The launch of one of the first Guaranteed Income pilots in 2019 (Stockton SEED) and the subsequent COVID pandemic catapulted guaranteed income as one of the multiple layers needed to improve and stabilize individuals’ financial health. Research from early pilots proved that guaranteed income delivered positive impacts on families’ financial, physical and mental health.
Central to many pilots are narrative change and policy advocacy efforts. While these two efforts are core to the work, not all pilots are designed with deep community engagement of the people most impacted by these programs. In order to design a GI demonstration that is truly responsive to community’s needs — from the design and implementation to the overarching policy goal — community engagement must be an integral and continuous component. Additionally, community engagement also acts as a tool for community-centered policy solutions while building grassroots support that will ultimately help drive policy change efforts.
On June 13, 2023, Bay Area AFN held a webinar to discuss:
- How policy advocacy and narrative change are informing GI policy design;
- Local East Bay policy advocacy efforts advancing GI efforts;
- How best to engage the impacted community in the narrative change framing;
- What role funders can play to support these types of efforts.
SPEAKERS
Jhumpa Bhattacharya, The Maven Collaborative
Parisa Esmaili, Community Financial Resources
Ruth Fernandez, First 5 Contra Costa
Rebeca Rangel, Y&H Soda Foundation
