HEAPA believes that a democracy’s strength comes when local citizens are able to participate in the operation of local government. Not only does such involvement result in widespread understanding of community needs, but increases the capacity of the community to monitor and evaluate the performance of proposed civic solutions. Too often, however, planning processes fail to include those who have experienced the needs being addressed. Instead, participants consist only of those with the time and resources to attend required civic meetings, but with little direct understanding.
HEAPA has a history of providing resources and management support to community programs which have been proposed by nonprofit organizations run by low-income residents themselves. We have witnessed the development of strong solutions to community problems held accountable by knowledgeable consumers. Our partnership grants have also resulted in some of the most empowered community leaders who not long ago were fragile, dependent, and dis-engaged residents.
At the same time, local governments have begun to recognize the value and importance of responding to client and resident “Not about us, without us” movements by adopting “Lived Experience Advisory Planning (LEAP)” Boards to assist in their decision-making processes.
When California voters passed Proposition One, it charged counties with the transformation of several major health service programs through an expanded stakeholder-engaged planning process. Sonoma County, already beginning to merge a community-driven, LEAP Board-advised Homeless Coalition into its Department of Health Services, partnered with HEAPA to support the needed expenses and accommodations of homeless clients to attend and participate in the planning process. For the first time, the voices and first-hand experiences of homeless residents informed a three-year, $800 million plan.
It’s just a start, and all would admit it could have been more robustly implemented, but we’re committed to expanding its application. In its California Transparency Project, which is equipping and training homeless activists to accept and fulfill appointments to city, county, and state government advisory committees, we will continue our empowerment of a pool of invaluable citizens, and strengthening our local democracy in the process.
Homeless Emergency Assistance Program Association 