August 2021 EJGP Newsletter |
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Our partners have been on the ground and doing the work. Our project team has been moving things along behind the scenes. Here are a few updates from the EJGP network. Keep reading to stay in the know! |
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Full Network Meeting Notes |
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Thank you all who joined us for our July network meeting. Our numbers are growing! We had a good meeting with a lot of information shared, so please check out the notes below! |
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The Economic Justice Circle and EJGP will be co-hosting a series of educational forums about the American Recovery Plan Act and the large amounts of money that the City of Pittsburgh, Allegheny County, local municipalities, and school districts are receiving through this act. The second of these sessions will be held Wednesday, August 4th, from 6:30-7:30 p.m. We’ll be taking a look at what other cities are doing, how the City of Pittsburgh’s spending plan compares, and what equity and transparency look like in this process. |
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From the EJGP Project Team Desk |
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In June, the EJGP Advisory Group discussed which partner-led intersectional campaigns EJGP should support initially (we can support more as resources allow). Based on that conversation, EJGP will be supporting the Economic Justice Circle’s campaign for equity, transparency, and community-leadership in the spending of American Recovery Plan Act funds; the Women for a Healthy Environment-led Get the Lead Out campaign, and the Fair Fares campaign led by public transit and food justice advocacy organizations. See below for more details on each campaign and how to get involved! |
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How do residents and neighborhood organizations experience inequity and injustice on a daily basis? Are our regional campaigns addressing neighborhood priorities? These are central questions for the EJGP neighborhood team. We have been leading and joining neighborhood walks, partnering with ongoing outreach efforts to ensure that equity is centered, collaborating on event planning around neighborhood interests, networking across neighborhoods for sharing of ideas/ experiences and listening in on neighborhood meetings.
We are seeking opportunities to engage with residents and neighborhood-focused organizations to learn more about neighborhood initiatives, opportunities for aligning regional initiatives with neighborhood priorities, and efforts to achieve equity both locally and regionally.
For additional information or to become more involved in our neighborhood engagement efforts, please email Neil Brown at neil@urbankind.org. |
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Education justice advocate and EJGP Advisory Group member anneliese martinez has stepped up to lead EJGP-Education work. Involved with the Pittsburgh Learning Collaborative and the PittEd Justice Collective, anneliese aims to bring people from these different networks together to advance educational equity and justice for all of our region’s children. If you are interested in plugging more into EJGP-Education conversations, please email ani@martinez.works. |
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Our first EJGP info guide is complete! What to Know About: Allegheny County Representation in the Pennsylvania General Assembly is a tool for all equity & justice advocates. It includes: - an overview of the House and Senate committees in the Pennsylvania General Assembly and the EGJP areas that connect to them;
- the representatives and senators from Allegheny County on each committee;
- a list of Allegheny County municipalities and house and senate districts that they’re in;
the list of Allegheny County representatives and senators, the districts they represent, and the contact information for their local offices. Look out for more info guides in the weeks and months to come! If you have any ideas for guides that would be useful for EJGP network members, please email Nasyr Bey at nasyr@urbankind.org. |
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Public Safety & Legal Justice |
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The Platform for an Equitable and Just Greater Pittsburgh is a living document. As we continue to revise, update, and expand it, we would like to add a few additional sections. The first is about public safety and legal justice. Drawing from platforms elsewhere, local advocates’ demands, and a contribution on policing and tech from Data for Black Lives Pittsburgh founder (and EGJP Advisory Group member) Alex Jackson, we’ve put together a draft platform section. If you’re interested in contributing ideas or commenting on what’s there, please click on the link below! |
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Join our EJGP Facebook Group! |
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Network Partner Campaign Updates |
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American Recovery Plan Act (ARPA) Funds |
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Even though Pittsburgh City Council is set to approve a plan for how the $335 million from ARPA should be spent following minimal public comment, the Economic Justice Circle (EJC) continues to advocate for equity, transparency, and community-leadership in the decision-making process. ARPA money will be coming to each county in our region, each city and municipality, and each school district. EJC and EJGP are co-hosting an educational forum this week (details above) to help explain ARPA and the City of Pittsburgh’s spending plan. We’ll also talk about what an equitable and transparent process looks like. To plug in to this campaign, register for the forum above or sign EJC’s petition! |
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If you would like to be more involved, contact Sam Applefield at sam@pittsburghfoodpolicy.org. |
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The Get the Lead Out (GTLO) Campaign seeks to significantly reduce the number of children with lead poisoning in Allegheny County. Currently, the campaign is focused on two areas of action. First, GTLO is advocating for the use of ARPA funds to remove lead from homes, especially rental properties where Black and brown children live. Second, GTLO is organizing residents to speak in favor of the proposed Lead Safety Law in the City of Pittsburgh. The campaign suspects that the public hearings will be held after the summer recess. |
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If you are interested in getting involved in this campaign, please contact info@gettheleadout.org. |
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Fair Fares for a Full Recovery |
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The Fair Fares for a Full Recovery campaign is advocating for a pilot program that would allow low-income residents to ride the Port Authority for free. The campaign continues to engage public officials, strategize, and base build. If you haven’t already, please add your organization or name to the sign on letter and share to other supporters! |
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In partnership with the Sto-Rox Library and LiteracyNation, EJGP will be co-hosting the Sto-Rox Independent Author Book Expo on August 28, 2021 at 531/533 Chartiers Avenue, McKees Rocks, PA. In addition to exposure and book sale opportunities for authors, panel discussions and book readings, the Expo will bring awareness to the barriers that independent authors face, especially authors of color, in getting their books published and catalogued in libraries. Books from all participating authors will be catalogued in the Sto-Rox Library as well in the nationally-accessible CAT library catalogue system. For questions or information on becoming a vendor, please contact Neil Brown at neil@urbankind.org or Richard Ashby (Sto-Rox Librarian) at rashby@forstorox.org. |
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Join the Network and Share Your Neighborhood and Topic Area Updates and Information! |
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Interested in sharing your upcoming initiatives and events with our network? Here’s how: 1.Follow us @ejgppgh on Facebook and Instagram
2. Email your upcoming event petition, report, survey, job opportunity, or #EJGPtopic related event to info@ejgp.org
3. Don’t forget to include any vital information such as deadlines, registration links, and/or eligibility criteria
4. Like, follow, and share our #EJGPtopics post to grow the network!
Looking for information related to a specific topic?
Search the hashtags #ejgpfood #ejgphousing #ejgplivelihoods #ejgpenvironment #ejgpeducation #ejgptransportation #ejgphealth #ejgpneighborhoods Visit our website www.ejgp.org and leave your email to sign up for our newsletter! |
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Equitable and Just Greater Pittsburgh is a network convened by UrbanKind Institute. Visit our website to learn more: www.urbankind.org |
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