Promoting Civic Engagement in the Inland Empire through Youth Organizing Preliminary Report (June-December 2020) Dr. Veronica Terriquez, University of California, Santa Cruz Rocio Aguayo, Undergraduate, University of California, Riverside
Introduction Inland Congregations United for Change (ICUC) is a nonpartisan civic organization with a track record of engaging young people in government elections and giving them a voice in shaping policies that affect their communities. ICUC began organizing youth in 2005 after the murder of the 16-year-old San Bernardino resident, Melanie Miers, one of many young people who lost their lives to gun violence that year. In response, ICUC sought to engage youth perspectives in promoting reforms that would prevent violence and create opportunities for all residents to thrive. To this end, ICUC has prepared adolescents and young adults to lead policy change efforts, encouraged informed community participation in government elections, and served as a resource for high-needs residents. As a result of intensive training, a broad network of community support, and the guidance of experienced organizers, young ICUC leaders have been at the forefront of numerous grassroots efforts that involve young people as part of the solutions to the challenges their communities face. This report takes stock of ICUC’s extensive activities in the midst of a global pandemic, focusing on the six-month period between June and November 2020. To ensure the health and safety of youth members and their communities, ICUC hosted numerous activities online and implemented rigorous health and safety protocols for a number of in-person gatherings. These activities focused on (1) skill development (2) youth involvement in decision making; (3) voter and Census outreach; and (4) COVID-19 relief. All told, these projects deeply engaged 380 youth members, including 250 from San Bernardino, 50 from Riverside, and 80 from Coachella Valley. The following enumerates the group’s collective efforts:
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Youth Engagement Regionwide
380 Youth Leaders
San Bernardino
Coachella Valley Region Riverside
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1 SKILL DEVELOPMENT
ICUC offers its young members opportunities to develop a range of skills and capacities so that they can serve their communities as informed leaders. ICUC’s curriculum guides members as they learn about and develop policy solutions to community concerns, work with elected officials, and conduct community outreach. Over the past eight months, ICUC has conducted three sets of intensive training sessions:
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Summer Training (July): 80 youth ICUC youth organizers hosted workshops on using digital storytelling graphics and videos as a tool for policy change and government accountability. Additional training included financial ethics, self care, and organizing actions for policy change.
Grassroots organizing and civic engagement workshops (June -November): 80 youth ICUC youth organizers provided ongoing training for members in analyzing and developing policy; working with and holding elected officials accountable; and conducting outreach to residents and voters. Specifically, these workshops prepared young members for a variety of civic tasks: requesting meetings with elected officials; creating agendas and hosting meetings with these officials; researching topics of policy interest; attending school board and city council meetings; developing a basic knowledge of local government jurisdictions; public commenting at government meetings; engaging with community leaders; and communicating with and educating voters through phone banking.
Voter registration training (October): 55 youth ICUC youth organizers trained youth on the process of conducting voter registration drives online and making effective voter education presentations using virtual platforms.
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YOUTH INVOLVEMENT IN DECISION MAKING
As part of it’s ongoing work, ICUC has engaged young people in proposing policy solutions to current issues affecting their communities. This includes regular meetings with decision-makers and advocating for policy change.
Promoting Civic Engagement in the IE through Youth Organizing
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“ICUC has shown me that community problem solving isn’t only for adults. ICUC has also given me the opportunity to make new friends from different parts of the city and network with community stakeholders.”
-Angel Orozco, San Bernardino
Meetings with decision-makers: 22 ICUC youth leaders met with their local elected representatives in order to discuss proposals to discuss recent pressing issues, including enhancing voter registration opportunities, COVID-19 relief, and racial justice. Meetings included:
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State Legislators
• State Senator Richard Roth • Assemblymember Sabrina Cervantes • Assemblymember Eloise Gomez Reyes
School Board Members • Gwen Rodgers (SBCUSD Board President) • Abigail Medina (SBCUSD) • Scott Wyatt (SBCUSD Vice President) • Linda Porras (DSUSD Board President) • Adonis Galarza (CVUSD Trustee) • Joey Acuna (CVUSD Board President) • Angelov Farooq (RUSD) • Lizeth Vega (AUSD)
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County Officials
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City Officials
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School Staff
• SB ROV: Bob Page • Riverside ROV: Rebecca Spencer
• Andy Melendez (Riverside) • Patricia Lock Dawson (Riverside) • Gaby Plascencia (Riverside)
• Dr. Hansen Superintendent (RUSD) • Kathy Allavie (RUSD President ) • Mr. Deets (EOC) • Cisneros (Ramona HS) • Principal at La Sierra • Principal at Norte Vista 007
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Youth-supported policy proposals passed: Thanks in part to youth organizing and advocacy efforts, four school districts passed policies that would facilitate voter pre-registration and registration. These included:
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01. Student Voter Registration Policy, San Bernardino City Unified School District (Approved September 2020) 02. Resolution Encouraging School District Participation in California High School Voter Education Weeks, Alvord Unified School District (Approved September 2020) 03. Resolution Recognizing California High School Voter Education Weeks, Riverside Unified School District (Approved September 2020) 04. 2020 California High School Voter Education Week, Coachella Valley Unified School District (Approved September 2020)
Promoting Civic Engagement in the IE through Youth Organizing
“ICUC has impacted me in a positive way by encouraging me to voice my opinion and speak up about the different issues that are occurring. It has also made me grow in a sense that I’m more politically and globally aware about current events.”
-Alicia Meda Smith, Riverside
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CENSUS AND VOTER OUTREACH To help ensure the representation of Inland Empire residents, ICUC actively conducted census and voter outreach.
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Census outreach An accurate counting in the 2020 Census would guarantee that local communities receive their fair share of resources and have their voices heard. To this end, ICUC (pre-COVID) outreach consisted of in-person signature collection (petitioning)—committing 5,935 people to fill out the Census— and Census outreach events that engaged 38,813 people. Post-COVID efforts included virtual petition commitments of 18,674 people, online posts viewed by 25,769 people, and Census information shared over radio stations that 7,000 people tuned in to. Overall, these efforts led to a total of 96,191 contacts (Source: Amplify).
96,191 Census Contacts
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Voter outreach
ICUC youth leaders have devoted significant energy to directly engaging youth and other infrequent voters in the democratic process. Their activities over the past several months include the following:
• “Gen Z Votes” virtual town hall (July, 10 elected officials, 40 youth leaders): ICUC youth leaders brought together school board members from different districts, along with the San Bernardino and Riverside County Registrars of Voters, to make policy recommendations on voter education and registration. • Voter education (September - October). Youth leaders offered 57 presentations in three school districts (CJUSD, CVUSD, SBCUSD) encouraging students to register or pre-register to vote.
“Encouraging students to register or pre-register to vote.”
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Contacted
45,409 new and infrequent young voters • “Be the Vote, Engage in the Vote” virtual event (October, 69 youth): Youth leaders organized and hosted an event with workshops on voter registration, every proposition on the 2020 ballot, and self-care activities. • Virtual candidate forums (October, SB City Council, SBCUSD, CVUSD, CV): ICUC youth leaders hosted virtual forums to ask candidates questions and provide the community with additional information before voting. • “Cast Your Vote” drive-thru concert (November, 301 participants): ICUC youth leaders organized a drive-thru concert to invite the community to register to vote. • Phone Banking (September-November) Youth leaders spoke directly with 45,409 new and infrequent young voters in the Inland Empire to remind them to vote (Source: PDI).
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4 COVID-19 RELIEF Given the economic and health hardships caused by COVID-19, youth leaders sought to understand the impact the pandemic was having on their peers, families, and communities and serve as an informational resource.
Promoting Civic Engagement in the IE through Youth Organizing
Assessing community need: Youth conducted five focus groups with 30 youth and 20 parents to learn about how COVID was impacting their lives. Additionally, youth conducted surveys with 350 youth across the Inland Empire. This research demonstrated that young people were struggling with food insecurity, difficulties paying for housing costs, educational interruptions, and loss of employment or reduction of hours.
San Bernardino Rent Moratorium: In June, 20 ICUC youth members organized an action on a temporary moratorium on evictions due to non-payment of rent by residential and commercial tenants impacted by COVID-19. 015
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29 Congregations
120 Total Volunteers Distributing Relief: In response to the research, ICUC partnered with local distributors to secure and distribute donations of food and masks to families affected by job loss or reduction due to COVID-19. This effort involved 120 volunteers from 29 congregations. A total of 80,000 masks and 122,500 pounds of food were distributed (Source: Our Lady of Guadalupe Church, Mecca).
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122,500 Pounds of Food Distributed
80,000 Masks Distributed
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I come from the Purepecha community, an indigenous people centered in Michoacán, Mexico. I want to be a politician because I want to serve people in my community and make sure they know that there is someone who will listen to them and make their voices heard. I was born and raised here in the Coachella Valley, so I know how hard it is to make our voices heard against all the injustices occurring here. ICUC is helping me transform into the strong leader I want to be for my community. It has also allowed me to form a stronger connection with the people living here in the East Coachella Valley.”
-Elizabeth Esteban, Eastern Coachella Valley
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THE ICUC TEAM
Follow Them Online
@icucpico www.icucpico.com
Tom Dolan
Cristina Ruiz
Michael Segura
Sergio Luna
Rocio Ruiz-Chen
Executive Director
Office Manager
Communications
Lead Organizer
Lead Organizer
Cristian Flores
Ben Reynoso
Reyes Lopez
Adam Wedeking
Kelvin Ward
Housing Organizer
Economic Organizer
Organizer
Organizer
Organizer
Erika Ruiz
Ayla Lopez
Ivan Aguayo
Monica Galvez
Rocio Aguayo
Youth Organizer
Youth Organizer
Youth Organizer
Youth Organizer
Data Analyst
Kesha McGee
Beatriz Loera
Miguel Rivera
Gaby Cruz
Hakan Jackson
Board Chair
Parent Organizer
Youth Projects Lead
Youth Projects Lead
Human Resources