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Diversity, Equity and Inclusion
At the City, “Creating a spirit of community where all people feel safe and respected, and diversity is celebrated” is an important part of our vision and mission statement, and Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI) is a City Council priority.
Racial equity is a particular focus due to the significant disparities that exist in our community based on race. In Hopkins, 38.4 percent of the community is made up of people of color and over 40 different languages are spoken throughout the City. Hopkins is not only racially diverse, but also socio-economically diverse and unique.
What We Are Doing
For several years, the City has been exploring ways to make more systemic change related to DEI efforts across the organization. Below is a list of some of the work the City is doing related to DEI.
Equity Strategic Action Plan
Using American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) funds set aside for DEI work by the City Council in summer 2022, the City entered into a contract with CultureBrokers, LLC to evaluate and assess where the City was at in regard to DEI across the organization, and to then work to create a plan moving forward.
Work with CultureBrokers began in November 2022, with the launch of their proprietary Diamond Inclusiveness Assessment (DIA), which evaluates the City’s level of inclusiveness across eight areas. 120 stakeholders, including staff, board and commission members, consultants, and residents took the assessment, which then provided leadership with insight into areas of strengths, weaknesses and opportunities for improvement.
Using the information in the DIA, two focus areas for improvement were selected – Financial Investment and Human Development. Staff alongside the consultant created a plan to improve in these two areas.
The plan, called an Equity Strategic Action Plan (ESAP), is a highly detailed one-year strategy to define the strategic improvements and required resources (including staff time, funding and other necessary items) to make progress on the above statements.
Hopkins Race and Equity Initiative
The Hopkins Race and Equity Initiative (HREI) is a collaborative effort creating opportunities to increase awareness and understanding of race, equity and diversity and promoting a sense of community that welcomes and values all residents. Partnering organizations include:
- The City of Hopkins
- The Gethsemane Lutheran Church
- The Hopkins Public Schools
- The Police Department.
Joint Community Police Partnership
The Joint Community Police Partnership (JCPP) is an award-winning collaborative effort of Hennepin County and the cities of Hopkins, Brooklyn Center, Brooklyn Park, Crystal, Richfield and Bloomington to enhance communication and understanding between law enforcement and multicultural residents in the West Metro.
Community Connectors
Community Connector are ambassadors to the Spanish and Somali community and help the City of Hopkins facilitate and build relationships between these populations. Community Connectors are available to assist non-native English speakers navigate the City and connect them to the numerous services available.
Learn more about Community Connectors.
ACE Program
The Advancing Careers and Employment (ACE) program is a youth employment program that offers young people ages 16-24 who face barriers to employment paid summer internship and professional development experience.