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Outside Agencies/Human Services <br /> <br />Cover Page Page 13 of 32 <br /> <br />Our Activate! IFC program helps us live out our mission by addressing the root <br />causes of poverty, such as social and racial inequity. Activate! IFC is a civic <br />engagement and leadership project that engages IFC members and residents with <br />the goal of tapping into their leadership potential to become more involved in the <br />political process. Activate! IFC projects work to demystify the policy-making process, <br />remove barriers to decision-makers, and activate valuable marginalized voices in our <br />community to advocate for themselves. Some examples of Activate! IFC events <br />include House Us Now! Rallies and Walk to the Polls events. <br /> <br />One of Activate! IFC’s programs is the Safety Vanguard Project. Our community <br />is challenging us to rethink who, what, and how we keep each other safe. We are <br />being called to envision a community not of law, order, and fear, but one that is <br />protected by radical, non-punitive means of safety and justice. Through IFC’s Safety <br />Vanguard Project, IFC members and residents will plug into leadership positions and <br />advocate in groups working on this re-envisioning of community safety – groups such <br />as Carrboro’s Community Safety Task Force (CSTF), the Orange County Bail Bond <br />Justice Board, and NC CRED (North Carolina Commission on Racial and Ethnic <br />Disparities in the Criminal Justice System). If we are to accomplish our goal of <br />transforming community safety, then decision-making bodies require meaningful <br />participation by those who are most impacted - those who are BIPOC, unsheltered, <br />working class, and justice-involved; those who are most impacted by the realities of <br />white supremacist capitalist patriarchy, police brutality, and the prison industrial <br />complex. As the main resource for social safety net resources and a hub for social <br />justice advocacy in our community, IFC is part of a network of community members <br />who fit this description and are interested, willing, and able to lead. Three people in <br />IFC’s community are already connected to these groups in official capacities and will <br />serve as a connection to the larger IFC community. <br /> <br />While it is critical that those most impacted by systems are at the decision-making <br />table to lead us to solutions, we must keep in mind that folks most impacted are often <br />called to speak on their lived experience in a way that tokenizes, re-traumatizes, and <br />marginalizes. We must be intentional about how we activate each other in this work. <br />Activate! IFC values the physical, mental, spiritual, and emotional health of our team <br />and equips team members with the necessary tools that ground, center, and energize <br />us toward social equity. We hold regular meetings to create space for folks to <br />reflect, unpack, and strategize about the advocacy process. At these sessions, we <br />equip folks with mental health, harm reduction, and mindfulness practices. Practically, <br />we must provide equitable support to make it easier for folks to participate. This <br />involves computers, cell phones, stipends and incentives, increased staff time, <br />trainings, space, and food. <br /> <br />Ultimately, we aim to impact our community with policies and decisions that shift <br />power back to communities where, consistent with IFC’s value of community power, <br />those who have been marginalized are the ones leading and putting forth solutions. <br />DocuSign Envelope ID: ADB1956F-5741-4274-B652-5562A8CFE5E4