The “Kid’s Corner” was recently added to the City Council chambers.
When Harrisburg City Council holds a meeting, it’s usually all business–not necessarily time for fun and games.
But at a legislative session this week, some big, fluffy teddy bears took seats in the back of the room under a sign reading “Kid’s Corner.”
According to council President Danielle Bowers, that’s intended to make meetings more accessible to all community members—even the youngest ones.
In addition to the Kid’s Corner, which helps parents with children attend meetings, council added a sign language interpreter to the dais and has increased social media outreach.
“I wanted to ensure that council is inclusive of and accessible to the public,” said Bowers, who initiated the efforts. “It’s important for community members to participate in meetings because literally everything single thing we do impacts their daily lives.”
The Kid’s Corner contains books donated by the Dauphin County Library System, coloring pages and stickers from the fire and police bureaus, and teddy bears and the “Kid’s Corner” sign donated by the Department of Public Works. The Dauphin County commissioners, local author Debra Hervitz, and others donated, as well.
Bowers hopes that more parents will attend meetings, knowing that their children are welcome. She also sees it as a way for kids to be exposed to city government.
“It’s a space where we could promote literacy and education about local government,” she said. “We’ve received a great reaction from not only parents, but from educators, as well.”
The sign language interpreter is another new feature for council that will better allow members of the deaf community to engage.
Additionally, council has created Facebook and Instagram pages to share information and to live-stream meetings. Meetings are also broadcast on the city’s television station, WHBG20 and on YouTube.
Bowers has also prioritized publishing council meeting agendas in a timelier fashion so that the public can see what legislation will be discussed at meetings.
On Tuesday, council introduced a bill that would allow people to participate in council and other city board meetings and make public comments virtually. Previously, all public comments had to be made in person.
“I wanted to make sure we were live-streaming a little bit of everywhere,” Bowers said. “It’s important that, if something is going on in a resident’s neighborhood, that we don’t know about, that they come and share that.”
According to Bowers, this is just the beginning of council’s efforts to increase accessibility. They have more ideas for initiatives that they plan to integrate in the near future.
“I really think that everyone embraced my vision,” she said. “It’s more than I thought it would be.”
Find Harrisburg City Council on Facebook, Instagram and on their website.
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