Interview Transcript: April 17, 2017

This interview was conducted over Skype, and then copied onto transcript. The interview has been edited for clarity and conciseness.

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From the North Side to the World

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Ryan Ivers  (R): Are you ready to begin?

 

K. Ruscitto (K): Yes

 

1. Every great dream begins with a dreamer,” said Harriet Tubman. When did you first realize that your dream was to help people?

 

(K): I think during my time at Le Moyne College. I ran an effort to stop off-track betting, for Mike Bradman, who was a pretty famous Assemblyman in those days. We defeated it, and I think I got a sense then of what an impact someone could have in changing a policy that was not good for a community. 

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2. Syracuse has many challenges ahead. In your opinion, what is Syracuse’s most serious challenge, and what is our community’s greatest advantage?

 

(K): I think our biggest challenge is to align around a common vision. Gone are the days when we could say: “I’m from the suburbs,” or, “I’m from the city,” or, “I’m from North Syracuse.” We’re really connected across a much broader region.

              If we don’t align on common ground, we’re going to continue to see the city struggle, and it’s going to have a profound impact on all of Central New York. For me, I think our biggest challenge is [also] to understand the importance of alignment and engagement across that much bigger region

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3. Barrack Obama said in 2008, “We are the change we seek.” How do you think every citizen can contribute to the dream of a just and compassionate Syracuse?

 

(K): If you go back to the early 1800’s, Syracuse was underwater. There’s a wonderful book called Pioneer Times in the Onondaga Country. It talks about the fact that if you came to Syracuse and were involved in physical labor, you were likely to contract malaria. Many died from malaria. So, two people approached the Common Council and proposed to simply dig ditches and lower the water table. They did it, and in one year Malaria was completely gone from the face of Syracuse.

            Those were two people who had an idea about how to save a community that was really struggling with the amount of disease. Look at what a difference it made. Syracuse became a vibrant community with the Erie Canal running through it. I think we’re very much back in that same situation where we have a crisis in our inner-city, which is caused by many things, but it’s going to require some vision and leadership for us to rally around a common agenda in order to address it.

 

(R): How do you think someone as busy as a single mother who has five children can contribute to the vision of a better Syracuse? In terms of the little things?

 

(K): People need to know the opportunities available to have their voice heard. We have a number of wonderful organizations in Syracuse that are allowing for citizen input right now: “Focus,” “Consensus,” “The West Side Initiative,” “The North Side Urban Partnership,” I think there are about 10, and they all have a citizen input component. ACTS is also one of those groups on that list of 10. I think it’s time we pay attention to the agenda of those groups as they begin to weave that vision for Central New York. Any citizen has the opportunity to participate, even if it’s just attending a meeting. Our citizens want that input, and leaders need to make sure to open that door. 

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4. St. Joseph’s Hospital Health Center, where you served as President and CEO since 2011, has become a catalyst for the revitalization of Syracuse’s North Side. Why did you expand the mission of St. Joseph’s from health care into holistic community development?

 

(K): It became clear that we were making a major investment in the campus and that the neighborhood around us was not seeing the same kind of investment. Quite frankly, it was out of self interest in wanting to make sure the community around the hospital did not deteriorate. After about 8 years we realized that if you want good health outcomes, then you need good housing, great schools, a clean environment, and probably most importantly, you need a job. After all, a job is a way out of poverty. Now we understand that if you want to improve the health of a population, then you have to improve all those social variables. We realized that helping the neighborhood really fit our mission in a way that we had not interpreted before. 

 

5. What does the broadened mission of St. Joseph’s say about the potential for all disciplines and organizations to engender social justice?

 

(K): Improving the health of a whole community required a focus beyond just health care [for St Joseph's]. I’ll use the example of The West Side Clinic. The economical, easier thing to do would have been to put [the clinic] on our campus. Let the patient come to St. Joseph’s. We made the decision to put [the clinic] in the neighborhood, in the midst of where single mothers with multiple children could easily access the care. It was a homerun. 

 

6. Change can be exciting, daunting, or even frightening. Since the 2016 election, we have seen the ground shift on many critical issues. In your view, what does it take for the social justice community to keep its footing?

 

(K): I think it’s really important that people feel heard. I lived in a neighborhood with Trump signs and Clinton signs. They’re all my neighbors, but they have different perspectives. I have to respect and honor those other perspectives.               If people don’t feel heard they’re going to dig in, and we’re not going to get the collaboration that we need. So, this is either a great opportunity in our history, or we’re going to blow it. I think the way we blow it is by continuing to ignore to each other’s perspectives. 

 

7. Speaking of change, there are pivotal developments continuing in Syracuse and Onondaga County. One example is the Consensus Report. With this example in mind, how does an organization like ACTS steward change so that it services the people most heavily affected?

 

(K): I’ve been very impressed with the leadership around Consensus. I think the report is really much more of a continuum of options than it has been portrayed as publicly. Now is the time for organizations to understand how it will impact the community. For me, it’s a great example of what I started talking about earlier: alignment and engagement. Until we put all the pieces together, we’re going to continue to [have] the “Mine! Mine! Mine!” [mentality]. You know, what’s that movie? The one with the penguins or the birds are flying around and yelling, “Mine, mine, mine…”

 

(R): Oh, you mean Finding Nemo?

 

(K): Yes!

 

[laughter]

 

(K): You know, the Consensus Report is a great opportunity for us to take [the advice of] a lot of volunteers from both sides of the aisle. I hope people take the time to understand it.

 

(R): It’s really an unprecedented proposal that’s reached our table to say the least. By the way, I might drop a video or picture from that part of Finding Nemo. Just right under this question. It will be an important visual cue for people.

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[laughter]