Engaging Constituents for Social, Racial & Economic Justice

Sondra Youdelman, Executive DirectorCommunity Voices Heard

CVH Background

• Founded as welfare-rights organization in New York City

• Evolved to be multi-issue and multi-chapter– New York City– Westchester County– Orange County– Dutchess County

CVH MISSION

Community Voices Heard (CVH) is a member-led multi-racial

organization, principally women of color and low-income families in

New York State that build power to secure social, economic, and racial

justice for all.

WE ACCOMPLISH THIS THROUGH:

• Grassroots Organizing, • Leadership Development,

• Policy Changes, and • Creating New Models of

Direct Democracy.

Programmatic Priorities

• Winning Campaigns

• Growing & Developing Membership

• Building Regional Power

• Expanding ElectoralImpact

CHANGE

STRATEGY

TYPE OF CHANGE EXAMPLE

Service Helping • Soup Kitchen

• Shelter

• Workforce Dev

Development Self-Help Community Investment

• Community Garden

• Housing Dev

• Co-op Creation

Advocacy Doing for People • Class Action Law

• Policy Think Tanks

• Lobby Firms

Organizing & Engagement

Directly Affected People do for Themselves or have Direct Voice

• Organizing Groups

• Fast Food Forward

• Dreamers

• #BlackLivesMatters

Why Community Engagement?

• Directly affected people have grounded perspective & expertise

• Issues that matter most in communities may be distinct from those crafted in policy shops

• Ownership of constituency/ community is essential to long-term change

Case Study #1:Organizing Campaign

• Shift in federal welfare policy in 1996; state in 1997

• Welfare recipient frustration with unpaid work mandate (WEP/ workfare)

• Ongoing recruitment of base at welfare centers, employment services programs, WEP sites

• Development of campaign and training of member-leaders

Campaign Engagement• Narrative shifts through

engagement– Countering myth of welfare

recipients as lazy– Shift to welfare recipients as

exploited workers

• Problems with system’s approach highlighted

– Research to expose problems– Testimony at public hearings– Individual & mass meetings with

legislators– Actions to pressure decision-

makers

• Mobilized workers moved union allies!

– WEP as public sector sweatshop

Perseverance & Victory

• Creation of paid Transitional Jobs Program in NYC & State

– 2,500 people per year since 2001– Recent increase to $11.50/ hour

• Movement on state legislation to end WEP

– 48 Assembly Members– 18 Senate Members– 50 Organizational Supporters

• Announcement in NYC about phase out of program

– Written into State Employment Plan– Two year phase out – Joint creation of pilot alternatives

Welfare recipients themselves were the only ones maintaining

this particular fight through the years!

Case Study #2:Community Visioning Process

• New York City Housing Authority (NYCHA)

• Poor history of engagement & trust

• New Commissioner wanted to take new approach to engagement

• Raised funds for trusted & experienced community groups to do the engagement work

Varied Approach & Multi-Phased Engagement Process

• 1,200 doors knocked• 750 surveys gathered• 19 lobby meetings • 4 leadership meetings

– 400 attendees

• 3 facilitated visioning sessions– 300 attendees

• 1 report back• Ongoing monitoring

Important Outcomes

• input into agency plan / vision

• community ownership of project

• development of local leadership

• creation of a local leadership team

• connection of local team to citywide committee

Case Study #3:Participatory Budgeting

Neighborhood AssembliesSeptember - November

Project Expos & Vote: April

• Tailor engagement to context

• Consider utilizing varied approaches

• Repeat engagement over time

• Allow for varied levels of engagement

• Ensure feedback loops exist

• Encourage real decision-making power

• Realize engagement never ends!

Important Process Elements

• Offer Language Access (translation, interpretation, etc.)

• Facilitate Engagement (food, childcare, Metro Cards, etc.)

• Partner with Trusted Groups (community organizations, local service providers, etc.)

• Provide Technical Assistance (facilitators, designers, lawyers, organizers, etc.)

• Resource the Work (staff time, materials, canvass team, stipends, etc.)

Best Practices to Consider

• Community engagement can be incorporated into all kinds of work!

• Groups already trusted in the community should be sought to lead engagement processes

• Engagement takes time… it’s important to incorporate ample time into projects

• There are lots of examples of good practices and processes…look to them!

Important Takeaways