Through an innovative combination of education, campaigning, strategic public policy advocacy, and high quality legal and support services community group Make the Road by Walking is improving the lives of thousands of New York City families.
The organisation draws its evocative name from a line by Spanish Poet Antonio Machado: Caminante, no hay camino. Se hace el camino al andar: Searcher, there is no road. We make the road by walking.
A thread running through all the work of this multi-purpose agency is the desire for local people to become the inspiration behind the city-wide public policy decisions which affect their children, their families and their communities.
Make the Road New York is a membership organisation which combines participatory decision making, deep community roots, and democratic accountability with a solid track record of success in expanding Civil Rights and electoral engagement; promoting health; improving housing the local environment and supporting local people in their workplaces as well as promoting opportunities in education.
Make the Road believe that, traditionally, low-income people are spoken for by clergy, elected officials, and others who claim to represent the communities: people who rarely, if ever, consult those they seek to represent. Therefore Leadership Development has become a central element of the work enabling hundreds of graduates of the training programmes to speak for themselves and others through community organising and advocacy campaigns. Former participants have become uncharacteristically politically powerful among low-income New Yorkers. They are the people that get called by the press and invited to speak at public hearings about the policies that shape lives and communities in the City, For example, public hearings of the New York City Council and local Community Board meetings.
Weekly meetings provide opportunities for members to develop organising, analytical and group work skills, and also deepen their understanding of city and state policies. Additionally around 60 member leaders from across the organisations areas meet quarterly for additional leadership development and to discuss the strategic direction of the organization.
Each year, Make the Road youth staff identify a group of Youth Power Project (YPP) members to be core youth leaders. This small group receives one-to-one mentoring from a member of staff supporting young leaders as they progress through the YPP 4-tier leadership development structure, which recognizes young people's commitment to their work with the organisation, their own personal development, and their development as effective community leaders.
As young people progress through the system, they become eligible to receive short-term paid positions with Make the Road New York, as well as internships at other social justice organisations.
Make the Road New York is a membership organisation which combines participatory decision making, deep community roots, and democratic accountability with a solid track record of success.
Alongside the practical support around health housing and education the Make the Road legal department provides regular "Know Your Rights" training on subjects ranging from the tenants' Bill of Rights to disability benefit eligibility and what to do if stopped by the police, with the goal of increasing members' ability to enforce their own rights while developing their practical knowledge of the laws that affect them most.
Make the Road by Waking
301 Grove St Brooklyn, NY 11237, United States
t: +1 718-418-7690
e: list@maketheroad.org
w: www.maketheroad.org