Economic Growth

The Institute for Policy Studies in the U.S. will build on their pilot project with Reverend Barber's Poor People's Campaign by working with low-income individuals to translate their stories into widely distributed op-eds. The Institute for Policy Studies will provide data and support to help impacted people from diverse backgrounds and geographical areas to craft compelling op-eds to bring the public's and policymakers' attention to the structural and historical barriers to economic mobility and in demanding policy action to confront those barriers.

The Center for Public Interest Communications and the Radical Communicators Network (The Center and RadComms) in the U.S. are working together to change the narrative of poverty by supporting those most affected in telling their stories. The Center and RadComms will first conduct a narrative power analysis to characterize the harmful narrative and underlying assumptions that need changing, then provide frontline activists with science-based communications tools to produce and develop counternarratives that can replace harmful and inaccurate ones.

The National Women's Law Center (NWLC) in the U.S. will partner with individuals doing their best to make ends meet to collate and present the receipts and paystubs they receive over the course of a year to dispel the myth that poverty is an individual problem. NWLC will provide a stipend and tools for storytellers to document how they navigate poverty and show how systemic failings, such as limited benefits for the disabled and unaffordable interest repayments, underlie poverty.

The West Virginia Community Development Hub in the U.S. will capture and share accounts of the hard-won achievements of rural community leaders to challenge cultural and economic stereotypes about Central Appalachia's diverse rural communities in the face of poverty. They will use their existing network within these communities to produce texts, photographs and videos that share the lives of leaders and innovators who have worked hard to improve the quality of life in their communities.

The Young Women's Christian Association of San Antonio in the U.S. will run a multimedia public awareness campaign by producing videos of days in the lives of women of color working in hospitality, caregiving, and food service industries in the city.

The YMCA of the Coosa Valley in the U.S. will bring together diverse groups in small Christian communities under a common goal to overcome economic and racial divides. There is a strong belief that an individual's personal choices cause their economic circumstances: for example, that wealth comes from having faith in God. To change these misconceptions, the YMCA and Savannah Miles will partner with local pastors to present common Christian callings on eliminating poverty and racism to members of local churches.

The National Center for Families Learning in the U.S. will produce and distribute stories told by low-income, diverse families describing their remarkable achievements leading projects that address local challenges. Low-income families are often mischaracterized by false narratives. By building trust with families and creating a safe space for them to openly and productively share their personal experiences overcoming barriers and driving change with larger audiences via local open mic events, they hope to change such narratives.

The Metropolitan Planning Council in the U.S. will build a website to push back against the myth of "good" and "bad" neighborhoods - dominant narratives that are value judgments, which help perpetuate inequity. Aided by a long history of racial and economic segregation, racialized policies and practices in many cities have systematically deprived communities of color of equitable investment.

The U.S. Dream Academy in the U.S. will produce a series of accounts of the lived experiences of children of incarcerated parents faced with poverty and highlight their resilience in overcoming adversity. More than 2.2 million children have incarcerated parents and live largely in poverty. Parental incarceration is often associated with shame and stigma, and ultimately leads to poor education and mental health, particularly for minority communities.

The "In Our Backyards" team at the Vera Institute of Justice in the U.S. will lead a narrative change campaign challenging the criminalization of poverty in smaller cities and rural communities. High and rising rates of incarceration in small town and rural America disproportionately impact the poor and people of color and stand as a major barrier to economic mobility. The team will launch a campaign that includes people affected by the justice system in Kentucky and Indiana and use data science to index the stories and demonstrate the human impact of incarceration.