Starting where you are: five ways to get involved in your local community
If you are interested in getting involved a bit more purposefully in politics to learn and contribute to the common good, why not start where you are?
Getting involved in an organization near where you live, work, or go to school is a great way to begin.
Local organizations come in many sizes and styles, with different goals and methods. Some organizations are started by residents who live in a specific neighborhood to respond to their unique needs and interests. Others might have been created to advocate on a particular issue, such as affordable housing, or to respond to government actions such as a proposed freeway expansion. Some organizations work primarily to deliver services to those who need them, such as food or legal assistance. Still others might want to ensure local residents’ voices are heard at city council meetings or in other local government decision-making processes. Many organizations exist to address the diverse needs and priorities within different communities.
There are many ways to get involved with a local organization, but what follows are five ways to start. Please note, if you are not a part of the community in which you want to engage, you will want to be thoughtful about who you are and how it might be for others if you enter into that space. You will want to consider how you can engage in a way that is supportive and conscious without replicating the privilege or standing that you might have.
REFLECT ON YOUR VALUES AND INTERESTS
A wide range of organizations are working on nearly every challenge that exists in most cities and towns, and it can be overwhelming to consider which one to engage directly if you are new to local organizing and advocacy efforts. First, think about what is most important to you. What issues repeatedly draw your attention when you see them in the news? Which seem to resonate most with who you are? What do you notice as you walk around your neighborhood or city day-to-day? If you are not sure, try looking back over your social media feed and see what you tend to post about or respond to most often. Do you see signs in your local storefront about a neighborhood group’s meeting or event? What issues seem to come up in conversations with friends or family? What topics and issues seem at the top of your mind most often? What issues do you think are most important in this moment, in the place you live, work, or go to school? If you are still not sure, but know someone who is involved in politics, ask them a bit about how they began to engage, what drew them to the issues they care about most, and what steps they took. It might help you to reflect a bit on your unique values and interests.
CONNECT ONLINE
Most local grassroots organizations use social media to raise awareness about issues impacting their members, actions they are taking to improve their communities, and positions they are taking in local policy debates, so seek them out. If you find one that resonates with you, check out who they follow, repost, collaborate with, and support. Use social media to direct you to their websites, YouTube channels, and mailing lists to get even more information. Follow them and see what they are doing and how your views might align with theirs. If you agree with their stances, expand their online footprint by reposting their calls to action or insightful analyses of local issues.
CONTRIBUTE
Look to see what efforts a group is taking on, and if you are in a position to contribute financially, consider doing so. Small donations can really make a difference in local organizational efforts. If a group is hosting a food or school supply drive for local residents, your financial contribution can help them to sustain and expand their reach. Especially in this current public health crisis, many groups are working to assist their members and local residents who have an immediate need for things like food, clothing, rent, and educational supplies. Encourage those in your life to make donations to causes they support if they can.
JOIN UP IN A SMALL WAY
Why not sign up for a local walk or attend a community meeting via Zoom? Perhaps volunteer at a community clean-up, fill out a survey about your neighborhood, or attend a digital focus group about the needs of residents where you live? There are many small things that you can do to see if an organization is a good fit. Even if you do not end up becoming an official member of a group, you will have the chance to learn from others, meet new folks, and contribute to good efforts along the way! Most groups provide focused volunteer opportunities, such as shorter shifts and varied types of work, to allow people with busy schedules to help in the ways that they best are able.
REACH OUT DIRECTLY
If you are still not sure where to start, reach out! Most local organizations and associations have team members whose specific role is to reach out to residents like you and to help you learn more about joining their group. Why not reach out to those folks and have a virtual chat or coffee? The people you speak with may be paid staff or volunteers and enjoy having conversations with people like you. They can tell you about upcoming events, opportunities to get involved through regular meetings, or about pressing issues that the group might be acting upon in the city or local area. Look for the “contact us” section of a website, direct message an organization on social media, or look for someone whose role might say “outreach” or “organizer” or something to do with membership. Either way, reaching out this way would be a great way to get the ball rolling, and whoever receives your note will connect you with the right person.
Joining a neighborhood or community organization is a great way to get engaged in something positive and support work that can benefit your neighborhood or city. And it is likely that you will meet some amazing people and learn a bit about yourself in the process.
If you would like to get involved with Just Environment Long Beach collaborative or any of its organizations, please connect with us via justenvironmentlb@gmail.com, and follow us on social media. We continue to engage residents directly through learning institutes, ground-truthing efforts, digital platicas, and focus groups. Together as one voice, we are organizing ourselves to build a community that is safe and just for everyone who lives or works in Long Beach.
This post has been a collaboration between many people! I want to thank the participants of the Just Environment Long Beach collaborative for sharing the hard-earned insights drawn from their unique and individual experiences working for so many years in the local Long Beach community. At a JELB meeting in late 2020, I asked them to share their ideas with me for this post, which I was able to compile and analyze in MIro and start to transform into this piece. Jan Victor Andasan, Steve Gerhardt, Alex Jung, and Sylvana Uribe graciously offered helpful edits and suggestions that benefited the final piece that you see here— written by me and Mia Haro. Thank you, Mia, for your contributions! Alex Jung finalized the cross-posting of the piece on the JELB website blog and Sylvana Uribe produced the amazing graphics that accompany the piece there and on social media. I encourage you to also separately check out, follow, and share the piece there: https://www.justenvironmentlb.org/blog and to follow JELB on social media: @justenvironmentlb
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