What's Good with The Democracy Collective

[00:00:02] is a great place to be.

[00:00:04] Let's get started.

[00:00:13] What's Good Ohio?

[00:00:15] As you might be able to tell, this isn't your usual intro.

[00:00:18] I'm Sarah Rodenberg, stepping in as lead host for James Hayes,

[00:00:21] but this is still the What's Good Ohio podcast where we talk to the

[00:00:24] activists, organizers, visionaries and good troublemakers

[00:00:27] coming together to make our state better for everyone.

[00:00:30] No exceptions. The Policy Matters Ohio's

[00:00:33] Coms team is taking over the podcast today.

[00:00:36] I am joined by PMO's Communication Director,

[00:00:39] Ben Stein, filling in as co-host.

[00:00:42] Want to tell everyone what's good at Policy Matters Ohio, Ben?

[00:00:45] Sure, yeah. Thanks, Sarah. Thanks for having me.

[00:00:48] I feel like there should be air horns at this point when we do

[00:00:51] the Policy Matters Ohio takeover of What's Good Ohio.

[00:00:54] This week we released our new paper

[00:00:57] about the minimum wage. We've been studying the minimum

[00:01:00] wage for as long as Policy Matters Ohio has existed going on 25 years.

[00:01:03] We have a new opportunity coming to Ohio.

[00:01:06] A coalition is attempting to get on the ballot

[00:01:09] raised to the minimum wage to $15 an hour,

[00:01:12] indexing it to inflation.

[00:01:15] The hope is that in the November election,

[00:01:18] people will have the opportunity to vote yes or no

[00:01:21] on a minimum wage ballot initiative. So far it's not on the ballot.

[00:01:24] So the new paper looks at who would benefit

[00:01:27] from a minimum wage increase to $15 an hour.

[00:01:30] Among other things that were kind of surprising to somebody like me

[00:01:33] who might not know all the details, 80% of the people

[00:01:36] who would get a raise if we raised the minimum wage to $15 an hour,

[00:01:39] 80% of them are over the age of 20.

[00:01:41] 80% of them have graduated from high school.

[00:01:43] So we're not talking about teenagers working summer jobs here.

[00:01:46] We are talking about working Ohioans and working full time.

[00:01:49] Often people who have been in the workforce for a long time

[00:01:52] who will benefit from a raise to the minimum wage.

[00:01:55] If you're interested in learning more about that, check it out.

[00:01:58] It's on our homepage now at policymetersohio.org.

[00:02:01] What about you, Sarah?

[00:02:03] I'm going to talk about childcare,

[00:02:05] which has been kind of the hot topic for this year.

[00:02:08] We have coming up on March 13th,

[00:02:11] the day without childcare,

[00:02:13] which is going to be a really big event

[00:02:15] at the State House.

[00:02:17] A ton of childcare facilities across the state

[00:02:19] will be closing for the day

[00:02:21] to signify how childcare is a vital service

[00:02:25] for literally every single Ohioan,

[00:02:28] whether you are a parent who has kids

[00:02:30] or just a business owner or someone in the workforce.

[00:02:33] So this is a great day for us to demand that our government

[00:02:36] invests in a very vital, necessary system here.

[00:02:40] So that is May 13th.

[00:02:42] We'll include the RSVP and the show notes,

[00:02:45] all that good stuff.

[00:02:47] So please join us at the State House on the 13th.

[00:02:50] And let's get into it.

[00:02:54] We'll be talking about a really cool project

[00:02:57] that's been going on in Cleveland

[00:02:59] led by our friends over at Cleveland Votes.

[00:03:01] The Democracy Collective, or DEMCO for short,

[00:03:04] is an incubator program for community-led,

[00:03:06] community-driven leaders.

[00:03:08] It launched in September of 2023

[00:03:10] and throughout the first six months of the program,

[00:03:13] DEMCO participants worked together

[00:03:15] to promote the program.

[00:03:17] It also launched in September of 2023

[00:03:19] and throughout the first six months

[00:03:21] of the program,

[00:03:23] DEMCO participants worked through a curriculum

[00:03:25] full of concepts and skills

[00:03:27] to help strengthen their community work and leadership.

[00:03:29] In the last three months,

[00:03:31] they've created an activation project

[00:03:33] to address issues important to them

[00:03:35] using the social change skills developed

[00:03:37] over the course of the curriculum.

[00:03:39] So we're joined today by DEMCO facilitator,

[00:03:41] Kirby Broadnacks

[00:03:43] and Tara Lawanda-Aaron,

[00:03:45] a DEMCO participant and the founder and president

[00:03:47] of the Spot Youth Empowerment Organization.

[00:03:50] Welcome, Kirby and welcome, Tara Lawanda.

[00:03:52] Thank you.

[00:03:54] Thank you.

[00:03:56] It's so good to have both of you here.

[00:03:58] We'll start with you, Kirby.

[00:04:00] Could you just tell us a little bit about your background,

[00:04:02] how you became a facilitator at DEMCO

[00:04:04] and at Cleveland Votes?

[00:04:06] Yeah, so I am

[00:04:08] from the Cleveland area.

[00:04:10] I grew up in Bedford Heights

[00:04:12] and I've been working in Cleveland

[00:04:14] for the past

[00:04:16] 10 or so years

[00:04:18] with a little break

[00:04:20] from my grad school in between.

[00:04:22] A lot of the work that I have done

[00:04:24] has been in community

[00:04:26] with folks experiencing

[00:04:28] different kinds of challenges

[00:04:30] or wanting to work on different kinds

[00:04:32] of projects in their neighborhoods.

[00:04:34] So I bring

[00:04:36] a broad set of experiences

[00:04:38] around

[00:04:40] working in community.

[00:04:42] I also have a fair amount

[00:04:44] of facilitation experience.

[00:04:46] So one of the things

[00:04:48] that really excited me about

[00:04:50] the Democracy Collective Program

[00:04:52] is the opportunity

[00:04:54] to work with Clevelanders

[00:04:56] who were really passionate

[00:04:58] about

[00:05:00] improving conditions in their communities

[00:05:02] and within the city overall.

[00:05:04] I was also really attracted to the program

[00:05:06] because

[00:05:08] of the explicit desire

[00:05:10] to really

[00:05:12] focus on creating opportunities

[00:05:14] for people who are

[00:05:16] working every day

[00:05:18] in the city

[00:05:20] who may not necessarily

[00:05:22] get the spotlight

[00:05:24] shown on them.

[00:05:26] I think we sometimes have a tendency

[00:05:28] in Cleveland to uplift

[00:05:30] some of the same wonderful people

[00:05:32] who are doing really important

[00:05:34] and needed work in the city

[00:05:36] but we know that there are always additional folks

[00:05:38] who are working really hard

[00:05:40] who are close to the ground

[00:05:42] and doing their best

[00:05:44] to help the communities

[00:05:46] for a little spotlight

[00:05:48] and to develop their skills

[00:05:50] and capacities and relationships as well.

[00:05:52] And so I was really

[00:05:54] excited about the opportunity

[00:05:56] to

[00:05:58] serve as a facilitator

[00:06:00] for a program that was really

[00:06:02] looking to uplift

[00:06:04] some of the lesser known faces

[00:06:06] and programs and projects

[00:06:08] that are happening in the city.

[00:06:10] It's interesting that you would point that out.

[00:06:12] I think it's a great opportunity

[00:06:14] to really look at the

[00:06:16] community and the community

[00:06:18] and the people who live in Cleveland

[00:06:20] over on the east side

[00:06:22] and the Buckeye Shaker area.

[00:06:24] Our neighborhood, the large

[00:06:26] community area is filled

[00:06:28] with people who are active

[00:06:30] and engaged and doing good things

[00:06:32] for other people

[00:06:34] and for just kind of the community in general.

[00:06:36] And they're never the people that we see

[00:06:38] on the 30 under 30 lists

[00:06:40] because the people in our neighborhood

[00:06:42] who are kicking ass are like

[00:06:44] I don't know, they're on some heroes I guess.

[00:06:46] Oh, as I said, I think we can

[00:06:48] denigrate 30 under 30 a little bit.

[00:06:50] I'm pretty sure people just pay to be on that

[00:06:52] but continuing on.

[00:06:54] Yeah, nobody under 30 is going to listen to this anyway

[00:06:56] so it's fine.

[00:07:00] The folks that you're thinking about

[00:07:02] the folks who are in Demco

[00:07:04] the other folks who are not in Demco

[00:07:06] that we don't know about

[00:07:08] are doing the work.

[00:07:10] They're doing it regardless of

[00:07:12] the publicity,

[00:07:14] the praise, the attention, right?

[00:07:16] They're doing it because they know it matters

[00:07:18] and they have a commitment

[00:07:20] to doing that work.

[00:07:22] Well, so speaking of people who are committed to doing that work

[00:07:24] Tara Lawanda, can you tell us

[00:07:26] a little bit about yourself, where you're from

[00:07:28] and why you decided to apply

[00:07:30] to Demco?

[00:07:32] Sure.

[00:07:34] I am Cleveland

[00:07:36] and I'm from the Ohio East Cleveland specifically.

[00:07:38] I have been doing

[00:07:40] community organizing and grassroots work

[00:07:42] for the past 30 years.

[00:07:44] I developed a spot youth empowerment organization

[00:07:46] back in 2005.

[00:07:48] We will, we have celebrated

[00:07:50] 19 years next year.

[00:07:52] We'll be 20 years strong.

[00:07:54] We have been

[00:07:56] working to empower youth

[00:07:58] in the county

[00:08:00] of Calhoga through education

[00:08:02] and resources.

[00:08:04] A lot of event based

[00:08:06] education and workshops

[00:08:08] and personal resources.

[00:08:10] And we

[00:08:12] found that a lot of the

[00:08:14] issues that our young people face

[00:08:16] were systematic through policies

[00:08:18] and so

[00:08:20] we implemented

[00:08:22] a civics program

[00:08:24] that we've been doing for the last three years,

[00:08:26] which we have been

[00:08:28] doing an Earn to Learn workshop

[00:08:30] when they come in

[00:08:32] and learn branches of government,

[00:08:34] how to

[00:08:36] research candidates and issues,

[00:08:38] how to cast

[00:08:40] a smart ballot, and then how

[00:08:42] to register to vote.

[00:08:44] Our population is 14 to 25.

[00:08:46] The board of elections

[00:08:48] come in and do part of our training

[00:08:50] so anybody 17 and a half

[00:08:52] and older is instantly registered

[00:08:54] to vote inside of the classroom.

[00:08:56] They receive a $50 stipend

[00:08:58] which actually helps

[00:09:00] them to get into our classes.

[00:09:02] And we found that through

[00:09:04] these workshops

[00:09:06] we were able to

[00:09:08] find out more of the

[00:09:10] issues that affected them in their communities

[00:09:12] and talk through some

[00:09:14] of the solutions.

[00:09:16] And so we had been funded

[00:09:18] through Cleveland votes.

[00:09:20] We worked with them

[00:09:22] along with Peevie Cleave

[00:09:24] as part of our initiative training

[00:09:26] where our young people

[00:09:28] got an opportunity

[00:09:30] to follow Peevie Cleave

[00:09:32] from the inception

[00:09:34] which was creating the

[00:09:36] verbiage for the bill.

[00:09:38] They also

[00:09:40] collected signatures

[00:09:42] and saw how that part went

[00:09:44] and then they also was there

[00:09:46] when it was given over

[00:09:48] to the board of elections

[00:09:50] and they were able to see it

[00:09:52] from inception to the ballot

[00:09:54] in the turnout.

[00:09:56] It was instrumental

[00:09:58] for our young people because they got to see

[00:10:00] the process.

[00:10:02] And they were intrigued

[00:10:04] by that and wanted to

[00:10:06] have more hands-on

[00:10:08] involvement. So when DEMCO

[00:10:10] came about

[00:10:12] the opportunity to

[00:10:14] kind of expand on that

[00:10:16] was right

[00:10:18] on time we were

[00:10:20] able to get in there

[00:10:22] and put in our application and the training

[00:10:24] has just been phenomenal

[00:10:26] the access that we've

[00:10:28] been able to have

[00:10:30] through DEMCO

[00:10:32] it's just been great for our

[00:10:34] organization. We saw

[00:10:36] an opportunity to learn concepts

[00:10:38] and make

[00:10:40] partnerships

[00:10:42] and learn

[00:10:44] and that's what we've done through DEMCO.

[00:10:46] That's so excellent

[00:10:48] that's wow since 2005

[00:10:50] you said when

[00:10:52] you said wow.

[00:10:54] Yeah, and we started out

[00:10:56] with job fairs

[00:10:58] we started out in the Kinsman

[00:11:00] area right on

[00:11:02] on 93rd in Kinsman was a party center

[00:11:04] and that was our

[00:11:06] beginnings

[00:11:08] and we just built on that

[00:11:10] to do other workshops

[00:11:12] literacy programs

[00:11:14] and bringing out

[00:11:16] personal hygiene items

[00:11:18] and helping them with

[00:11:20] different applications

[00:11:22] just trying to

[00:11:24] address the needs of our young people

[00:11:26] which is great

[00:11:28] and then also

[00:11:30] spending some downtime with them

[00:11:32] showing them how to have

[00:11:34] fun and a creative

[00:11:36] and a safe way

[00:11:38] and a safe space with cheering adults

[00:11:40] that wanted to see them

[00:11:42] transcend from teen

[00:11:44] to adulthood successfully.

[00:11:46] That's so great

[00:11:48] and we're going to get much deeper

[00:11:50] into Terra Luanda's specific activation project

[00:11:52] but before we do that

[00:11:54] Kirby could you just describe a little bit more

[00:11:56] like what an activation project

[00:11:58] is and maybe give us some other

[00:12:00] examples of other participants

[00:12:02] projects before we dive deeper

[00:12:04] into Terra Luanda's?

[00:12:06] Absolutely

[00:12:08] so

[00:12:10] it's common for

[00:12:12] these sorts of community oriented

[00:12:14] cohort based programs

[00:12:16] to have some

[00:12:18] sort of project component

[00:12:20] but they don't always

[00:12:22] happen during the course of the program

[00:12:24] itself it's sort of like you learn

[00:12:26] the skills, the tools

[00:12:28] you develop the relationships

[00:12:30] and then you're set off to go forth

[00:12:32] and use those

[00:12:34] as you will.

[00:12:36] We wanted to make sure that we gave

[00:12:38] demco participants

[00:12:40] an explicit opportunity to learn

[00:12:42] together

[00:12:44] to develop their project together

[00:12:46] and to implement their projects

[00:12:48] with support

[00:12:50] within the container of the program itself

[00:12:52] and so

[00:12:54] over the course of the six

[00:12:56] months sort of curriculum

[00:12:58] process

[00:13:00] participants were learning skills

[00:13:02] tools, strategies, they were meeting

[00:13:04] some other Clevelanders

[00:13:06] who are doing different kinds

[00:13:08] of organizing work

[00:13:10] and then from what they've learned

[00:13:12] from the reflections

[00:13:14] that they were doing over the course of that time

[00:13:16] they developed

[00:13:18] projects to address

[00:13:20] particular issues that are important to them

[00:13:22] important to their communities

[00:13:24] some of the participants came into

[00:13:26] demco

[00:13:28] similar to Terra Luanda

[00:13:30] already having

[00:13:32] an organization already having

[00:13:34] a project

[00:13:36] an idea in mind

[00:13:38] and then the others developed their projects

[00:13:40] over the course of our time together

[00:13:42] so

[00:13:44] some of the other projects

[00:13:46] include

[00:13:48] a more artistic based project

[00:13:50] looking at

[00:13:52] a landfill in the Slavic Village neighborhood

[00:13:54] and

[00:13:56] drawing on some

[00:13:58] resident perspectives around

[00:14:00] how that landfill

[00:14:02] has impacted

[00:14:04] their community

[00:14:06] and there's going to be some photographs

[00:14:08] that accompany

[00:14:10] those perspectives

[00:14:12] there's another project

[00:14:14] that's focusing on

[00:14:16] improving

[00:14:18] literacy rates and

[00:14:20] voter engagement through the use of

[00:14:22] comic books

[00:14:24] and graphic novels

[00:14:26] we've got a couple of participants

[00:14:28] who are working together to create

[00:14:30] a resource guide

[00:14:32] for Clevelanders

[00:14:34] and may need a little bit more

[00:14:36] information about

[00:14:38] what ward they're in, how to register to vote

[00:14:40] but even things like

[00:14:42] where they can find

[00:14:44] resources like toiletries

[00:14:46] or housing resources around the city

[00:14:50] they're going to make a print version

[00:14:52] we have another project

[00:14:54] of a participant who

[00:14:56] noticed that there was a gap

[00:14:58] in information access

[00:15:00] in their Tremont community

[00:15:02] and we're creating a newspaper

[00:15:04] specifically for

[00:15:06] the Latinx community

[00:15:08] it's for and by the Latinx community

[00:15:10] to learn more about

[00:15:12] what's going on in their neighborhood

[00:15:14] and share stories of what's going on

[00:15:16] in their communities

[00:15:18] and that's going to be another print version

[00:15:20] that's going to be shared around the neighborhood

[00:15:22] that is so neat, so many cool different projects there

[00:15:24] let's get

[00:15:26] specifically into Terra Luanda's project

[00:15:28] so your activation project is called

[00:15:30] Run Tell This Community Empowerment Training

[00:15:32] how did you land on this as your project

[00:15:34] how is it going and what is your vision

[00:15:36] for it beyond DumbCo?

[00:15:38] Run Tell This

[00:15:40] is just a way

[00:15:42] to tell our story

[00:15:44] and what

[00:15:46] we wanted was

[00:15:48] everything that we knew

[00:15:50] we wanted to pour into

[00:15:52] our leadership team and everything that

[00:15:54] they know that they take out into the community

[00:15:56] so just a way of spreading the word

[00:15:58] Run Tell This was

[00:16:00] birthed out of our civics

[00:16:02] like I said we were already doing the

[00:16:04] workshops but we wanted

[00:16:06] to expand those

[00:16:08] and so we are now

[00:16:10] working on

[00:16:12] our additional training to start

[00:16:14] our radio show and our podcast

[00:16:16] that we're looking to air in July

[00:16:18] and so this is going to

[00:16:20] be an opportunity for young people

[00:16:22] around Cuyahoga County

[00:16:24] because we service the whole Cuyahoga County

[00:16:26] to come and bring

[00:16:28] issues that

[00:16:30] affect them in their communities

[00:16:32] to a larger audience

[00:16:34] using this as a platform

[00:16:36] also talk about solutions

[00:16:38] and getting the ear of

[00:16:40] people who can actually make change for them

[00:16:42] get an opportunity

[00:16:44] to interview

[00:16:46] they'll be creating all of the content

[00:16:48] for the radio station

[00:16:50] we're just supporting the structure

[00:16:52] and the funding for them to do it

[00:16:54] it's going to be led by them

[00:16:56] they'll be the host, they'll come up with the content

[00:16:58] and the things that they discuss

[00:17:00] they're going to use this information

[00:17:02] we're looking to do

[00:17:04] a forum closer to elections

[00:17:06] and this will just be another way

[00:17:08] that they get a chance to

[00:17:10] be heard

[00:17:12] a lot of times we find that when

[00:17:14] you start in the room

[00:17:16] they give them a platform but they actually

[00:17:18] don't get

[00:17:20] to be the creators of the content

[00:17:22] and so this is an opportunity

[00:17:24] for them to get across what they

[00:17:26] want to get across to people

[00:17:28] who make changes and make the difference

[00:17:30] in our communities

[00:17:32] so that was the mindset

[00:17:34] behind RunTail

[00:17:36] this pipeline for information

[00:17:38] for our young people

[00:17:48] Caroline I guess this is for you

[00:17:57] but both of you could answer

[00:17:59] how have you found yourself applying

[00:18:01] what you've learned

[00:18:03] in Demco to your life

[00:18:05] outside of it?

[00:18:09] Oh wow

[00:18:11] we have covered so many

[00:18:13] things in Demco

[00:18:15] things that I never even

[00:18:17] considered to consider right

[00:18:19] we had a program

[00:18:21] it was successful

[00:18:23] and we were

[00:18:25] just doing our normal

[00:18:27] programming but

[00:18:29] after I got into Demco

[00:18:31] and some of the concepts

[00:18:33] and the skills that they taught us

[00:18:35] like power over

[00:18:37] and

[00:18:39] story yourself and organization

[00:18:41] and just really having you do

[00:18:43] deep dives into

[00:18:45] your work and your purpose

[00:18:47] and focus it really

[00:18:49] enlightened me to

[00:18:51] where we could go

[00:18:53] and avenues that we could take

[00:18:55] how to bridge

[00:18:57] alliances that we hadn't already

[00:18:59] thought about or

[00:19:01] some of the skills that we weren't

[00:19:03] already using that were

[00:19:05] at our disposal so it

[00:19:07] kind of brought everything

[00:19:09] into a kind of a cohesive

[00:19:11] type of atmosphere so that

[00:19:13] we could

[00:19:15] make the most out of

[00:19:17] what we already had

[00:19:19] so that was tremendous

[00:19:21] and then it also gave

[00:19:23] me an opportunity to meet some

[00:19:25] really wonderful partners

[00:19:27] as you go through these classes

[00:19:29] and you meet from week

[00:19:31] and you're sharing and discussing

[00:19:33] ideas and

[00:19:35] you start seeing them in

[00:19:37] different

[00:19:39] meetings and

[00:19:41] your everyday life

[00:19:43] and you start

[00:19:45] exchanging ideas

[00:19:47] it just becomes a big family

[00:19:49] that supports

[00:19:51] each other I run into

[00:19:53] Gerard

[00:19:55] or Ronaldo

[00:19:57] or Lynn and

[00:19:59] we're able to catch up and we're able to

[00:20:01] share and we're able to

[00:20:03] support each other's work

[00:20:05] and so just having that

[00:20:07] collective family in

[00:20:09] Demco was something else that

[00:20:11] I didn't expect that

[00:20:13] became a wonderful gift

[00:20:15] being a part of such

[00:20:17] a tremendous

[00:20:19] undertaking this was a wonderful

[00:20:21] I would suggest anybody

[00:20:23] that has the opportunity

[00:20:25] to go through Demco

[00:20:27] to go through this because this was

[00:20:29] a wonderful experience

[00:20:31] that actually goes to

[00:20:33] one of our questions perfectly

[00:20:35] besides doing it what else

[00:20:37] would you tell another participant

[00:20:39] as an inaugural member

[00:20:41] of like the first ever Demco

[00:20:43] what would you tell someone thinking about it

[00:20:47] so again just the relationships

[00:20:49] that you build that's invaluable

[00:20:53] the supports that they give

[00:20:55] so far as

[00:20:57] so Kirby kind of spoke a lot about that

[00:20:59] how they support you

[00:21:01] and kind of help you streamline

[00:21:03] what you're trying to do

[00:21:05] trying to

[00:21:07] open up new avenues for you

[00:21:09] to kind of

[00:21:11] get your project started

[00:21:13] and then the financial

[00:21:15] supports you know

[00:21:17] a lot of times these projects

[00:21:19] they take funding

[00:21:21] and they start you on

[00:21:23] work towards that

[00:21:25] they give you supports

[00:21:27] to get your activation project

[00:21:29] started and tech

[00:21:31] support that's very helpful

[00:21:33] so everything that they do

[00:21:35] helps to take you to the next step

[00:21:37] to help to further

[00:21:39] not just your project

[00:21:41] but your vision and scope as well

[00:21:43] so

[00:21:45] that's what came out of it for me

[00:21:47] and I'm sure everybody

[00:21:49] probably got that and probably

[00:21:51] their own little thing

[00:21:53] take away but for me it was phenomenal

[00:21:55] well that's really cool

[00:21:57] so I guess I didn't realize this was the first time

[00:21:59] through this cohort right or this cohort

[00:22:01] was the first one you all had at

[00:22:03] Demco Kirby as the facilitator

[00:22:05] how have you seen

[00:22:07] participants grow as leaders and what

[00:22:09] advice do you have for people

[00:22:11] to start building and working for

[00:22:13] equitable civic engagement in their communities

[00:22:15] so

[00:22:17] it has been

[00:22:19] really wonderful to have the experience

[00:22:21] of

[00:22:23] being with a group of people

[00:22:25] for such a long period of time

[00:22:27] and having the opportunity

[00:22:29] to see them grow and develop

[00:22:31] so I would say

[00:22:33] a couple of the ways that really

[00:22:35] stand out that I've seen

[00:22:37] a number of participants grow in

[00:22:39] is their ability

[00:22:41] to really think about

[00:22:43] boundaries around

[00:22:45] their work

[00:22:47] so for a number of participants

[00:22:51] saying no was really

[00:22:53] difficult

[00:22:55] when you're working with

[00:22:57] communities that have great needs

[00:22:59] when you're working with community

[00:23:01] members that are experiencing

[00:23:03] a lot of urgent issues

[00:23:05] it's hard to say no

[00:23:07] it's hard to

[00:23:09] push things back

[00:23:11] you want to respond immediately

[00:23:13] to whoever is in front of

[00:23:15] you and while there are

[00:23:17] times that it's really important to

[00:23:19] do that there are also times

[00:23:21] where

[00:23:23] you could stand to

[00:23:25] pause and take stock of

[00:23:27] the urgency of that situation

[00:23:29] and

[00:23:31] maybe plan to

[00:23:33] take care of it at another time

[00:23:35] or look at your

[00:23:37] priorities and see

[00:23:39] where that issue falls within your

[00:23:41] other tasks

[00:23:43] and your plans that you have

[00:23:45] and so I feel like I've seen the

[00:23:47] participants really

[00:23:49] develop their ability

[00:23:51] to slow down their thinking

[00:23:53] a little bit

[00:23:55] and be more

[00:23:57] planful, more intentional, more

[00:23:59] thoughtful about the tasks

[00:24:01] that they're taking on

[00:24:03] and delegating

[00:24:05] some tasks to other people

[00:24:07] knowing that they only have so much

[00:24:09] time and energy to give

[00:24:11] some really big thing that I've seen from a lot

[00:24:13] of participants

[00:24:15] another thing that I've seen

[00:24:17] from the participants over our time

[00:24:19] together

[00:24:21] is a sense of

[00:24:23] confidence in their

[00:24:25] ability to move their

[00:24:27] projects forward

[00:24:29] so a couple of the participants

[00:24:31] at least a couple of them expressed

[00:24:33] some challenges with being

[00:24:35] able to see a project through

[00:24:37] or their

[00:24:39] confidence in being able to

[00:24:41] speak on some of the work that they're doing

[00:24:43] and so I've really

[00:24:45] seen participants

[00:24:47] move

[00:24:49] with a sense of confidence

[00:24:51] and clarity about

[00:24:53] what they're doing

[00:24:55] the steps they need to take

[00:24:57] and it's continuing

[00:24:59] their projects forward

[00:25:01] they're feeling like they have

[00:25:03] some momentum

[00:25:05] even when they need to pivot

[00:25:07] many of the participants have had to do

[00:25:09] for various reasons

[00:25:11] even when they've had to pivot

[00:25:13] they've been able to

[00:25:15] stay on track towards the goals

[00:25:17] that they created at the outset

[00:25:19] so that's been

[00:25:21] really, really wonderful to see

[00:25:23] and I'm also really

[00:25:25] proud of

[00:25:27] how the participants

[00:25:29] have used Demco

[00:25:31] as an opportunity to really stretch themselves

[00:25:33] you know so Terra Luwanda

[00:25:35] was one that

[00:25:37] during one of our coaching sessions

[00:25:39] she was telling me about

[00:25:41] her initial project idea

[00:25:43] and I said

[00:25:45] something like well Terra Luwanda

[00:25:47] that sounds similar to what you're already doing

[00:25:49] is there a way that you can imagine

[00:25:51] pushing

[00:25:53] just a little bit further

[00:25:55] outside of your comfort zone

[00:25:57] to try something new

[00:25:59] so that you can grow

[00:26:01] what you're already doing

[00:26:03] really well

[00:26:05] you know how can you leverage

[00:26:07] Demco to level up

[00:26:09] the spot to level up

[00:26:11] the youth that you're working with

[00:26:13] so that you can continue to grow

[00:26:15] in this big vision

[00:26:17] that you have

[00:26:19] and so

[00:26:21] she and her sister Rishanda who are working together

[00:26:23] on their activation project

[00:26:25] really took that to heart

[00:26:27] you know and so it's just really

[00:26:29] I just feel

[00:26:31] so proud I just feel so proud

[00:26:33] and I feel so honored

[00:26:35] to

[00:26:37] have the opportunity to

[00:26:39] work with them and accompany them

[00:26:41] through this really meaningful

[00:26:43] and

[00:26:45] necessary and important work

[00:26:47] that they're doing within the city

[00:26:49] that's excellent well that just

[00:26:51] sounds so invaluable to so many

[00:26:53] different people

[00:26:55] and you had gone over a few different examples

[00:26:57] of what activation products

[00:26:59] people had chosen were there anymore

[00:27:01] that you wanted to share with us

[00:27:03] about what projects people had chosen

[00:27:05] yeah so we

[00:27:07] have so many really cool projects

[00:27:09] and I definitely want to take a moment

[00:27:11] to highlight all of them

[00:27:13] so the other couple projects

[00:27:15] that I hadn't mentioned include

[00:27:17] a project with one of our participants

[00:27:19] who did come in with a pre-existing

[00:27:21] organization

[00:27:23] working with formerly incarcerated people

[00:27:25] for one and so

[00:27:27] she's doing a project where

[00:27:29] she's focusing on

[00:27:31] a mentorship kind of

[00:27:33] program so in particular

[00:27:35] working with men

[00:27:37] to mentor young people

[00:27:39] in their lives and she's

[00:27:41] providing information

[00:27:43] via a forum and then she's also

[00:27:45] planning an event

[00:27:47] for the mentors

[00:27:49] and those young people to just connect

[00:27:51] in a social setting so that's

[00:27:53] another really exciting project and then

[00:27:55] we have another participant

[00:27:57] who is doing more

[00:27:59] of a storytelling project

[00:28:01] around trauma

[00:28:03] and violent survival

[00:28:05] within the transgender

[00:28:07] non-conforming BIPOC

[00:28:09] community

[00:28:11] BIPOC meaning black, indigenous and other people of color

[00:28:13] and so

[00:28:15] that project is also an extension

[00:28:17] of work that this participant has been

[00:28:19] doing

[00:28:21] long before they joined DEMCO

[00:28:23] but they're using DEMCO

[00:28:25] as an opportunity to continue

[00:28:27] to expand

[00:28:29] this vision of work that

[00:28:31] they've already been doing

[00:28:33] so

[00:28:35] I feel and the other thing

[00:28:37] with DEMCO is that

[00:28:39] we did want

[00:28:41] participants to

[00:28:43] we tried to structure

[00:28:45] the program so that

[00:28:47] DEMCO didn't feel like

[00:28:49] another thing that they have to go to

[00:28:51] but it felt like something

[00:28:53] that

[00:28:55] would really support and

[00:28:57] propel work that they were already

[00:28:59] doing

[00:29:01] so we wanted to provide

[00:29:03] some resources as Tara Luanda mentioned

[00:29:05] in the form of a stipend, some tech

[00:29:07] support, some financial

[00:29:09] support for their projects

[00:29:11] so that resources weren't

[00:29:13] a barrier to people's

[00:29:15] ability to participate

[00:29:17] we know that

[00:29:19] every single person in DEMCO

[00:29:21] has at least

[00:29:23] one other job that

[00:29:25] they're doing in addition to

[00:29:27] the community work that they're doing

[00:29:29] in addition to

[00:29:31] now joining DEMCO

[00:29:33] and so people's time is precious

[00:29:35] right and we recognize that

[00:29:37] and so we really tried to

[00:29:39] create the program in a way where it

[00:29:41] felt complimentary

[00:29:43] and like an extension of what

[00:29:45] they were already doing rather than

[00:29:47] something extra that

[00:29:49] didn't feel particularly useful

[00:29:51] so two things that you just said

[00:29:53] maybe think about this

[00:29:55] question for somebody who's been

[00:29:57] at this work for as long

[00:29:59] as you've been Tara Luanda

[00:30:01] you mentioned 20 years of your organization 30 years

[00:30:03] in community work

[00:30:05] the first is that yeah like people are

[00:30:07] doing other jobs in addition

[00:30:09] to this work or have other

[00:30:11] things in their lives going on in addition to this work

[00:30:13] the other is something you mentioned a little while ago about how

[00:30:15] like the sense of urgency

[00:30:17] kind of creates a real

[00:30:19] overwhelm and we know that

[00:30:21] activists and people who operate

[00:30:23] at the grassroots level and sort of

[00:30:25] throughout the movement burn out quickly

[00:30:27] and easily and all too often

[00:30:29] and I think that

[00:30:31] sense of urgency that constant sense of

[00:30:33] urgency creates a sense of anxiety that makes

[00:30:35] it really easy to burn out so I'm wondering

[00:30:37] Tara Luanda

[00:30:39] what insights do you have as someone who

[00:30:41] as far as I can tell hasn't happened to you haven't burned out

[00:30:43] you've been in it for a long time and you are

[00:30:45] still going strong so

[00:30:47] talk to me about how you've managed

[00:30:49] to do that without

[00:30:51] you know losing hope

[00:30:53] or losing energy

[00:30:55] I thought you were going to say losing your mind

[00:30:59] I think having a strong

[00:31:01] team and support team

[00:31:03] around me has been

[00:31:05] invaluable like Kirby

[00:31:07] spoke my sister is my

[00:31:09] COO my family

[00:31:11] is a constant support

[00:31:13] to everything that I do

[00:31:15] they are invaluable

[00:31:17] and

[00:31:19] my mission the reason why

[00:31:21] keeps me

[00:31:23] in the fray

[00:31:25] I'm always

[00:31:27] in contact or

[00:31:29] working with young people

[00:31:31] that come up with

[00:31:33] creative ideas that's always

[00:31:35] in need that's always there

[00:31:37] they never go away so

[00:31:39] I want to fall off they come and they

[00:31:41] re-vigorate me with an idea

[00:31:43] or need or something like that

[00:31:45] that draws me right back in

[00:31:47] but I just have to say

[00:31:49] that it really is

[00:31:51] the support team that's

[00:31:53] around me my church

[00:31:55] my pastor

[00:31:57] is on my advisory committee

[00:31:59] we have friends that support us

[00:32:01] you know so it

[00:32:03] really really helps and then

[00:32:05] to be matched with them co

[00:32:07] like I said I got a whole room full of

[00:32:09] new friends

[00:32:11] and people that I consider family

[00:32:13] now we spent six months together

[00:32:15] and we

[00:32:17] share bliss with tears in those classes

[00:32:19] and then in the training so

[00:32:21] you know just having good people around

[00:32:23] around me that

[00:32:25] believe in my vision and

[00:32:27] see what

[00:32:29] what we're trying to do

[00:32:31] with the spot and

[00:32:33] they encouraging me so that's been

[00:32:35] I would say

[00:32:39] it was a really beautiful answer

[00:32:41] I'm like almost getting teary over here

[00:32:45] I just want to add so

[00:32:47] you know I want to

[00:32:49] give a shout out to

[00:32:51] our curriculum partner

[00:32:53] Liberation in a Generation

[00:32:55] it's an organization

[00:32:57] that supports

[00:32:59] movement building organizations

[00:33:01] and so

[00:33:03] we've been working with them

[00:33:05] you know beyond

[00:33:07] pre-demco

[00:33:09] during demco and we will work

[00:33:11] with them post demco on developing

[00:33:13] the curriculum for this program

[00:33:15] and

[00:33:17] what one of the things that has

[00:33:19] been deeply valuable about

[00:33:21] their participation

[00:33:23] in their support is

[00:33:25] that they are experienced

[00:33:27] organizers themselves

[00:33:29] and so not only do they

[00:33:31] know the strategies

[00:33:33] and the tools

[00:33:35] but they also know

[00:33:37] some of the risks and

[00:33:39] pains that can come with organizing

[00:33:41] including burnout

[00:33:43] and so

[00:33:45] we have incorporated into the curriculum

[00:33:47] conversations

[00:33:49] about self-care

[00:33:51] and community care

[00:33:53] you know we know that organizing

[00:33:55] and community building can be a form

[00:33:57] of community care

[00:33:59] just as Terri Lawanda said

[00:34:01] you know there's also a need

[00:34:03] for those interpersonal relationships

[00:34:05] to help carry us

[00:34:07] boundaries

[00:34:09] to support our work and community

[00:34:11] and so we make space

[00:34:13] for conversations about

[00:34:15] that topic

[00:34:17] and also we've made

[00:34:19] space to practice

[00:34:21] caring for ourselves and one another in real

[00:34:23] time during the sessions

[00:34:25] so I think that's really

[00:34:27] that's an important

[00:34:29] layer of doing any sort of

[00:34:31] community-based work

[00:34:33] and I'm really grateful that we've been able to

[00:34:35] intentionally incorporate

[00:34:37] that into

[00:34:39] DEMCO as well

[00:34:41] Yeah, I'm going to say thank you for that

[00:34:43] because I was one of the ones

[00:34:45] that had no boundaries

[00:34:47] like anybody could call me

[00:34:49] anytime of day or night

[00:34:51] anybody I mean I was

[00:34:53] always at everybody's disposal

[00:34:55] and I would work myself hard

[00:34:57] I know I had a

[00:34:59] deadline coming up I didn't

[00:35:01] want to drop the ball I knew that this was

[00:35:03] important so I was all in

[00:35:05] and

[00:35:07] going through

[00:35:09] the DEMCO training

[00:35:11] and having those conversations

[00:35:13] about self-care I remember

[00:35:15] the one exercise

[00:35:17] where we were able to bring our blankets

[00:35:19] and our pillows

[00:35:21] and lay on the floor and kind of

[00:35:23] breathe and

[00:35:25] someone come and take a store

[00:35:27] meditation I fell asleep

[00:35:29] during the day I almost felt guilty

[00:35:31] about that because

[00:35:33] look get up not

[00:35:35] but you know going through

[00:35:37] DEMCO and

[00:35:39] realizing that self-care

[00:35:41] is also a part

[00:35:43] of the work because if you're

[00:35:45] unhealthy then

[00:35:47] you can't get the work done

[00:35:49] and that was something

[00:35:51] that came out of DEMCO because

[00:35:53] I was so used to throw myself

[00:35:55] to the wall so I was almost

[00:35:57] done

[00:35:59] and when I was working like that

[00:36:01] every day six or seven days a week

[00:36:03] like some weeks I didn't even

[00:36:05] have a day off and so

[00:36:07] I've learned

[00:36:09] to manage my time a lot

[00:36:11] better since DEMCO

[00:36:13] Yeah that's great I mean if anybody

[00:36:15] it sounds like based on everything you just said

[00:36:17] anybody deserves to now

[00:36:19] I'm glad you're here to

[00:36:21] meditate and pick an app

[00:36:23] in the middle of the day

[00:36:25] sounds like that's you

[00:36:27] I'm glad you got a chance to do that

[00:36:29] I wanted to ask

[00:36:31] Terri Lawanda also about

[00:36:33] this is going back to the beginning of this

[00:36:35] conversation when you mentioned that

[00:36:37] you had done some work with PB Clean

[00:36:39] we had the PB Clean folks on

[00:36:41] we had

[00:36:43] Molly and Andre on in September

[00:36:45] of 2023 and I wonder

[00:36:47] what was the exciting

[00:36:49] moment for organizing in Cleveland

[00:36:51] I thought folks who aren't

[00:36:53] familiar with participatory budgeting

[00:36:55] in Cleveland or listeners you can go back

[00:36:57] and check out the episode or google

[00:36:59] PB Clean and

[00:37:01] I think it fed

[00:37:03] it nourished a bit of a movement here

[00:37:05] but it ultimately

[00:37:07] was met with too much resistance

[00:37:09] from people in power really

[00:37:11] how did the young people you were working with

[00:37:13] respond to that like it seems like

[00:37:15] it took so much effort and so much time

[00:37:17] and I don't know if you're kind of

[00:37:19] grizzled and like used to

[00:37:21] having city council not go

[00:37:23] along with the things you wanted to then maybe it's

[00:37:25] less of a shock but I don't know

[00:37:27] for a young person I would imagine it being kind of

[00:37:29] frustrating did they

[00:37:31] how did they respond to that

[00:37:33] so we had mixed

[00:37:35] response so going into

[00:37:37] it was just training so

[00:37:39] we were not for or against

[00:37:41] we were just

[00:37:43] showing them how

[00:37:45] to get initiative

[00:37:47] on the ballot so it was

[00:37:49] initiative training for us it was part

[00:37:51] two of the series

[00:37:53] of voter empowerment

[00:37:55] but they were just

[00:37:57] stoked that they were able

[00:37:59] to participate in at the level

[00:38:01] PB Cleave was so

[00:38:03] accommodating to our young people

[00:38:05] all they treated them like stars almost

[00:38:07] and so

[00:38:09] they had a phenomenal time they didn't care

[00:38:11] how it went they were just

[00:38:13] felt privileged to be in the room

[00:38:15] to be listened to to be heard to be

[00:38:17] sought after for their

[00:38:19] opinions how we got

[00:38:21] involved with PB Cleave

[00:38:23] I had met Evan

[00:38:25] and Evan this was in the very

[00:38:27] early stages and Evan

[00:38:29] wanted to have

[00:38:31] the young people have a voice at the

[00:38:33] table when the money came

[00:38:35] down if

[00:38:37] they were awarded the 2%

[00:38:39] that young people had a voice

[00:38:41] at the table and so

[00:38:43] he asked the spot

[00:38:45] to bring a couple of young people

[00:38:47] to the city council meeting

[00:38:49] to speak and that's

[00:38:51] recorded they got a chance

[00:38:53] to present before city council

[00:38:55] why they thought young people should

[00:38:57] have a voice in the budgeting

[00:38:59] and they were hooked

[00:39:01] from that point on

[00:39:03] they wanted to

[00:39:05] have a say they wanted to

[00:39:07] go out there and see

[00:39:09] and they got a chance to see exactly

[00:39:11] what it took so now

[00:39:13] even though PB Cleave

[00:39:15] whether it passed or failed

[00:39:17] if they had an idea

[00:39:19] that they wanted to start

[00:39:21] initiative they know exactly

[00:39:23] what to do from the ground

[00:39:25] all the way to the ballot

[00:39:27] and so that was

[00:39:29] exciting for us

[00:39:31] it was exciting for them

[00:39:33] and excited for PB Cleave

[00:39:35] and we really enjoyed

[00:39:37] working with our young people

[00:39:39] and that was phenomenal because they

[00:39:41] Molly came on

[00:39:43] she actually did a training

[00:39:45] for us in the classroom

[00:39:47] so they also got classroom

[00:39:49] hours and out in the field

[00:39:51] so it was just a great experience

[00:39:53] for everyone concerned

[00:39:57] That's awesome what another

[00:39:59] perfect answer I really hope Molly

[00:40:01] and Andre and Evan and everybody

[00:40:03] are excited to go out

[00:40:05] and get involved in this

[00:40:07] because I think that's the ideal outcome

[00:40:09] even if it doesn't go across

[00:40:11] on the ballot in the way that we would hope

[00:40:13] it's inspiring an entirely

[00:40:15] new generation of young people

[00:40:17] to go out and get involved in that way

[00:40:19] that's a great

[00:40:21] that's a great anecdote

[00:40:23] I'm glad you shared that

[00:40:25] We are on the final question

[00:40:27] which is the most exciting one

[00:40:29] how can listeners connect

[00:40:31] with you

[00:40:33] and how can people get in contact

[00:40:35] or connection with you

[00:40:37] and how can we keep up to date

[00:40:39] Oh awesome a great question

[00:40:41] so you can always reach

[00:40:43] me by calling me directly

[00:40:45] 216-323-6049

[00:40:47] I'm here

[00:40:49] right in the city of Cleveland

[00:40:51] You also can visit our website

[00:40:53] that's thespotyeo.com

[00:40:55] thespotyeo.com

[00:40:57] We also have

[00:40:59] cash apps

[00:41:01] so if anybody is so inclined

[00:41:03] to make donations

[00:41:05] it is thespotyeo

[00:41:07] the dollar sign

[00:41:09] thespotyeo

[00:41:11] We are

[00:41:13] all around the city

[00:41:15] we will be doing a

[00:41:17] fundraising luncheon

[00:41:19] in July so look out for that

[00:41:21] Yeah just call us up

[00:41:23] look us up I'm always available

[00:41:25] It's better to call

[00:41:27] or text me

[00:41:29] it's quicker than an email

[00:41:31] but we're always here

[00:41:33] Wonderful

[00:41:35] and how about you Kirby

[00:41:37] with both Demco and Cleveland votes

[00:41:41] Yeah so

[00:41:43] anyone is welcome to email me

[00:41:45] at democracycollective

[00:41:47] at cleavotes.com

[00:41:49] You can also check out more

[00:41:51] about the democracy collective

[00:41:53] and clevelandvotes.com

[00:41:55] backslash.demco

[00:41:59] We are looking forward to another cohort

[00:42:01] so we'll update that web page

[00:42:03] as we have information

[00:42:05] to share

[00:42:07] The participants

[00:42:09] final presentations

[00:42:11] will be on May 18

[00:42:13] We are working on getting

[00:42:15] a zoom link setup

[00:42:17] So I can share that with

[00:42:19] you all once we have it

[00:42:21] and then maybe it can be posted along

[00:42:23] with the podcast

[00:42:25] Oh that's wonderful and yeah

[00:42:27] we will actually include like with the show notes

[00:42:29] any specific mentions

[00:42:31] or we'll all be there

[00:42:33] for clickable links for people to use

[00:42:35] so those will all be

[00:42:37] in one place

[00:42:39] Thank you both so

[00:42:41] very much this has been such

[00:42:43] an excellent conversation

[00:42:45] I feel like I've learned so much about Cleveland

[00:42:47] and about this program

[00:42:49] as the only non-clevelander

[00:42:51] this call

[00:42:53] and yeah I just

[00:42:55] really appreciate you taking the time to join us today

[00:42:57] Well thank you for having me

[00:42:59] I really enjoyed sharing

[00:43:01] and I love singing

[00:43:03] the praises of Demco so this was

[00:43:05] painless

[00:43:14] As always visit whatsgoodohio.com

[00:43:16] for show notes and links

[00:43:18] and subscribe to What's Good Ohio

[00:43:20] wherever you get your podcasts

[00:43:22] We'll see you next time to keep talking about

[00:43:24] What's Good here in Ohio