Liaison Guidelines
Revised by Ann and Joe based on documents by Lara and Lois, 10/6/07
Further Revised After 10/7/07 Membership Committee Meeting
Further Revised At oct 20/07 Membership C. Meeting
Why liaisons at LAEV?
1.Inspire compassionate, nurturing, & respectful relationships between applicants and community members.
2.Improve communication between applicants and community members.
What liaisons do:
The liaison is a primary point of contact between an applicant and the community. The liaison answers the applicant’s questions. On behalf of the community, the liaison keeps informed about the interest and intention of the applicant. The liaison is expected to help arrange for and accompany the applicant to meetings concerning the applicant’s membership. The liaison is responsible for scheduling the applicant’s membership step on the community meeting agenda. The liaison introduces the applicant to other residents & encourages him/her to attend meals, meetings, work parties etc.
Assigning liaisons:
- All full LAEV members are eligible to serve as liaisons. The Bienvenidos Committee periodically does outreach to add liaisons to the list.
- Generally after an applicant has taken a tour, attended orientation, completed their questionnaire, and announced their interest at a community meeting, the Bienvenidos Committee assigns a liaison.
- The Bienvenidos Committee assigns a liaison by contacting the next volunteer on the list. The volunteer may accept the assignment or may decline for reasons such as being too busy or already knowing the applicant well.
- The assigned liaison contacts the applicant as soon as possible, and explains the liaison’s role and the membership process.
- If a problem arises with the current liaison, the Bienvenidos Committee will assign a new liaison.
In the interested phase, the liaison:
•Reads the applicant’s questionnaire and makes sure the questionnaire is made available to the community to read.
•Ensures applicant has been added to the friends of laev listserve.
•Makes sure the applicant has the latest version of the membership process document.
•Lets applicant know about LAEV’s consensus process.
•Helps the applicant become familiar with LAEV culture.
•Makes sure an applicant understands the size range and condition of apartments available to individuals, couples and families.
•Makes sure the applicant gets their credit check.
In the candidate phase, the liaison:
•Is in touch with their candidate frequently.
•Generally attends activities with their candidate to ensure that they get to know everyone. Introduces the candidate around. Finds out what the candidate has in common with other members and make sure the candidate meets others and gets to know about their mutual interests.
•May arrange one or more community events especially for their candidate, e.g., a brunch or dinner or dialogue group. Liaisons can coordinate with the Bienvenidos Committee to do something jointly with other applicants.
•Makes sure the candidate knows that a specific request for an apartment is not addressed until after a candidate has been accepted for residency.
•Makes sure the candidate is familiar with LAEV policies and agrees to abide by them if accepted for membership.
•If the community raises concerns about a candidate’s acceptance, the liaison gives the candidate feedback to help them understand the community’s concerns and possible ways to resolve these concerns.