3 minute read

A WELCOME WESTMORELAND - KEY ORGANIZATIONS TAKE THE LEAD ON TACKLING DIVERSITY AND INCLUSIVITY, WORK

Image Source: Belinda Fewings, Unsplash

CORE OBJECTIVE 2: DISCOVER WESTMORELAND

Advertisement

Over the last decade, Westmoreland County’s population has experienced rapid decline. From 2010 to 2019, the county saw a decline of roughly 16,000 people. This is due to, in general, people having fewer children, deaths outpacing births, and migration, or people moving both in and out of the county, being virtually neutral. This trend is not only true at the county-level, but also for the entire region. From 2010 to 2019, the 10-county region saw a decline of roughly 37,000 people. With these downward trends, we are facing a critical workforce issue. The immediate concern is that local employers and companies are going to have to close, automate, or relocate outside of our area, further complicating the issue.

In response to these trends, Westmoreland County developed Reimagining Our Westmoreland to identify goals and strategies that will help attract, develop, and retain a diverse and stable workforce that will sustain a healthy economy. One strategy that specifically speaks to the plan’s mission is Strategy 2.3, Welcome Everyone, which lays out policies, programs, and projects to help better embrace and welcome new people into Westmoreland County, and to also cultivate an open and inclusive environment.

Utilizing a $75,000 grant from the R. K. Mellon Foundation, the Greensburg-based nonprofit, Westmoreland Community Action, took the lead on this strategy by kicking-off the Welcome Westmoreland initiative in October 2020. The initiative has already created two committees, the Welcoming Westmoreland Committee and Diversity & Inclusivity Committee, both of which are filled with representatives from nonprofit, business, local government, civic, and educational sectors.

“I saw this as an opportunity to be able to take steps in making Westmoreland a more welcoming and diverse place,” said Mandy Zalich, CEO of Westmoreland Community Action. “If folks don’t feel like this is a welcoming place to move to, they aren’t going to, regardless of how many great resources we have. Generally speaking, if you don’t feel at home somewhere, you’re not going to take a job or willingly move there.”

To support cultivating a welcoming environment and attracting new residents, the Welcoming Westmoreland Committee is focused on business and marketing initiatives, and developing information, resources, and content for a future website and social media channels. The Diversity & Inclusivity Committee is focused on developing training resources and policies or codes of ethics for businesses, nonprofits, and other organizations to use internally or within the community. Other goals of the initiative are to increase social engagement, build social connections, and grow social inclusion in Westmoreland.

Other organizations working to tackle diversity and inclusion in the county include the Westmoreland Diversity Coalition and Westmoreland Museum of American Art. Throughout 2020, the museum worked to promote diversity and inclusion by highlighting the talents of LGBTQ+ artists and performers through online programs and events. The museum also created a new artist residency program to help support marginalized artists and artists of color.

Additionally, thanks to a partnership between the Westmoreland Diversity Coalition and the Westmoreland Museum of American Art, ten artists worked to create original artwork for the Diversity Billboard Art Project around the theme “Make Our Differences Our Strengths.” The project, funded by a $150,000 grant from the Heinz Endowment’s Just Arts program, installed artwork on highway billboards around the county as a way to convey how diversity and inclusion can make Westmoreland County stronger.

Through these efforts, Westmoreland County organizations are showing their commitment to realizing the plan’s goals by working to embrace diversity and nurture an open and inclusive environment, ultimately shaping our local culture to welcome all.

This article is from: