PARTICIPATORY BUDGETING
How much money does each individual project proposal get in Boston's Participatory Budgeting Process?
500k
What does YJPU stand for?
Youth Justice and Power Union
NAME ONE THING MENTIONED IN THE FIRST ACTIVITY ON WHAT YOUR COMMUNITY NEEDS MOST TO THRIVE OR FEEL CARED FOR
:)
What is one thing that can help to keep your community safe?
An answer that has already been given doesn't count
:)
What did Renato, the director of PB, *incorrectly* say about YJPU's Project Proposal?
He said it was "unfeasible"
What is Participatory Budgeting?
Participatory budgeting is a process where community members decide directly how to spend part of the public budget.
What are the two parts of the Defund Movement?
Taking $ from the ______ and redirecting that $ into ______
Taking $ from the police and redirecting that $ into the community
police, the community
NAME TWO THINGS MENTIONED IN THE FIRST ACTIVITY ON WHAT YOUR COMMUNITY NEEDS MOST TO THRIVE OR FEEL CARED FOR
-Name one extra (three total) for an 100 extra points :)
-Affordable housing
-more mental health resources like counselors/ therapists
-access to better food
-alternative to policing
-green spaces
-more accessible hospitals
-more support for trade schools
-affordable college etc.,
WHAT PROPOSAL FOR HOW TO SPEND 500K IN YOUR COMMUNITY GOT THE MOST OVERALL VOTES?
Funding Food Banks (7 food banks in low income areas)
In the Participatory Budgeting Forum, YJPU proposed creating a ________ in order to give 125 youth better paying year round jobs.
pilot program/ grant
What two questions can help us come up with Participatory Budgeting project proposals? (Hint: they're the questions you were asked in the first activity)
1. What does your community need to thrive?
2. What could be done to make your community feel cared for/ safe?
Do the police help to prevent crime? Why or why not?
There is little evidence that police prevent crime. Police arrive after the "crime" has been committed. Crime, or unlawful behavior, is often a response to unmet needs and a lack of resources.
NAME TWO *THEMES* OR *SHARED CONCERNS* THAT CAME UP IN YOUTH'S ANSWERS IN THE FIRST ACTIVITY WHEN YOUTH BRAINSTORMED WHAT THEIR COMMUNITY NEEDED MOST TO THRIVE AND FEEL CARED FOR
Mental Health
Youth Spaces
Housing
Youth Jobs
Who is the YJPU staff lead on participatory budgeting?
Sukhai
Name 3 political ed workshops we did last year at YJPU:
Palestine teach in
Intro to identity
Intro to Government
Leftist movement + liberation
Womens History month workshop
What is the full Boston PB Budget? How much money did Mayor Wu withhold from that initial budget?
Full = 5 million
Mayor Wu withheld 2.5 million
What is a campaign?
Campaign: an organized course of action to achieve a goal.
How do good paying year round youth jobs help promote safety?
-Youth jobs help to address systemic issues like poverty and lack of resources, which are root causes of unsafe conditions in communities.
ACCORDING TO THE WORKSHOP, HOW CAN CRIME BE EXPLAINED?
Crime = actions or behaviors that go against the law. Often, marginalized people engage in unlawful survival methods as an attempt to survive poverty, racism, and a lack of resources.
While some actions labeled as crimes may cause harm, it doesn’t mean someone is inherently bad or deserving of punishment. Many things labeled as 'crimes' are actually responses to unmet needs.
What was some of the specific (incorrect) feedback a city representative gave YJPU on our proposal for youth jobs?
Name two (incorrect) reasons he said our proposal couldn't be done.
“It’s too hard to change the youth jobs application to year round”
"It would cost too much"
“It’s too hard to change the youth jobs application to increase the pay rate for a specific section of the youth who would enter into this pilot program.”
What was YJPU's Participatory Budget Proposal?
At YJPU our project proposal was to create 125 year round jobs for youth ages 14-24 at $18-$24/hour.
YJPU's Campaign focuses on:
Redirecting money from the ______ towards things like 1)______ 2)_______ and 3)______ and 4) ______
Redirecting money from the police budget towards things like 1)youth jobs 2)affordable housing 3) the mental health crisis response and 4) participatory budgeting
police budget
1) youth jobs 2) affordable housing 3) the mental health crisis response 4) participatory budgeting
Fill in the blanks:
In Participatory Budgeting, instead of letting 1)________ decide everything, the 2)______ vote(s) on 3)_____ that meet their needs. It's a way of giving 4)______ back to the community.
In Participatory Budgeting, instead of letting 1) politicians decide everything, the 2) community vote on 3) projects that meet their needs. It's a way of giving 4) power back to the community.
1) politicians/ elected officials
2) community members/ people
3) projects/ proposals
4) power
BESIDES THE PROPOSALS YOUR GROUP GAVE AND THE ONE THAT WON, NAME 2 PROPOSALS GIVEN FOR HOW TO SPEND 500K ON YOUR COMMUNITY.
-Hire 6 guidance counselors per grade in BPS highschools
-Creating 8 affordable healthcare centers in affordable locations
Why is the YJPU Participatory Budget Proposal *actually* Feasible?
Give 2 reasons
Reasons:
-There have been youth jobs in the past that have paid different youth different wages
-We broke down the different parts of our proposal and it could be done within the 500k project budget
-It’s possible to change the youth jobs application to increase the pay rate for a specific section of the youth who would enter into this pilot program.