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Extended Team Policies & Practices

About our Extended Team

The IHP Extended Team consists of any individual providing services in partnership with our organization to our participants. This includes volunteers, coaches, trainers, and providers partnering with us. The following are the policies and practices we expect any team member to comply with. 

Respect, Dignity + Cultural Humility

At IHP, we believe in cultivating a team that follows: 

  • Respect: acknowledging one anothers’ full humanity, lived experiences, and autonomy. 

  • Dignity: treating others as worthy of belonging and agency without judgment or condescension.

  • Cultural humility: recognizing that no one culture is inherently “right” or “better” than another and that no one can fully know another’s experience.

 

Our Team is expected to:

  • Avoid stereotyping, tokenizing, or assumptions based on language, race, culture, or immigration status

  • Ask before correcting or advising

  • Demonstrate curiosity and openness when engaging across cultural differences

  • Acknowledge when they don’t know something and seek feedback or support as needed.

  • Never promote political, religious, or ideological beliefs during sessions

Confidentiality + Privacy

At IHP, we protect the privacy and dignity of participants by limiting how and where personal information is shared. It's important that we honor the trust participants place in us by safeguarding their stories, identities, and details of their lives.

 

Our Team is expected to:

  • Avoid sharing details of participant experiences without their permission

  • Never store participant info in personal apps, notes, or devices

  • Use IHP-approved systems (Coda) to document attendance or notes about a client.

  • Ask for consent before taking or sharing photos, especially of minors.

  • Direct all media or external inquiries through staff

Attendance + Reliability

At IHP, consistency builds safety and trust. Participants rely on team members to be present and dependable. When we don’t show up as expected, it doesn’t just disrupt programming. It undermines the trust our participants place in us and weakens the credibility of the work we are building together. Reliability is part of how we honor the dignity of those we serve.

 

Our Team is expected to:

  • Attend all scheduled sessions or events

  • Give as much notice as possible if you cannot attend

  • Communicate changes to your Program Coordinator and directly with participants

 

Members who repeatedly miss commitments without notice may be asked to pause or step back from their role.

Establishing Healthy Boundaries

Relationships with participants may grow warm, familiar, and mutually supportive; this is one of the strengths of our model. Boundaries are not about limiting this connection; they’re about making sure that connection stays healthy and safe for both parties, and rooted in shared purpose.

 

A healthy boundary means being consistent, clear, and honest about what you can offer and not offering more than your role allows.

Our Team is expected to:

  • Avoid becoming a primary support for crises or long-term needs

  • Avoid making promises (especially about jobs, housing, or legal outcomes)

  • Avoid establishing a financial or gift-giving expectation with participants.

  • Encourage participants to engage with the broader IHP support network, not just the individual volunteer

  • check in with IHP staff when:

    • A participant starts relying heavily on them

    • A relationship extends outside of the program’s space

    • The volunteer feels unsure, conflicted, or overwhelmed

Communication + Language Access

Communication is not just about what we say, it’s about how we make space for others to truly understand, ask questions, and express themselves. Many of our participants are navigating language barriers, cultural differences, and unfamiliar systems, often in environments where they feel pressure to agree or comply.


Take responsibility for ensuring comprehension and recognize the power dynamics at play when we are viewed as teachers, helpers, or people “in charge.”

 

Our Team is expected to:

  • Allow time for questions, repetition, and clarification

  • Avoid rushing through instructions or important information

  • Question if a nod or “yes” is truly full understanding—check in with patience and care

  • Use multiple modes of communication when possible (visuals, demonstrations, translated materials)

  • Speak in plain, clear language, avoiding idioms, slang, or overly complex explanations

  • Invite questions in a way that doesn’t make participants feel embarrassed or “behind”

     

True communication happens when everyone feels empowered to ask for clarification, express uncertainty, and engage fully. Taking time to build that understanding is a central part of how we create access and belonging at IHP.

Safety + Prohibited Conduct

At IHP, safety is non-negotiable. Every participant, volunteer, and staff member deserves to feel secure, respected, and protected in our shared spaces.

 

We define safety as creating an environment free from harm, coercion, and misuse of power, and where harmful behavior is addressed promptly, regardless of who it comes from.

 

Prohibited Conduct:

  • any type of inappropriate physical touch or sexual behavior of any kind

  • Using an IHP role to exert personal influence or control

  • Possessing weapons and the use of drugs or alcohol during IHP programs or while working with an IHP participant. 

  • Signing, interpreting, or advising on legal or medical documents, or actions that could unintentionally create liability (ex: performing health treatments, acting as legal representation)

 

Any safety concern—whether witnessed or disclosed—must be reported to IHP staff immediately. Refer participants to IHP staff when needs or situations fall outside the scope of your training or role.

 

Participants are also held to safety expectations. While we honor diverse cultural perspectives, we do not excuse behavior that compromises the safety or comfort of others. You have the right to set boundaries, request support, and report inappropriate or threatening behavior from anyone in the space. Staff will intervene when needed to protect everyone involved.

Non-discrimination + Harassment

At IHP, we strive to create a space where all people are treated equitably and with care in a space free from discrimination, harassment, and identity-based harm.

 

Equity and inclusion is about actively working against discrimination, microaggressions, and harm, both intentional and unintentional.

 

Our Team is expected to:

  • Speak and act with respect across differences in language, race, gender, sexual orientation, faith, ability, and other aspects of identity.

  • Avoid “correcting,” commenting on, or dismissing identities or beliefs different from your own

  • Refrain from joking, pressuring, or shaming others for cultural, religious, or gender-based differences

  • Report discrimination or harassment from anyone to staff

     

We recognize that cultural values related to gender, sexuality, and personal identity may vary, and we approach these conversations with care. However, no cultural perspective excuses harm. All people at IHP are expected to uphold a shared environment where respect is non-negotiable and differences are honored.

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