COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT

Changes & Strategies

Community Engagement

Structure• Foundation for carrying out different strategies across all themes

• Designed to engage and involve every household and resident in the target area

• Uses neighborhood assets (e.g. churches and schools) and community organizations (e.g. El Centro, LHA), but is INDEPENDENT and led by RESIDENTS

• Strongest and most effective community organizing and engagement structure that Santa Ana has ever seen!!

RESIDENTS

Block Block LeadersLeaders

NeighborhoodLeader

Neighborhood

Leader

Precinct Precinct LeaderLeader

Zone Leader

Precinct Precinct LeaderLeader

The The HubHub

Zone 1

Zone 2

Zone 1Zone 1Zone 1

Zone 3

Zone 5Zone 4

Residents

Blocks

Neighborhoods

Precinct

Zone

Hub

What will it do?

• Develop LEADERS amongst youth and adults that knows how to...

•Organize and mobilize their neighbors

•Develop partnerships with other organizations that can help make changes

•Advocate at the centers of power (city, state, police dept., school district, etc.) for the changes and strategies we have laid out

What will it do?

•Oversee the SABHC project and make sure that the changes we have laid out are being addressed

What will it do?•EARLY WIN:

•The residents involved in the Community Engagement Structure will be responsible for creating activities and spaces for the purpose of developing a sense of community, belonging and pride in our neighborhood

Make Santa a better, safer place for undocumented

residents •Community leadership should

advocate for policy change at the local, state and federal level

•Educate the community about their rights and how we can improve the community for the undocumented

•Partner with networks that are lobbying for change at the Federal and State level

Changes in Santa Ana

• Put pressure on the city to adopt “Sanctuary” policies

• Santa Ana Police and other city agencies should not cooperate with ICE

• No ICE in Santa Ana jails

• No city agency or employee should ask about or share information about immigration status

• Start a local scholarship fund that helps undocumented graduates of SAUSD high schools pay for college

• Provide low cost medical care for undocumented and pother residents that have no other access to care

Changes in California

• Pass Senate Bill 160: makes AB 540 students eligible for institutional scholarships, and loans

• Allow undocumented people to get drivers licenses

• Senate Bill 810: Single payer, universal health insurance for all residents including the undocumented

Changes at the National Level

•Pass the DREAM Act: provide a path to citizenship for undocumented residents that work hard, get educated and contribute to their communities

•Guest worker programs that protect the human rights of undocumented people

Ensure that community development is accountable

to community residents• Decisions made in the community should be

transparent have more input from the people.

• Use the Community Engagement Structure to fight for Community Benefits Agreements when new development is taking place

• Economic Justice strategies also talk about Community Benefits Agreements as means to ensure access to GOOD JOBS

• Oversight will be necessary to make sure that promises are being kept

Increase civic participation of ALL Santa Ana residents,

citizen or not, documented or not

•Expand voter registration outreach to (churches, neighborhood associations, youth organizations)...it is the responsibility of everyone!!

•Utilize existing networks and partner organizations (e.g. OC Labor Fed. , OCCORD)

Increase civic participation of ALL Santa Ana residents,

citizen or not, documented or not•Develop a multi-lingual, creative,

culturally relevant campaign to present the importance of voting

•plays, music, murals, radio

•for the people, by the people...we listen and learn the best when information comes from out neighbors

Create more U.S. Citizens in Santa

Ana•Those who are eligible need assistance with navigating the process of becoming a citizen.

•Those involved in the Community Engagement Structure should use new and existing partnerships (e.g. Legal Aid, OCCORD, church based assistance) to educate their neighbors and facilitate this process

•Change policies to allow all parents of SAUSD students, even the undocumented, to vote for the school board

•Change city voting rules to allow non-citizen residents to vote in local elections

Change policy to allow non-citizen and undocumented

residents to vote

Change policy to allow non-citizen and undocumented

residents to vote•Such rules exist in many cities

around the country, and are explicitly allowed by the U.S. Constitution

•Members of the community will need to be dedicated to finding legal and policy expertise to navigate how we make this happen in Santa Ana