Wendy: People are afraid they will be misrepresented or that they
won’t be understood. They may be afraid they won’t be able to
articulate the fullness of their story for some reason, perhaps because
they will be rushed along. Or there won’t be a place for them to voice
their single solitary issue or complaint. They’re afraid they won’t be
respectfully listened to. I’d say – based on experience – that those
fears are often well grounded. We find that people don’t come
to community workshops wearing an overcoat of inappropriate
paranoia. They dress themselves that way for a reason. Community
engagement processes can be threatening!