September 2020 - Parks & Recreation - 45

The first two sections consisted of
long-term planning efforts, while
the third consisted of immediate actions to address inequity caused by
the pandemic. Several key programs
and outreach efforts were designed
from this response plan, including:
* Rec in a Bag: A program designed to provide families with
bags filled with games and activities that can be enjoyed in the
safety of their own home.
* The Mobile Playground: An
alternative to the standard playgrounds that are closed due to
the pandemic. The mobile playground provides games and
activities for children while allowing staff the opportunity to
control overcrowding, utilize
open spaces and properly disinfect games and playing surfaces.
In order to provide safe and equitable program opportunities for
our citizens, non-traditional methods will have to be developed in
order to ensure we are meeting the
needs of our constituents.
The first step in planning consists
of a Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Challenges (SWOT)
analysis of providing services. Beginning with this analysis allowed
us to consider possible roadblocks
that may have impeded progress in
our efforts to provide programs for
our citizens. Transportation was a
major weakness for our agencies.
We did not have a fleet of vehicles
that could transport the supplies
around the city, but because we
were determined to provide this
service, we found a creative way
to utilize vacant trucks from our
park maintenance division to reach
our citizens. One of our strengths
was our operating budget. During
a time when local, state and federal budgets were cut across the
country, our city manager fully

One equity
challenge
Douglasville
recreation faces
is the fact that
not everyone has
a computer to
participate in virtual
programming.

supported reallocating funds to
accomplish our goal of providing recreation services during the
pandemic. This is something that
we didn't take lightly, nor did we
abuse. We remained good stewards
of the budget, and we recognized
that not having these funds would
have made things more difficult.
After conducting the SWOT analysis, we developed clear outcomes
and action items, implementation
strategies, performance measures to
track progress and a detailed list of
possible resources to aid in accomplishing our goals. This plan will
continue to assist our department
in the pursuit of providing equitable
programs, activities and services for
the citizens of Douglasville.

The Work Continues
In 2015, NRPA launched the " I'm a
Park and Rec Kid " campaign. The
goal of this campaign was to encourage youth and people of all ages to
utilize parks, recreation centers and
play spaces as a solution for happier
and healthier lives. Many park and
recreation professionals are Park
and Rec Kids themselves. Many of
us grew up participating in sports,
summer camps and other recreation
opportunities as children. As great
as this may sound, this is not the reality for many people in this country. It's important to note that not

everyone grows up as a Park and
Rec Kid. Some grow up never having access to any park, playground,
recreation center or any other leisure service within their community. For some, these opportunities
aren't available within the neighborhood they reside. These are kids
who could be raised by a single parent whose main priority is working
to provide for their family and who,
likely, doesn't have time to drive 20
minutes across town to let their children play in a park. For some of our
staff, this was their lived experience;
yet it drives them to ensure that the
park and recreation agency does everything in its power to provide safe
and equitable programs throughout
the community regardless of an individual's race, religion, gender, ethnicity or economic status.
Even in the midst of a national
health emergency, we must continue to save lives by providing essential health and recreational services
for those we serve. We must be resourceful, innovative and creative
when developing programs and
offering services to ensure that all
programs, special events and activities are developed through an equity lens to expand access for all.

Christopher Bass, CPRP, is Assistant Director for Douglasville
Parks and Recreation (bassc@douglasvillega.gov).

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Parks & Recreation

September 2020 - Parks & Recreation

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