where local residents are guarded or need to be cautious. The chapter on promoting participation can be helpful, but this is a bit of a different situation where developing trust when you enter a new setting is very important. We have found that developing partnerships with persons who are trusted at the setting is a helpful strategy when they can introduce you to the setting. Talking with service providers who have worked in the area can be helpful in starting. Perhaps a systematic assessment of the setting resources, its history of past interventions, and community gatekeepers will help to understand how your initiative is viewed by the residents. When we have tried similar initiatives, the preparation needed to build trust among residents to allow students to "enter" into their setting may be hard to accomplish in one semester. There is a section of the website "Understanding Culture, Social Organization, and Leadership to Enhance Engagement" than can be helpful. The website path to this section is: Table of Contents > Part H. Cultural Competence, Spirituality, and the Arts a... > Chapter 27. Cultural Competence in a Multicultural World > Section 10. Understanding Culture, Social Organization, and L... > Main Section - Introduction, what, why, when, who, and how. > Thanks again for contacting Ask an Advisor at CTB. We hope the information was useful.
